By Tia Rancourt

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District will be celebrating National Emergency Medical Services Week throughout May. Celebrated nationally during the week of May 15-21, this special week acknowledges the outstanding services performed by our first responders nationwide.

This 38th annual event brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor those that serve on the front line, providing day to day life-saving services for those in need.

This years theme “Everyday Heroes” recognizes the commitment that emergency medical personnel make to the communities they serve.

“Part of our Fire District’s mission of protecting life and property, includes providing round-the-clock care for our community. This is something we take very seriously,” said Fire Chief Mike Brown. “Our partnerships with local and regional medical facilities and law enforcement are an integral piece to the end result of quality patient care.”

Throughout May, the fire district will be hosting a number of education opportunities in collaboration with our several of our community partners, including Incline Village Community Hospital, Incline Village Parks & Recreation Senior Programs, American Heart Association, Red Cross and Sierra Nevada College. On May 18, there will be a Community Health & Wellness event at the Incline Village Community Hospital starting at 4:30pm. There will be a panel of guest speakers talking about health, wellness, injury prevention and more. Appetizers and salads will be served. Please come socialize and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn from our local professionals.

The fire district will be hosting ambulance tours at the schools, and educating children about the Emergency Medical System, how to recognize a medical emergency and the importance of dialing 911 in case of a medical emergency.

In conjunction with EMS Week, the fire district will be promoting Hands-Only CPR campaign to increase awareness of and confidence in giving hands-only CPR. Hands-only CPR is a two-step technique that involves calling 911 and pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives.

A survey conducted by the American Heart Association reveals that hands-only CPR can be just as effective as traditional CPR (increase from 53 percent to 63 percent), anyone can do hands-only CPR (up from 52 percent to 58 percent), and people were very likely or extremely likely to perform hands-only CPR in an emergency (from 39 percent to 44 percent).

Tia Rancourt is the community safety and education specialist with NLTFD.

Submissions for the next edition of “The Kokanee” are being accepted until May 31.

Poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction/memoir from Lake Tahoe Community College students, faculty, staff, administrators, board members and alumni (that would be anyone who has ever taken a class at LTCC) will be considered.

For information about how to submit an entry, contact Suzanne Roberts at kokanee@ltcc.edu or call (530) 541.4660, ext. 708.

A man is behind bars after allegedly trying to rob the CVS Pharmacy on Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe and then concocting a story about a home invasion involving his children.

Officers said Adam Roland confessed he had planned and executed the robbery of CVS Pharmacy with someone he owed money to.

Roland was arrested May 1 on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted robbery and false reporting of an emergency.

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will continue prescribed fire operations on Kingsbury Grade near North Benjamin through May 8.

Crews expect to treat 5 to 10 acres per day, weather permitting.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from prescribed fire project areas. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas.

Celebrate Amgen’s Tour of California  and support the students of St Theresa School with several fun events:

May 14 3-5pm: Bicycle Poker Run, $10/hand, registration 1:30-2:45pm at Grace Hall corner of Lyons Avenue and Highway 50.

May 14 5-8pm: spaghetti dinner, $10 adults, $5 kids 12 and under, beer and wine available, Grace Hall.

May 15 9am- noon: pancake breakfast, donation basis, Grace Hall.

St. Theresa will be a prime viewing spot for the race — both as it heads out and then returns for its second pass through the South Shore.

By Michael Doyle, McClatchy News Service

WASHINGTON – California lettuce and spinach producers are now closer to their goal of unifying farm safety standards nationwide.

Five years after E. coli-contaminated spinach sickened hundreds and killed three, the Agriculture Department on Friday formally proposed a “leafy greens marketing agreement” that would essentially extend California’s leafy greens regulatory system nationwide.

“This … provides an opportunity for farmers, handlers and retailers of all sizes to work together and develop a practical program,” Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said.

Governed by a 26-member board, including as many as seven handlers and producers from California, the marketing agreement would set binding standards on everyone who signed up. These would include recordkeeping, soil testing and field sanitation requirements, among others.

The existing California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement, put in place after the 2006 E. coli outbreak, covers nearly all of the lettuce and spinach produced in the state.

Read the whole story

The South Lake Tahoe Senior Citizens Center is hosting an AARP Mature Driving Course on May 10 from 8:30am-5pm.

The fee is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-members. Lunch is available at the center for $3.

Pre-registration is required for the class.

In addition to improving your driving skills, a certificate of completion of this course qualifies for rate reductions with most insurance companies.

For more information, go to the senior center at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. or call (530) 542.6094.

The second annual Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week is May 28-June 5. The theme this year is “Get Defensive: We’re Counting on You!” The focus of the week will be to promote community based defensible space activities.

Fire agencies, fire safe chapters and local organizations will collaborate to have community clean up days, including offering free chipping and pine needle pick ups and hosting neighborhood meetings and educational activities.

Check the Living with Fire website to find out about events in your area.

The goal of the Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week is to encourage individual action to reduce the threat of wildfire to homes and communities. Activities will provide information and resources to create defensible space around homes.

Creating defensible space involves selecting and maintaining vegetation near the home, thereby reducing the risk that homes will be ignited and destroyed during a wildfire. It takes a coordinated effort between individuals and local fire and other agencies to prepare a community to survive wildfire.

For information on how to create defensible space in the Tahoe basin go online, or contact Susie Kocher at (530) 542.2571 or sdkocher@ucdavis.edu.

Day of the Young Child is the collaboration of many organizations and groups throughout the community, providing a variety of free early childhood education activities, demonstrations, and entertainment for children.

The event is June 18 from 10am-2pm at Lake Tahoe Community College, One College Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call Kathy or Nadine at Choices for Children at (530) 541.5848.

By Kathryn Reed

Marriott Timber Lodge will break ground on its fourth and final phase this week.

When the property opened in 2002 it was to have three phases totaling 264 units. Those three phases have been completed.

The second-floor sales office of the South Lake Tahoe complex in the Heavenly Village will be transformed into 14 villas. The sales staff was disbanded 1.5 years ago, which allows for the additional units. Marriott had the tourist accommodation units, so no haggling for them had to be done.

Each of the units being built will be two bedrooms. Sales will not begin until they are finished in January. Pricing has not been disclosed.

SMC Contracting, the company doing the work in Lake Tahoe Unified School District and who built the Tamarack Lodge at Heavenly, will be the lead on the project.

With Marriott Vacation Club going from selling traditional time-share weeks to a points program last year, there is demand for more inventory, according to Marriott officials.

The neighboring Marriott Grand Residence is already fully built out. The Heavenly gondola separates the properties.

Marriott Grand Residence Club, according to minutes from the January meeting, finished 2010 with occupancy of 52 percent. This was higher than anticipated. Forecasts were for a 49 percent rate.

Greg Campbell, general manager of the Grand Residence, at a meeting last week said occupancy is up from prior years, but not reaching the level of 2006-07 – the pre-recession years.

When it comes to sales, he said, “There is activity in the fractional sector.” This is because the financial market is loosening its hold on money and not just the cash customer can be looking to buy.

Although his board, with the exception of Robert Perez, agreed to put in a $58,800 fire pit, Campbell told Lake Tahoe News he isn’t sure it will be built this summer.