By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times

Antidepressants didn’t get to be the third-most commonly prescribed medication in the United States for nothing. In fact, says a new study, the medications taken by more than 10 percent of American adults may be so ubiquitous because they are used to do so much.

Depression medication, a study suggests, has become a “do something” drug for primary care physicians to offer when a patient’s complaints may only be vaguely related to depression.

In a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, researchers reported that close to three in 10 antidepressant prescriptions written between 2006 and 2015 by general practitioners in Quebec, Canada, were for conditions for which the medications have not been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

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Author and local historian Frank Tortorich will share his newest book, “John A. ‘Snowshoe’ Thompson Pioneer Mail Carrier of the Sierra” on June 15 at the South Lake Tahoe Library.

It is an account of the legendary life, legacy, and accomplishments of Snowshoe Thompson.

The author’s knowledge and understanding of the Sierra emigration era serves as a background for what he has been able to express in this book.

The 6pm event is free. A book sale and signing will follow the talk. The library is on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

The Douglas County Public Library will be hosting a Lego building challenge every Tuesday from June 7 through July 26.

Youngsters can listen to a story and build part of that story from 3-4pm. The free build hour is from 4-5pm.

Lego bricks and building materials will be provided by the library. Lego Tuesdays are for children ages 6 and up.

The Douglas County Public Library is located at 1625 Library Lane in Minden.

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

The top of Mt. Everest is a bad place for a celebration.

Just ask Cory Richards.

He spent his three minutes on the summit battling to stay warm, coherent and energized for the trip down.

Richards, an elite climber, knew most high altitude mountaineering tragedies happen after reaching the summit.

The fact Richards, of Boulder, Colo., was climbing without supplemental oxygen or his partner, Adrian Ballinger of Olympic Valley, who stopped short of the summit, made his summit push all the more daunting.

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By Trevon Milliard, Reno Gazette-Journal

The Nevada Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for the last remaining challenge to Nevada’s new school choice program, putting a decision within sight for the 6,000 students seeking payment for private school.

The hearing, tentatively scheduled for July 8, will allow both sides to present their cases to the Nevada Supreme Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas at 10am. The state is defending its new school choice program against a group of seven parents who claim it’s unconstitutional.

The court could issue its ruling as soon as a week after the hearing. A favorable ruling for the state would lift a court-ordered injunction and allow Nevada to start funding students’ education savings accounts for next school year.

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By Daniel Rothberg, Las Vegas Sun

For Nevada’s energy sector, the legislative session started early.

Representatives from the energy industry and lawmakers on an energy task force Thursday recommended several pieces of legislation that ranged from eliminating outdated statutes to grandfathering pre-2016 rooftop solar customers under prior rates. It asked the governor to reconsider the way regulators plan for the future. And it sought to give regulators more leeway in how NV Energy is incentivized.

These were some of the ideas that the New Energy Industry Task Force asked Gov. Brian Sandoval to consider in the next two months, as he mulls over what proposals he wants to forward to the Legislature.

Yet on several systemic issues, the task force punted.

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By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal

CARSON CITY — A final plan to conserve and restore sagebrush habit critical to a distinct population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line was announced Friday by the Bureau of Land Management.

“This plan strikes a balance among public land uses and users and offers a workable solution to protect natural and cultural resources as well as the socio-economic fabric of the bi-state region,” John Ruhs, Nevada state director for the Bureau of Land Management, said in a statement.

Under the record of decision and amendment to the existing resource management plan for the 280,000-acre area, no changes are made to activity or projects within sage grouse habitat. Instead, any such decisions will be subject to further analysis under National Environmental Policy Act guidelines.

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By Associated Press

A state audit says parolees in rural Nevada weren’t required to get as frequent supervision as their urban counterparts.

Lawmakers discussed the Division of Parole and Probation during a Tuesday meeting.

Auditors found parole officers were required to make home visits to sex offenders in Reno and Las Vegas every 60 to 90 days. But there was no such requirement for home visits in rural areas, including Carson City.

Division Chief Natalie Wood said rural officers prioritized their parolees each month and exercised discretion on whether they needed a home visit.

But she also said staffing shortages and long distances to parolees’ homes made it hard to conduct frequent checks.

The audit covered July 2013 to March 2015. Wood says rural visiting standards are now on par with urban standards.

By Bob Harmon

The weather is starting to warm up and the wilderness calls.

Members of Washoe County’s search and rescue team know first-hand that it doesn’t matter how much experience you have, if you recreate in the wilderness, you run the risk of getting hopelessly and helplessly turned around at some point, suddenly and unexpectedly finding yourself in a life-threatening situation.

“The most important thing is to accept that it can happen to you and be prepared,” said Brian Jacobsen, president of the all-volunteer Washoe County Search and Rescue Inc.

“Even if you are only planning a short outing, the right equipment and a good plan can make the difference between life and death when minutes count.”

When you do discover that you are lost, stay put and don’t hesitate to ask for help.

“Every step you take, and every moment you wait, increases the search area exponentially,” Jacobsen said. “People hesitate for many reasons. Often it’s because they blame themselves for getting lost, feel guilty about having to mobilize search teams for their sake, or fear the rescue will be too costly.”

“Wrong on all counts! The reason Search and Rescue volunteers do what they do is because they want to successfully aid people in trouble. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can get to you,” Jacobsen added.

Additional tips include:

• Tell a trusted person where you are going and when you’ll be back. Make sure that person knows not to hesitate to call for help if they haven’t heard from you by the pre-arranged time. Shorter days and colder nights do not allow time for second-guessing.
  Bring proper clothing. Even if you think you won’t need it, if there is a sudden change in the weather or unexpected change in plans, you’ll need to keep as dry and warm as possible until help arrives.
• Bring a whistle and a light. Items like these make it much easier to find you in the wilderness.
• Pack extra food and water.
• Make sure your cell phone is fully charged. Cell phones can be a great tool, but realistically there are many areas of wilderness where reception is impossible. An affordable, satellite-based locator device is more reliable and accurate.
• Hike with a buddy, never hike alone.
• This is a transitional season. Stay up to date on weather forecasts and keep in mind that conditions my change dramatically based on location, elevation and time of day.

Washoe County Search and Rescue is a self-funded, volunteer organization. There is never a charge for their rescue services. Volunteers train for at least two hours every week and are prepared to respond at any time of the night or day.

Bob Harmon works for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

Dion Jermaine Vaccaro

Dion Jermaine Vaccaro, 26, is sitting in an Oklahoma City jail cell waiting extradition to South Lake Tahoe on a murder warrant.

He is one of five people in custody accused of killing an Amador County man during a drug deal gone bad in January.

Tevarez Lopez, 33, Domenic  Randolph, 22, Tristan Batten, 18, and Harvest Davidson, 20, have also been charged with the murder of 40-year-old Dennis Wright. Wright was gunned down in the parking lot of the Beverly Lodge on Jan. 30, later dying at Barton Memorial Hospital.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report