The Heavenly Ski & Snowboard Foundation’s 11th annual Grapes & Gates gourmet food and wine tasting event is May 2 from 6-9pm at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline.

The evenings highlight will be the award presentation. The foundation will present the inaugural Bill Killebrew Award. Killebrew has been an integral part of creating opportunities for youth to enjoy and participate in snowsports.

Heavenly Freestyle Team head coach Jere Crawford, recipient of the USSA Freestyle Coach of the Year Award, will also be honored.

For tickets, call Aimi Xistra-Rich at (530) 314.9285.

Tahoe Sierra Kiwanis Club presented three South Lake Tahoe residents with awards based on their efforts to enrich the community.

Wendy David received the Community Service Award for “her continued efforts of providing essentials to families in crisis through Tahoe Magic”.

The group presented a Community Service Award to David Kelly for his continued dedication as an advocate for the elderly and disabled members of the Tahoe community.

Lisa Huard was recognized for her efforts with the Drug Store Project, which provides sixth-grade students with a reality based demonstration of what can happen when getting involved in drugs and destructive decisions.

Bike friendly wasn’t the phrase that came to mind while riding the South Lake Tahoe bike trail (on Earth Day of all days) that goes behind Meeks Lumber, by the Upper Truckee Marsh, through neighborhoods and farther west paralleling Highway 50.

Definitely take a mountain bike. The cracks are so wide it is like riding on one of the many streets in the city.

Sue Wood is stopped April 22 by the debris along a bike trail in South Tahoe. Photo/Kathryn Reed

And crossing the wood bridge over Trout Creek is a bit scary. The boards bounce. I saw them as I watched a couple cyclists in front of me. I don’t remember this happening last year.

As you head east, slow down as you come to Sussex Avenue. A mound of snow is there blocking the bike path, along with chunks of asphalt and other debris and muck. Sussex is off Rubicon Trail, which is a block off Highway 50.

And to think South Lake Tahoe has the designation of being a bike friendly town. It must be in sign only.

May is national bike month. Does South Lake Tahoe realize this, or even care?

— Kathryn Reed

Jacob is one of several beautiful black cats at the shelter.

Black cats often stay at shelters longer than lighter-colored cats, through no fault of their own. Jacob is about 5 years old, and has been at the shelter since January. He is a friendly and affectionate cat, and would do well in just about any home.

Jacob is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to see photos and description of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

• Lake Tahoe Unified School District trustees will not be meeting this week. Instead they will have three meetings next month – May 1, May 8 and May 22.

• Tahoe City and Truckee are collecting unused prescription drugs April 28 from 9am-noon. For more information, click on the flyer.

• This is the El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra roadwork schedules for this week provided by Caltrans.

• Lake Tahoe Unified School District custodian Ken Gerrard finished the Boston Marathon in four hours, two seconds.

• Nina Jimenez of Whittell High School is the recipient of Tahoe-Douglas Rotary’s 2012 music contest. Sabrina Swoger placed second, Veronica Charles third, and Alex Sanchez fourth.

• Tahoe Pipe Club premiered this film at the Tahoe-Truckee Earth Day Wild and Scenic Rivers Film Festival. The film features an interview with Laurel Ames of the Sierra Club.

By Mark Glover, Sacramento Bee

Placerville-based El Dorado Savings Bank saw a nearly 4 percent year-over-year increase in first quarter net income.

The bank, which operates 32 branches in Northern California, including South Lake Tahoe, reported a profit of more than $2.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, up from about $2 million in the year-ago period.

“The improvement in profits for 2012 was a result of strong growth in new accounts and deposits,” said Thomas Meuser, chairman and CEO.

El Dorado reported total assets of $1.76 billion and savings deposits of $1.57 billion as of March 31, up from $1.64 billion and $1.46 billion in 2011.

Publisher’s note: On April 17 at the recommendation of Supervisors Ray Nutting and Ron Briggs, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors adopted the following public statement regarding the case of Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation v. U.S. Forest Service (E.D. Cal No. S-09-2523).

