The Sierra Cup Regional Championship Mountain Biking Series for 2011 begins May 21 in Gardnerville.

The Sierra Cup is a seven race point series to determine the USA Cycling cross-country mountain bike champions for the Northern California/Nevada region. Top finishers at the first three events will also qualify to compete at the Mountain Bike National Championships in Sun Valley on July 14-17.

The Sierra Cup events are the Pine Nut Cracker on May 21 in Gardnerville; Peavine Challenge on June 5 in Reno; Skyline Park Mountain Bike Race on June 12 in Napa; Kirkwood Mountain Classic on July 30 at Kirkwood; Sky Tavern Classic on Aug. 14 in Reno; Great Tahoe Flume Race on Sept. 10 at Spooner Lake; and Sawtooth Ridge Challenge on Oct. 2 at Northstar-at-Tahoe.

Online pre-registration is available for all events.

These events take riders through some of best trails in the West and challenge them with heart pounding climbs and fun, technical descents. There are age and ability categories for all levels of riders. Race distances vary with each event and are often based on the ability categories.

The Sierra Cup is unique in that all of the participating races donate their proceeds to various nonprofit organizations that give back to the trails where mountain bikers ride. For more information, go online or email mtb11@renowheelmen.org.

The 6th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge is scheduled to run from May 23 to June 3. This is Tahoe’s effort to participate in Bike to Work Month – a national public awareness campaign.

It is a two wee promotion challenging everyone in the Lake Tahoe Basin to ride their bicycle instead of using an automobile while traveling to work, school, recreational sites or running daily errands.

Individuals and groups of friends or co-workers can organize together to build a team and participate.

In 2009, 700 individuals, 87 company teams and six schools registered online to track their daily trips and miles for a total of 23,000 miles. To participate, as an individual or team, go online to register.

Each day, participants can input their number of riding trips and miles for the day and the online system keeps a running tally of all individuals and teams progress. Also on a daily basis are random drawings for valuable prizes that include, but are not limited to, lift tickets to Kirkwood and Northstar Bike Parks, bicycle lights, and more.

The Tahoe Bike Challenge is collaboration between the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition (LTBC) and others in their effort to bring attention to the need for reducing dependence on the automobile for bio-region health and sustainability.

In addition to the Bike Challenge is a new fund-raising program called Bucks 4 Bikes. It is a program designed to raise dollars for the purchasing of bicycles and helmets for Tahoe’s youth who would otherwise not have the opportunity for independent mobility, a fitness activity, positive socialization with family and friends, and a deepening appreciation for the outdoors.

By Kathryn Reed

Two people were arrested and 73.3 grams of heroin were confiscated in what law enforcement is calling a substantial bust in South Lake Tahoe.

“This is a very significant amount for this area. We are seeing a lot of heroin coming in from Reno into the area,” said Jeff Catchings, commander with South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Arrested May 11 at their house on Fresno Street were Alberto Vierboom, 36, and Heidi Kanes, 30.

Catchings described the scene as a “heroin den” with needles all over the place.

Vierboom tried to jump out a back window, but was stopped by officers outside. He then struggled with narcotics officers on a floor filled with needles before being apprehended, Catchings said.

Vierboom faces felony counts of possession and sales of narcotics, along with resisting arrest and maintaining a house for drug use. Kanes faces charges stemming from maintaining a house for drug use.

A third arrest is likely, according to Catchings.

The amount of heroin equated to 2,300 hits with a street value of $11,000.

“Drug use is always prevalent in poorer parts of society and Tahoe is not any different,” Catchings said. “It comes in waves and we’re riding the wave of heroin right now.”

Vierboom and Kanes remained in custody May 18.

Friends of the Veterans Monument will host the 6th annual Memorial Day observance on May 30 at 11am at the El Dorado County Veterans Monument, 360 Fair Lane, Placerville.

Each year the community gathers at the El Dorado County Veterans Monument grounds on Memorial Day to honor those who have served and sacrificed for the cause of freedom.

Highlights of this year’s tribute include:

· A T-6 aircraft fly-by salute in the missing man formation to honor those who have sacrificed to preserve our freedoms

· U.S.M.C. Color Guard

· Special guest speaker: Former U.S.M.C. Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, retired

· Participation of local Cub and Boy Scout troops, Marine Corps League

· Friends of the Veterans monument scholarship awards.

First Baptist Church in South Lake Tahoe is having a patriotic service on May 29 at 11am. This will be to salute veterans and troops.

A potluck will follow the service.

Military attire and memorabilia is encouraged.

Child care will be provided.

The church is at 1053 Wildwood Ave., South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call (530) 544.2743.

By Kathryn Reed

El Dorado County residents are being asked to weigh-in on five proposals that would reconfigure how the supervisorial districts are laid out.

