World travel photographer and Lake Tahoe resident Chris Talbot has an exhibit at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach through September.
To celebrate this exhibit and Lake Tahoe’s special culture, an event on Aug. 11 will have some proceeds going to the North Tahoe Regional Park Friends of the Park Fund.
This film exhibit has an array of Lake Tahoe and international scenes on canvas.
Talbot has lived in North Lake Tahoe for the past 34 years.
Publisher’s note: This is the second of two stories about the Angora Fire.
By Renee Gorevin
Fortunately for her, my daughter still had her bags packed, just recently returned from a study abroad program in Paris. Investigating the source of the smoke, my son and his friend had ventured out behind our house, creating a little angst inside my chest when I’d heard. My husband and I were at our good friends’ house on Golden Bear assisting them in a home project. Our closest neighbors, John and Susan, were out of town camping.
It was about three o’clock in the afternoon when my daughter called, insisting I should head home. Why, I inquired calmly, responding to her fearful tone. “Mom, go outside!” she urged. As I stepped out onto Golden Bear to view the horizon in the distance, my neck immediately flexed, carrying my gaze up, up, up, following the gray smoke column to its summit, directly overhead! That visual was worth a thousands gasps. I hung up and immediately said, “Mark, we need to get home!”
The Gorevins' neighborhood days after the June 24, 2007, fire leveled their friends' homes. Photos/Renee Gorevin
My car, as I later found out, was the last one allowed past the sheriff’s post at Sawmill Pond. Driving up Tahoe Mountain Road my eyes bounced from flare up to flare up on either side of the road, our inadequate asphalt fire line. I was mesmerized, stunned, looking in disbelief, gasping for breath.
Turning onto this cul-de-sac 12 years ago to look at a house that had just come on the market, I gasped then too; but out of joy and expectation — this is just what I had envisioned, trees, lots of them, space, lots of it and just enough neighbors to make it a home. Twelve years ago we purchased one of 12 houses on this street, certain it would be for good as the location, house and neighborhood had everything we had hoped for moving from the Bay Area. Susan and John welcomed us as we moved in, happily discovering Susan and I were both teachers and John and Mark were both in the construction trades.
Now, smoke and amazing, frantic wind blowing in every direction and speed along with the weight of uncertainty pressing on me, I drive to our house. Driving past all our neighbors, running with arms full, placing yet another precious load in their car, I lock eyes with one of Susan and John’s daughters’ as we drive past each other, communicating many emotions with that gaze. Both of their daughters along with friends were transferring their family keepsakes into their cars. A sprinkler was left on next to the house in hopes of rescue. Later I was amazed and touched with Susan’s recount, “I told my daughters to just come up and join us camping, what could we do there anyway?” Susan’s positive acceptance of the fire, a seeming “hiccup” in her life (I take liberty here as I truly don’t know the extent of heartache she experienced), impressed me again and again over the next two and a half years as they sifted, leveled and rebuilt on their lot across the street. I recall a “heart in my throat” smile as I heard Susan found a ring of her mother’s in the ashes.
Both my son and daughter had packed their car with belongings and the pets by the time I arrived. We took our computers with our scanned family photos in them and I grabbed the important paperwork. They insisted it was time to go, yet I stood in the middle of our great room, looking around, what should I take? With a quiet acceptance I walked through the door and we caravanned down our street. Mark was running toward us on foot. He was not allowed by the sheriff to drive his car, instead ran the half-mile to our house, but wouldn’t get in the car. He needed to go back and get his camera.
Why did our house not burn? There is no reason in this human made earthly hell that it should not have. Valiant firefighters removed flammable material from under our deck, obviously helping to save our house. Ten out of the 12 houses on our street burned completely to the ground. To this day I still shake my head and have no answer. How do you respond to the families whose homes did burn? What must they be feeling? I can’t imagine. I smile and give Susan a big hug when I finally see her; she is smiling. Mark and John discuss what’s left of the snowplow truck we all reaped the benefits of and look at what little is left of his snowmobiles. The four of us have a guilty chuckle over the charred trailer carcass, all that is left of the cigarette boat parked at the vacation home next to Susan and John’s. Yes, we will rebuild and we’ll be back she says with utter confidence and her ever present smile. We love this neighborhood, she says. I am quietly thrilled!