El Dorado County is dismayed to learn that the plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court in the case of Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation v. U.S. Forest Service (E.D. Cal. No. S-09-2523) have asked the court to consider the blanket closure of 42 roads in the Eldorado National Forest because those roads happen to pass through very small meadow areas. The court has ordered those roads closed until a final order has been issued, which may cause the loss of a number of the most popular recreation trails in Eldorado County for this summer season.

These roads have been in use for recreation for decades (some for a century), and provide a unique and irreplaceable opportunity for citizens to enjoy the land which they own. The court’s decision on the merits of the litigation found that the U.S. Forest Service must supplement its analysis of whether the roads crossing meadows affects the hydrology of the meadow, a process that the Forest Service estimates will take a full year, mostly because of the various procedural time limits applicable to supplemental environmental impact statements under NEPA. The 42 roads total about 120 miles in length, of which less than 5 miles involve meadow areas, and 23 out of the 42 roads involve meadow crossings of less than 300 feet.

The court has extended the normal winter closure of all 42 roads into the summer recreation season, while it considers various alternative orders it might issue to be in effect during the period while the supplemental analysis is being done. The closure of all 42 roads for an entire summer recreation season just because they happen to pass through a meadow area for a short distance would be an unnecessarily blunt remedy that fails to maintain the status quo of many years of public use on those roads, and that fails to distinguish between different roads with different circumstances. For example, the Barrett Lake Trail has been in use for decades, and over the years has been upgraded and maintained by users so it is in a better condition to sustain its popularity without degradation of the environment than many other trails in the forest. It is considered a model of user-maintained road. It has several short sections involving meadows, but in many instances it has been re-routed around the meadow and in other sections it has been improved so that any hydrological problem has been eliminated. The Barrett Lake Trail ends at Barrett Lake, so that closing it at a short meadow section anywhere along its length effectively closes it entirely. The closure of this road for an entire recreation season is simply not justified by its particular circumstances. Furthermore, the closure of some of the most popular recreational roads in the Eldorado National Forest will divert users to other trails (such as the Rubicon Trail, a public road under R.S. 2477 and thus not involved in the current litigation), potentially overburdening these other trails which are not involved in the litigation.

Most important, a blanket closure of all 42 roads fails to take into account the enormous negative economic impact this will have on El Dorado County (and the other counties affected by the closure – Amador and Alpine counties). Closure of 42 roads will discourage citizens from coming here to recreate this summer, and the resulting confusion and uncertainty will no doubt discourage recreational use of the Eldorado National Forest for subsequent seasons also. It has been estimated that vehicular recreation in the Eldorado National Forest produces a net positive economic effect estimated to exceed $2 million per year to El Dorado County. An order carefully tailored to recognize the decades of prior use of the 42 routes, which recognizes the different circumstances of particular roads among the 42 at issue, can help alleviate unnecessary damage to the local economy.

The environmental and planning laws must be honored, but in a way that is both rational and realistic, without causing unnecessary damage to a fragile economy, and without unjustified restrictions on a citizen’s right to use federal land. El Dorado County believes that the roads should be kept open for this season while the remaining environmental analysis is being performed.

By Kathryn Reed

Gliding along the perfectly groomed trails at Spooner Lake is no longer an option – and not because the seasons at Lake Tahoe are changing.

For 27 years, Max Jones has run the cross country ski center as concessionaire for the Nevada Division of State Parks. And for a dozen years he has operated the summer mountain biking operation out of the park that is at the junction of highway 28 and 50. That, too, is leaving the park.

Groomed trails at Spooner Lake may not be available next winter. Photo/LTN

While Jones, who was in the 1986 Olympic trials for cross country ski racing, is giving up the snow side of his business, he is keeping the biking component. After all, he is a two-time national mountain bike champion and in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

“My wife (Patti McMullen) and I have not had a paycheck since October,” Jones told Lake Tahoe News. “This was the winter that never snowed on this side of the lake.”