This occurs every 10 years when Census data is released. The point is to have equal number of constituents in each district. This is the law. However, El Dorado County circumvented that requirement in 2000 by sticking with the Lake Tahoe portion of the county being a district unto itself.

“The board was very adamant about keeping communities together, e.g. one part of Cameron Park should not be in a different district than another. Residents in Meeks Bay and Fallen Leaf Lake see themselves as part of the Tahoe basin community, not part of Georgetown, Cool, etc., which is what would happen if District V was split,” Supervisor Norma Santiago wrote to South Tahoe officials. She is Tahoe’s rep on the Board of Supervisors – District V. “Likewise, people from Pollock Pines and Grizzly Flat do not feel that their communities are part of the basin which either both or one or the other is include in the maps as part of District V. In other words, District V would extend to either include Pollock Pines and/or Grizzly Flat. I am not in favor of either splitting the district nor extending its boundaries to include the aforementioned communities.”

With the population totals swaying more heavily toward the West Slope because more people live there and fewer reside in the basin, it’s possible Tahoe will either be part of a larger district or have two supervisors representing it.

South Lake Tahoe City Council members discussed the issue briefly at the May 17 meeting. Though no vote was taken, the members are split with some thinking one person from Tahoe representing the area is better, and others saying two voices would be better.

The county is sponsoring a redistricting meeting May 19 from 6-8pm at Lake Tahoe Airport.

South Tahoe electeds hope to make a formal recommendation to the Board of Supervisors after hearing what is said Thursday night and then voting at a June meeting.

The county is expected to take action in June.

By Steve Kubby

South Lake Tahoe Mayor Hal Cole recently described street maintenance as a “300-pound gorilla in the room,” preying on South Lake Tahoe’s streets, and nobody knows how to stop it. It’s a beast that could take more than $300 million to fix, according to city staff estimates on bringing the roadways up to California’s “complete street” standard.

The issue is “overwhelming,” Mayor Cole said while admitting that the most common complaint he hears from residents is the state of the roads. Meanwhile, Councilman Tom Davis appears to have given up on ever fixing our streets, telling the Tahoe Tribune that the $300 million estimated repair bill for the streets is “an impossible goal.”

Steve Kubby

“City council after city council has heard presentation after presentation regarding the state of disrepair of South Lake Tahoe’s roads,” reported the Lake Tahoe News, but each year funding is put off. Jim Marino, engineer with the city, told the council in 2009 that it would take $5.2 million a year for 25 to 30 years to get the streets up to par. The City Council responded by doing nothing. As pointed out in several stories that have appeared in the Lake Tahoe News, the deterioration of our roads has resulted in more runoff, which pollutes our pristine beaches and creates further loss of lake clarity.

The Tribune reported that road maintenance funding at the city has been unstable, at best, for more than 15 years. Some years street maintenance is not funded at all. So the big question is what happened 15 years ago that precipitated the end of funding for street repairs and maintenance. The answer is redevelopment.

Former Councilman Bill Crawford has said repeatedly, it was the council’s 1995 decision to subsidize redevelopment debt by giving up all of the hotel room taxes in the Heavenly Village redevelopment area, that set the table for the city’s economic woes for the last 15 years. The City Council voted to begin siphoning off $3 million to $4 million per year to keep the failed redevelopment project at Heavenly Village from drowning in red ink.

Two key players in all this were former mayors Hal Cole and Tom Davis, who actively promoted the development of Heavenly Village and who insist to this day that their redevelopment scheme has helped, not hurt South Lake Tahoe. Yet most of the revenue promised by these two redevelopment promoters never materialized, resulting a staggering annual shortfall of millions of dollars that Cole and Davis “fixed” by voting in 1995 to raid the general fund. In doing so, it was these two men who disabled the city from being able to pay for street repairs.

On March 27, 2011, Mr. Crawford revealed in the Lake Tahoe News, “Sometime between the years 2000 and 2002 $7 million was filched from the city’s General Fund and given to the Redevelopment Agency. The City Council didn’t know about it until after it was disclosed. It was then called a loan.”

How $7 million was transferred from the General Fund to the Redevelopment Agency, without the knowledge or consent of the City Council, is still a mystery and deserves to be investigated, especially since that “loan” appears to be a fiction and may in fact be illegal.

Another redevelopment headache is the city garage, which loses more than $130,000 a year. Mr. Crawford questions the way the City Council dealt with this issue as well. “In 2002, bonds were sold to finance the city garage at 7 percent interest when the going rate for muni bonds was 4 percent. The garage is a millstone around the city’s neck and is one of the factors that has led to the city to nearly drown in debt,” said Mr. Crawford.

Since Mayor Cole considers the responsibility to maintain city streets to be “overwhelming” and Councilman Davis has described fixing our streets as, “an impossible goal,” it’s time for some new thinking to replace the failed leadership of the past 15 years.