Mark and I were one of four households living in our greater neighborhood area of 40-plus homes, pre-fire, that first winter, the lucky ones who had a home to stay in. We even had pine trees left on our lot! We braved the loneliness, the wicked wind with no trees to hold it back and the hope for our neighborhood to return. Ruth finished her house first, then Susan and John, then Christine and Colin. The full timers on our street were all back home. We were ecstatic to have our neighbors return!
I recall many times turning on our street during the two plus years of rebuilding with a heavy heart, sadden by the loss of trees. Those trees gave our neighborhood a grounded, safe, comfy feeling. Toward the end of that rebuilding time, as I turned down our street once again, I suddenly gasped as I looked out over our neighborhood with a big smile, tears forming in my eyes. I realized at that moment that it had not been just the trees I had been missing; it was the homes and the neighbors as well! I looked around and saw all the houses that had been built for our neighbors and, that grounded, safe, comfy feeling that I so treasured, had returned.
ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)
To the community,
It’s one of the worst seasons for cat turn ins at Tahoe according to Lt. Robert Gerat, senior officer at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers.
Every cat condo and cage in the annex is occupied with one or two adoptable cats. Many are homeless due to owner financial crisis.
If you have room in your heart and home for a feline friend, now is the time to take advantage of a complete selection. There are beautiful bonded pairs, handsome exotic mixes, short, medium, and long coats in every color and blend.
The $80 adoption fee includes the cost of the surgical sterilization of the animal, leukemia/FIV test, first distemper vaccination, deworming (as needed), flea prevention, rabies vaccination (if appropriate) and a microchip.
The shelter is open Monday through Saturday. Call (530) 573.7925 or drop by 9:30am-noon and 1-4:30pm.
Available pets can be viewed online, however the population changes daily and web listings are not always current.It’s best to visit in person to find just the right feline companion for your home. Please help if you can.
Dawn Armstrong, Lake Tahoe Humane Society and S.P.C.A.
On June 28, Douglas County Emergency Management and East Fork Fire and Paramedic District will host a large-scale man-made disaster training exercise in the Carson Valley form about 5am to 8pm.
Citizens may see a considerable amount of military, law enforcement, fire, and EMS vehicles and personnel in various areas of Douglas County throughout the day during the exercise.
The exercise, code named Sierra Breeze 11, will test local, state, and national public safety entities in their ability to perform duties in a joint command during a large scale man-made disaster.
The Nevada National Guard 92nd Civil Support Team will be one of the units deployed during the exercise. The mission of the 92nd CST is to provide public safety resources at a domestic chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threat or incident.
The 92nd CST, based in Southern Nevada, has personnel and equipment to work with civil authorities to identify dangerous substances or chemical agents, assess current and projected CBRN contamination, and provide technical assistance on mitigating CBRN incidents.
Their mission scope includes the intentional or accidental release of nuclear material, toxic chemicals, biological hazards or radiological hazards that could result in catastrophic injury, or loss of life or property within the community. The 92nd CST provides a well trained team to support local and state response in emergency incidents.
At the completion of the exercise, evaluators will identify areas of improvement for all participating agencies, with focus on training or modifying response protocols to improve effectiveness of public safety.
By Juan Lopez, Reno Gazette-Journal
On March 1, 1978, she survived a fiery plane crash in which she was the last person to exit the aircraft before it exploded. On March 1, 2002, she was diagnosed with stage III melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. On March 1, 2006, she underwent open heart surgery.
Donna Hartley has stared at death three times, and she’s walked away unscathed each time.
The 30-year Tahoe resident is now a full-time speaker and uses her experiences as the basis of her motivational talks.
“In those events, I had to survive and make choices that saved my life,” said Hartley, who has traveled the world as a speaker. “So, my talks focus on trusting your intuition, being true to yourself and living your life to the fullest.”
Hartley has two self-authored books coming out this week, “Fire up Your Life!” and “Fire up Your Intuition!” She also will give a talk at 7pm June 29 at the Center for Spiritual Living, where she will have a book signing. There is no charge and the event is open to the public.
By Kelsey Kloss, Reno Gazette-Journal
One spacious room displaying photography now fully encompasses Erik Lauritzen’s characteristic view of Nevada’s landscape. The exhibit, Stop the Car, Dad!, recently left the Truckee Meadows Community College art gallery and now is on display at Bartley Ranch.
“I loved it; it’s quintessential Nevada — that’s what I would call it,” said writer Maria Denzler, who decided to visit the exhibit on its first day at Bartley Ranch.
