By Redding Record Searchlight

Searchers Sunday morning found the body of a 23-year-old Mount Shasta man who went missing Thursday while snowboarding at Mt. Shasta Ski Park.

Alexander Gautreaux was found about 9am near the southeast side of Coyote Butte, about 100 feet from park boundaries, said Siskiyou County sheriff’s Capt. Jim Betts.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gautreaux family in this tragic time. We remained hopeful throughout the search mission that we would be able to return Alexander to his wife and family,” said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey in a news release.

Those who knew Gautreaux say he was a genuinely kind person who loved to be active.

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The 2:09am Feb. 23 launch of a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base should be visible in Lake Tahoe, according to officials. This, of course, is assuming there are no clouds.

The rocket will carry NASA’s Glory spacecraft and several university satellites into orbit.

By Kevin Yamamura, Sacramento Bee

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hailed pension cuts last year as a major reform after Democrats and state worker unions agreed to concessions that ended a record-long budget stalemate.

But Republican lawmakers are clamoring for more.

Voter backlash has grown, fueled by ongoing budget deficits, significant pension liabilities and a gap between public- and private-sector benefits. It’s become a national discussion, most evident in the explosive debate over a Wisconsin measure requiring public workers to contribute more to their pension costs and restricting their collective bargaining rights.

GOP leaders have yet to offer a formal counterproposal to Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget to close a $26.6 billion deficit. In recent weeks, however, some Republicans have suggested they might be willing to consider a five-year tax hike extension on the June ballot if pension changes are part of negotiations.

In California, 70 percent of likely voters told the Public Policy Institute of California last January they would favor shifting new public employees from defined pension benefits to 401(k)-style plans.

“The recession has been a big wake-up call for people about public pensions,” said PPIC President Mark Baldassare. “It’s something that flew under the radar for many years, without consideration of what impact it has on budgets. But now people are realizing it does have consequences for what states and localities will be able to provide.”

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Traffic was slow on Highway 50 at Al Tahoe Boulevard late Monday afternoon as emergency crews worked to clear an injury accident.

At least one person was being transported to Barton Memorial Hospital via ambulance about 4:40pm.

South Lake Tahoe police officers were not providing details Feb. 21 about the accident.

Emergency crews work an accident Feb. 21 in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/LTN

Although snow had not fallen all day Monday, road surfaces are slick with slush in some locations and pockets of ice elsewhere. All wet spots are likely to continue to freeze and thaw as overnight temperatures are in the single digits in the Lake Tahoe Basin and highs are in the 20s this week.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office is now accepting applications for reserve deputy sheriff. Reserve deputies are volunteers used to supplement patrol operations and special events within El Dorado County. Applicants must be 21, possess a valid California driver’s license, have a high school diploma or GED, and have a clean criminal background.

Reserve Deputy Sheriff applicants must meet California P.O.S.T. training requirements; pass a psychological evaluation, polygraph examination, background investigation, and medical evaluation.

Reserve deputy sheriff’s are expected to:

• Interact with the community in a positive manner to cooperatively reach resolution of community needs and to foster positive, effective, and lasting relationships between the community and sheriff’s office.

• Give advice on laws and ordinances and general information to the public.

• Exercise powers of arrest and control; defend self, other officers, and use force up to deadly force if required.

• Arrest, search, transport, and confine offenders.

• Maintain good physical condition, agility, and coordination to allow performance of the essential tasks of a deputy sheriff.

• Achieve, demonstrate, and maintain minimum department standards of proficiency and performance in accordance with policies, procedures, rules and regulations of the sheriff’s office.

• Respond to all calls for service; secure crime scenes; assist in investigations; gather evidence; obtain statements.

For an informational flyer, requirements and to apply, go online.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee will meet from 12:30-3pm on Feb. 28 in the Aspen Room at Lake Tahoe Community College, 1 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe. Items on the agenda include a new member orientation, followed by a public comment period.

LTFAC consists of 20 members representing a broad array of constituencies.

For more information on the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee, visit the Forest Service website.

A private snowplow driver was booked into the South Lake Tahoe jail Sunday night after allegedly taking out a light standard, traffic sign, flipping off police officers, using the loader as a potentially deadly weapon and trying to outrun officers.

Steve Beattie, 55, was clearing snow from an apartment complex on Ski Run Boulevard about 9pm Feb. 20 when neighbors called police, citing erratic driving.

Officers Jake Herminghaus and Ray Poole tried to get Beattie to stop the loader.

Steve Beattie

“The driver set the loader’s bucket to a height of approximately 4 feet. Beattie gave a middle finger gesture to the officers and then intentionally drove directly toward Officer Poole, still seated inside his patrol vehicle,” Sgt. Brian Williams said in a press release. “The bucket was now approximately head level to Officer Poole. Officer Poole quickly backed his patrol vehicle in an attempt to escape the intended impact. Due to a snow berm, Officer Poole was able to back only a few feet. This was just enough so that the loader barely missed an impact with his patrol vehicle.”

Beattie headed west on Terry Lane, but had to stop because it’s a dead-end street. Officers said the suspect remained uncooperative and took his time getting out of the loader. Officers had to physically restrain Beattie on the ground to take him into custody.

Beattie was arrested on charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon (his vehicle) upon a police officer, and a second felony charge of attempting to evade the police with wanton disregard for the safety of others.

Williams said Beattie admitted to using illicit drugs and to conducting snow removal operations without sleep for several consecutive days.

Presidential seal of approval for today being a great day on the slopes.

Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

• Decorative flags have been installed on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe and the light bulbs are now LED.

• El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini will speak at a breakfast meeting Feb. 23 from 7:30-9am in the Four Seasons Ballroom, 3186 Four Seasons Drive, El Dorado Hills. The talk is free; breakfast is $10. Call (916) 933.1335 to reserve a spot.

• Heavens Little Café has opened in the Heavenly Village. The eatery will also be selling Nation’s hotdogs from a cart in the village.

• Tahoe Resource Conservation District has been awarded $293,000 from the California Department of Conservation to fund a watershed coordinator for the Lake Tahoe Basin. Interested applicants should go online for this and other employment opportunities.

• In its third year at Kirkwood, the North Face Masters of Snowboarding is the snowboarder’s chance to ride The Cirque, March 3-9.

• The last day to register to vote for the March 8 special election is Feb. 22.

By Loretta Kalb, Sacramento Bee

After four years of budget downsizing and job cuts and an economy only now starting to move, El Dorado County is left with this:

The county’s unfunded liability for its CalPERS pensions exceeds $264 million; that’s up $172 million in just one 12-month cycle.

“It’s a huge problem,” county Auditor-Controller Joe Harn said last week, “and the solution is going to be extremely painful.”

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is asking local governments throughout the state to contribute significantly more for employee pensions this year, in large part to cover investment losses.

El Dorado County’s budget faces a projected $7 million deficit in 2011-12. Supervisors will look to close that gap in the coming months.

So far, the effects of the budget travails aren’t all that obvious in the county, which has about 148,000 residents.

“We have tried to do our best to minimize the impact to the public,” El Dorado County principal analyst Mike Applegarth said.

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