It was so bad Jan. 1 when the parks department wanted to lead a snowshoe it turned into a walk in hiking boots around Spooner Lake.

The couple is tired of fluctuating winters – the feast or famine way of doing business in the winter at Lake Tahoe.

Their focus, though, will still be split. Now it will be between mountain biking and a café that is slated to open in July.

The cycling business will operate out of Incline Village starting next year on property once home to the Bonanza television set and later theme park-like attraction. Tunnel Creek Café will be open year-round, serving sandwiches, coffee, beer and other items. It will be in the building that sits on the mountain side of Highway 28 that says Tunnel Creek Station.

This biking season Jones’ operation will be the same as it always has been at Spooner – with rentals as well as a shuttle bringing people who are finishing the Flume Trail back to Spooner.

Starting in summer 2013 the shuttle will take people to Spooner, drop them off, and then let them ride the Flume Trail, which will end where the café is.

Rentals will still be part of the mix. The primary focus will be the Flume Trail, then the shuttle on even days up to Tahoe Meadows for riders to pedal on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Expanding beyond that is possible – maybe even into Genoa.

Jones says he likes how in the last handful of years the mountain bike trails in the basin have improved, in large because of the U.S. Forest Service. He said the expansion of trails is good so riders are spread out.

What happens next winter at Spooner remains to be seen.

“What we want to do is spend some time to evaluate what the public wants us to do up there,” Dave Morrow, administrator of Nevada State Parks, told Lake Tahoe News. “There is certainly a dedicated group of cross country skiers who would like to see the trails groomed. There are others who may like to see additional or other activities.”

Ice fishing and more access to snowshoe trails are options. Parks staff may use a snowmobile as a groomer for cross country skiing next winter until a more permanent solution is settled on.

Morrow said not to expect the level of grooming that Jones did.

The lease between Jones and the state was up, so it was a natural time for a change. Jones didn’t want to pay more, and the state wanted to increase its take.

“The concessionaire at Spooner was more of a convenience to the park visitor than a source of income for the park,” Morrow said.

Surveying users and conducting public workshops will help determine the future of the park and what type of, if any, concessionaire is brought in after the summer season.

Also, state parks in the process of developing a management plan for Lake Tahoe State Park.

For people who want to suggest what should happen post-Jones at Spooner, they should call (775) 684.2770 and ask to speak to the administrative assistance or email dmorrow@parks.nv.gov.

Capital City Farm Days is May 10-11 at Fuji Park Exhibit Hall and Carson City Fairgrounds.

The event organized by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension runs from 8:30am-2pm each day and includes up to 32 presenters providing information and demonstrations on ranching- and farming-related activities in Nevada.

The event typically draws from 500 to 1,200 students, teachers and parents who learn about composting, organic farming, water issues, noxious weeds, row crops, wildfire, bees and native pollinators, and rangeland. 4-H and Future Farmers of America youth bring their livestock animals and talk to the students about what it takes to raise a market animal.

Presenters also demonstrate spinning, weaving, quilting, and other traditional crafts associated with ranching and farming throughout our country and the world. Antique tractors are on display, and owners discuss the use of these machines in agriculture.

Visitors may also get to view a demonstration of herding dogs working sheep.

By KCRA-TV

UNION VALLEY — Deputies are investigating a reservoir shooting in El Dorado County on Saturday.

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies said they received a 911 cellular telephone call at about 8:10pm from a camper in the Union Valley Reservoir area reporting another person had been shot.

Deputies said the location where the shooting happened is in an undeveloped remote shoreline area with no road access and can only be reached by boat.

Several sheriff’s department personnel immediately responded to the area, as well as county fire units, and U.S. Forest Service units. Upon their arrival, deputies said they located the involved subjects, one of which was deceased.

The investigation is ongoing, detectives said.