The photography showcases a boom-and-bust lifestyle evident in many deserted Nevada towns by drawing attention to sometimes forgettable roadside scenes. Deserted snow cone stands marking a dry landscape or a locked gate leading to endless space present eerie reminders of past life in abandoned towns.
“We just want to provide an opportunity for the public to experience a piece of Nevada they don’t typically see and to bring attention to things other than just gambling and divorce,” said park ranger Bryan Harrower.
• Sierra Ski and Cycle Works is having a 30th anniversary party July 1 starting at 9am at the shop – 3430 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.
• Lighthouse Day Spa’s second Tahoe City location is open at Granlibakken Resort.
• Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill allowing adult-only bars to serve food.
• A rare 1870 $20 gold coin that belonged to Charles Mapes, the late Reno hotel-casino owner, will be auctioned Sept. 4 in Los Angeles through Bonhams and Butterfields. Estimates are it is worth between $150,000 to $180,000.
• South Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler will take on the role of running the fire department Sept. 1 when Fire Chief Lorenzo Gigliotti leaves the department. The appointment will be for up to one year at a savings of about $200,000 to the city.
By Kathryn Reed
Two or three 4 foot by 10 foot raised beds won’t grow enough food to feed many people, but it’s the first start to having a community garden on the South Shore.
Dubbed the People’s Garden by the Interior Department, the initiative comes out of first lady Michelle Obama’s desire to get the country eating healthier. If the White House can create a vegetable garden, why not the Forest Service office in South Lake Tahoe?
A meeting of gardening types on Monday brought forth a ton of ideas about how best to accomplish this.
“There was quite a bit of good local gardening expertise in the room,” USFS spokeswoman Cheva Heck said of the June 20 meeting. “We expect the garden to be pretty small scale. This summer we will obtain the resources to build it and maybe next year we will see produce.”
Money needs to be secured to build or buy the beds. Volunteers – not just Forest Service employees – will provide the man/womanpower.
It’s likely a charity will partner with the Forest Service and then become the beneficiary of the bulk of the produce. Bread & Broth representatives were at the meeting this week.
With the Forest Service office being on leased property from Lake Tahoe Community College, permission had to be granted to do this. At first there was talk of putting the veggie garden by the college’s demonstration garden, but that wasn’t going to work – especially with the lack of sun at that location.
As the garden takes off, it may grow in terms of size and function. The Tahoe Resource Conservation District envisions it being an education tool for how to garden in high altitude locations.
By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
The Nevada Legislature has taken the first step in demanding that the federal government make amends for massive radioactive contamination left by decades of nuclear weapons testing on a swath of desert the size of Rhode Island.
In a joint resolution, the state’s Senate and House are asking the federal government to contain and mitigate about 300 million curies of contamination left in the soil and water of the former Nevada Test Site, about 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas is full of radioactive rubble and craters. Photo/Department of Energy
The Energy Department detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground before testing ended in 1992. An estimated 1.6 trillion gallons of water in aquifers under the site are radioactively contaminated with the byproducts of the bomb tests.
The resolution will open the way for Nevada to demand compensation for the loss of its water resources, said Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, the resolution’s lead sponsor. He said the resolution stemmed from a detailed examination of the radioactive legacy of testing that was published by The Times in November 2009.
“It is one of the largest contamination zones in the U.S., if not the world,” Goedhart said. “If we are prevented from using our water resources, it is a taking and we should be compensated.”
The Energy Department has said the contaminated water is moving very slowly downhill toward Death Valley National Park, but it could take thousands of years to reach any affected community.
By Oliver Renick, Bloomberg
Football accounted for 57 percent of trauma-related sports deaths among youth, many that would have been prevented if athletes with head injuries had been kept off the field, said researchers who analyzed 30 years of data.
The report, which reviewed information from a U.S. registry of 1,827 sudden deaths of young athletes from 1980 to 2009, found that 261, or 14 percent, were caused by blunt trauma. The study, published this week in the journal of Pediatrics, analyzed data on fatal injuries that occurred during 22 different sports.
Twelve percent of the 138 football deaths caused by head or neck injuries involved students who returned to the game after a concussion, researchers said. In some of these “second-impact syndrome” deaths, athletes were cleared for play despite symptoms from a previous head injury. More education is needed for coaches, trainers, parents and students on the consequences of repeat head blows, the researchers said in the report.
“Second-impact syndrome is avoidable,” said study author Dr. Barry Maron of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, a cardiovascular education and research center. “It’s obviously a coaching and medical issue to avoid this, independent of the equipment used, so football players do not return prematurely to play.”