To the community,

Bread & Broth would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to Heavenly Mountain Resort for recently adopting a Day of Nourishment.

Employees of the resort were on hand last month to help serve more than 120 meals. The generous donation of their time and money is greatly appreciated. Nora Jones, Bread & Broth volunteer coordinator, said the Heavenly team was a “great crew! They were so helpful and willing to do anything and everything asked of them. We really appreciated their positive spirit and smiling faces.”

Karen Foster, Andrew Strain, Russ Mortellaro and Les Marsh help at Bread & Broth. Photo/Provided

Bread & Broth is able to continue its mission of feeding the hungry of South Lake Tahoe in large part because of the generosity of the local community. A $250 sponsorship covers the cost of food and beverages for the approximately 100 people who visit each Monday evening.

To find out how your family or business can adopt a Day of Nourishment, contact Connie Blue at midwest2tahoe@yahoo.com or (530) 544.4945.

Bread & Broth team

By Susan Wood

When people allow nature to take its course, they often like the path it takes.

That’s just the suggestive nudging winter sports enthusiasts from New England to Lake Tahoe are making on Jan. 8 — National Winter Trails Day. This event is designed to teach first-timers to snowshoes and cross country skis the wonders of human travel in the snow.

The day shows novices the ease, the preparation, the beauty and the importance of appreciating trail systems and tracks – whether they’re set by an early riser that morning, the Olympic Games a half century ago or hundreds of years ago by Native American tribal members.

Kirkwood is in its seventh year participating in National Winter Trails Day. Photo/Provided

“I think that, especially in the (Lake Tahoe) basin, we do have a history of being outside and enjoying our snow sports. We have carried on a tradition of paying homage to our heritage,” said Jaime Souza, director of trail use for the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. She was pointing to the Washoe Tribe’s use of Tahoe trails. The same could be said for the early settlers such as John Fremont, the cartographer.

The TRTA is organizing a few free, guided snowshoe walks Saturday. On the North Shore it starts at 10am at Tahoe Meadows at the south side of the Mount Rose Highway where the American Red Cross will provide a presentation on winter safety. Tahoe Mountain Sports will bring out its demonstration gear. Interested parties are asked to call Tom at (775) 298.0238.

The association is also partnering with Explore Tahoe on the South Shore at 9am where modern-day explorers will head to Castle Rock from the Kingsbury North trailhead near Heavenly Mountain Resort. To participate and discover where to pick up snowshoes, call Lauren Thomaselli at the Explore Tahoe visitors center adjacent to Heavenly Village at (530) 542.4637.

The hikes are intended to introduce the trail that circumvents Lake Tahoe in a winter wonderland backdrop.

“This is a way to inspire people to get outdoors and share this with family and friends,” said Thomaselli, who’s glad to have the South Shore taking part. The Rim Trail Association has staged events the last handful of years on the North Shore. Thomaselli sees more of a role from South Lake Tahoe in the future — especially given the nation’s first bi-state park named after the Van Sickle family is set to open behind the South Shore casino corridor within the year.

A winter safety talk will touch on knowing when to fuel your body with food to the importance of hydrating.

In addition, tips will be given for how to blaze snow-covered trails in the winter. For example, the Rim Trail has a baseball-sized, easily identifiable logo on trees and posts. For some, freshly limbed trees allow for easy navigation. Others like to put out “hunters” tape on tree limbs, with the idea of removing the pieces upon the return.

Three guides will be on hand.

“I hope we look back at this National Winter Trails Day as a great event when we broke ground for having the South Shore make the national scene. I foresee this event getting bigger and better,” Thomaselli said.

The guided walks will join Kirkwood Cross Country Ski Area and Snowshoe Center’s annual event from 10am to 3pm, in coordination with REI of Sacramento and the El Dorado Nordic Ski Patrol.

“I think it’s a great way for people to get out into snow sports,” said Debi Waldear, who runs the ski center located on Highway 88 between Pickett’s Junction and Silver Lake. If pre-arranged by calling (209) 258.7248, one can sign up to get a beginning lesson on methods of snow travel with Waldear – a guru of winter sports in these parts.

Talks, tips, free demos and discounted trail passes will be offered at Kirkwood as one of 80 sanctioned locations for National Winter Trails Day, which is co-organized by the American Hiking Society and Snowsports Industry of America.

Waldear said she’s surprised by how many people – even locals — don’t venture out in nature in winter.

Expanding the market and reach of winter human travel is the precise aim of the snow sports industry.

“If you can walk, you can snowshoe,” Snowsports Industry spokesman Reese Brown said from his home in Woodstock, Vt. The trade organization created the day 15 years ago to introduce the activities to people with barriers to snow sports. More than 11,000 people take part each year.

“This is a free opportunity to try it,” he said. “So many people in so many climates don’t like winter.”

And there’s a reason for that. They either don’t know what clothes to wear or what footwear to bring. They have no idea how many calories they can burn while cross country skiing or snowshoeing, Brown mentioned. For example, a 190-pound adult has the opportunity to burn 690 calories an hour while snowshoeing. As Americans recover from their holiday food coma, this activity may prove to be another option to the gym.