One solution would be for the city to face reality and declare bankruptcy. That’s pretty drastic, but the most immediate result could be $3 million to $4 million per year in hotel tax money going back into the general fund for road repairs and maintenance. Orange County declared bankruptcy and recovered. Clearly, the time has come for an honest look at our finances and the very real possibility that only through bankruptcy can the we ever hope to restore our broken streets and actually begin living within our means.

While it is true that the city’s finances are audited each year, these audits are solely based upon “facts” presented by the city’s own finance department. What is really needed is a forensic audit to expose the true scope of the fiscal debacle that has been dumped upon South Lake Tahoe in the name of redevelopment. It is time for the distinguished members of the El Dorado County Grand Jury to open a new investigation into the City Council and into the questionable activities of redevelopment promoters Hal Cole and Tom Davis.

Steve Kubby is a resident of South Lake Tahoe.

By Caroline Barichievich

Plantar fasciitis is a common and often nagging problem. Two million people a year live with plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the thick band of fibrous tissue on the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia runs from your toes to your heel and helps form the arch of your foot. It does not get a lot of circulation, which creates a problem for many runners, hikers and people who stand and walk a lot.

Common symptoms include heel pain, pain returning after prolonged standing and pain after activities. Generally, pain is worse in the morning due to the lack of circulation and the inflammatory process that affects the tissue overnight. Some people find that pain lessens with activity because of the increased circulation to the affected tissue.

Caroline Barichievich

Causes of plantar fasciitis include excessive running, walking, jumping or any repetitive stress where the tissue gets overloaded. These forces cause microtrauma to the tissue. Foot mechanics can also be a prime contributing factor if you overpronate, have flat feet or have high arches. Certain foot shapes can cause chronic irritation to the tissue with each step you take.

Easing the pain: Treatment for plantar fasciitis includes resting or modifying your activity, applying ice and/or taking anti-inflammatory medication, and sometimes wearing night splints. In Barton Health’s Rehabilitation Services, we assess the issues causing plantar fasciitis.

In most cases, the tissue is tight, necessitating tissue or joint mobilization. Our physical therapists teach patients stretches that will allow for more pliability in the foot. Ultrasound can also increase circulation to the tissue. When someone has a biomechanical problem, we can mitigate it with orthotics, taping and recommendations for proper footwear. There are specific exercises that can help strengthen the surrounding muscles of the foot and lower leg to increase the dynamic stability of the foot, allowing a return to activity.

Tips for happier feet: To alleviate or prevent plantar fasciitis pain:

• Never walk with bare feet, especially with your first steps out of bed in the morning. This can overstretch any tight tissue and cause irritation.

• Roll the bottom of your foot over a frozen water bottle for five minutes to help mobilize tight tissue and decrease inflammation.

Plantar fasciitis can be a chronic ailment if not addressed in the acute stages. Therefore, consulting your health care provider right away and being proactive are vital steps to your well-being and recovery.

Get back on your feet by calling Barton Rehabilitation Services at (530) 543.5896.

Caroline Barichievich is a physical therapist with Barton Health Rehabilitation Services.

Summer officially kicks off in North Lake Tahoe on Memorial Day Weekend with the 5th Annual Opening Day at the Lake.

This four-day special event is May 27-30, and is comprised of celebrations and festivities along the West Shore and in downtown Tahoe City.

Opening Day at the Lake events include deck opening celebrations at Sunnyside Resort, West Shore Café, Chambers Landing Bar & Restaurant and Bridgetender; West Shore Clean Up Day; Granlibakken Resort’s Contractors Home Improvement/Repair Fair; Spirit of the West Shore Cocktail Competition at West Shore Café; the opening of Meeks Bay Resort & Marina; the opening of Tahoe City’s Tahoe Gal (Mississippi paddlewheeler), as well as Tahoe Sailing Charters; McBride’s Nursery (Tahoe Tree Company) annual Truck Load Sale of perennials and shrubs; openings and tours of the historical Vikingsholm Castle and Ehrman Mansion; guided museum tours, with admission, of the Tahoe Maritime Museum; Preview Center Open House at Homewood Mountain Resort; open house at the Rideout Community Center; historic walking tour at Tahoe City’s Gatekeeper’s Museum; as well as the popular Mike Brown Seaplane Splash-In and barbecue at Obexer’s General Store.

North Lake Tahoe’s paved bike trails are also open, accessible and cleared of snow.

For more information about Opening Day at the Lake (including a complete calendar of events), recreational activities, lodging and Cool Deals, social media sites, videos and images in North Lake Tahoe, go online.

The Sugar Pine Foundation will be planting healthy, fungus-resistant sugar pine seedlings in Truckee on June 4 starting at 10am to restore the Alder Creek area. Seedlings, tools, instruction and refreshments will be provided.

Meet at the intersection of Alder Creek Road and Schussing Way in Truckee.

For more information, call (650) 814.9565.