For more information, go online.

By Jill Oberly, Reno Gazette-Journal

In Japanese culture, banzai is a joyous cheer of enthusiasm that loosely means, “May you live 10,000 years.”

This winter, on the slopes of three Tahoe resorts, skiers and snowboarders will be shouting banzai — with hopes of capturing $10,000 and more in prize money as part of the first-ever Rahlves Banzai Tour.

The tour is the brainchild of Daron Rahlves, a four-time Olympian as a member of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team and current Sugar Bowl Ski Ambassador. Rahlves retired from World Cup ski racing in 2006, but soon returned to high-level competition when he made the transition to the budding sport of skicross.

Skicross, which features four skiers navigating the same terrain at the same time, made its Olympic debut at the 2010 Winter Games, where Rahlves was a hopeful but did not medal.

Read the whole story

South Tahoe Middle School’s beloved PE teacher, Scott Hudson, died Jan. 2 after a courageous battle against cancer.

Mr. Hudson Scott passed away at home with his family.

A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, he joined the staff at Tahoe Valley Elementary School in 1985 as a fourth-grade teacher. He went on to become the elementary physical education specialist from 1989 through 2003, and taught PE at STMS since 2004.

Mr. Hudson was 53.

Services will be Jan. 15 at 11am at Sierra Community Church, South Lake Tahoe. A bank account has been established at U.S. Bank in Mr. Hudson’s name to assist his family.

STMS Principal Beth Delacour said, “We will miss him so much. He graduates life with honors.”

By Jessie Marchesseau

The South Lake Tahoe’s 2011 New Year’s baby was actually born the day after New Year’s.

Kaleb Morales was born at 7:23am on Jan. 2 at Barton Memorial Hospital. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20 inches.

The Morales family.

He is the first child for parents Yuliana and Francisco Morales of South Lake Tahoe.

Of having the first baby of the year, Yuliana Morales said, “We were really excited, especially when we found out we were the first. We thought someone else probably had one (Saturday).”

She said her friends and family had joked about her having the New Year’s baby because she was due on the fifth. But she did not think it would really happen.

The new parents were even more excited when they found out about the gift basket they would be receiving. The basket is a tradition for the New Year’s baby, and this year it features $850 worth of goodies including gift certificates, baby clothes, gym memberships, flowers, a savings account, and a cocktail reception and one- night stay at a local hotel.

Kaleb’s tiny footprint will also be engraved and displayed at the hospital as part of the Footprints to the Future.

On New Year’s Day at approximately 10:10am, troopers from the Nevada Highway Patrol were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on the Mount Rose Highway near Fawn Lane that resulted in a chase and one person being arrested.

Witnesses to the accident and the victim-motorists at the scene provided troopers a description of the errant male driver who fled on foot from the scene.

The driver of a silver BMW 325 sedan, later identified as 38-year-old Ryan D. Simpson of Reno, was traveling west on the four-lane highway and allowed his vehicle to strike the rear of a parked silver Chevrolet Silverado whose occupants were outside of their vehicle assisting another motorist who was installing tire chains on his car, according to officers.

Both vehicles were parked on the right shoulder and were not in the travel lane.

Simpson’s car rotated off of the highway and down a short embankment. The unrestrained motorist sustained several lacerations to his head when his face traveled through a portion of the windshield. None of the motorists who were standing outside of their vehicles were injured and the third vehicle was not struck.

There was an obvious blood trail to follow, but the fleeing subject had a significant start on his trek ahead of troopers and deputies.

A short time later two troopers saw Simpson in a field near a residential area in the vicinity of the Mount Rose Highway. He was taken into custody and an ambulance was immediately summoned. Simpson was taken to the hospital where he was treated and medically discharged for his injuries.

He was transported from the hospital and taken to the Washoe County jail and booked on the following charges:

* DUI alcohol and drugs –second offense

* Failure to use due care while driving

* Duty to give information/stop to render aid

* Hit and run property damage accident

* Failure to report accident to police

* Possession of marijuana, less than 1 ounce

* Possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was in custody this morning with a bail amount of $3,435.

It’s looking like a great week to be out on the slopes. Sunny weather is in the forecast starting later today through Friday. Check out the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

The National Weather Service has cancelled the winter weather advisory for today in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Mostly sunny weather is in the forecast for this first week of the new year. Highs are expected to be about 30 degrees at the beginning of the week, warming to balmy 42 on Friday.

• Dale Rise was elected to serve another term as president of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, with Mary Lou Mosbacher as vice president.

• Lakeside Inn has launched a new website.

• Homewood’s West Shore Care is open for business.

• Pilot Linda Mae Draper-Hivert wants to create an aviation center at the Minden-Tahoe Airport.

• The U.S. Forest service is considering making changes to the Angora/Twin Peaks transportation plan. Clicking on roads will get you more information.

Cheech and Chong are cute little beagle-Chihuahua mixes who came into the shelter together. They are house trained and have good manners. They like to play with other dogs and didn’t chase the cats they met at the shelter. They are very affectionate, and would like to go home together.

Cheech and Chong are neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated.

They are at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

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