By Chris Gabel, Reno Gazette-Journal

Not long after the sun rose over the Virginia Range on Thursday morning, high school football players around Washoe County hit the field for up-downs, wind sprints and the start of two-a-day practices.

“We hit it hard this morning, and the kids did good,” Carson High coach Blair Roman said.

The scene and the mood were similar at playing fields at Hug, Galena and Douglas, among others, as thousands of football players across Northern Nevada took part in the first day of official practices.

After weeks of voluntary workouts, Thursday marked the official start of the countdown to season-opener football games Aug. 27.

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By Dan Johnson, Argus-Courier

A 2010 graduate of Petaluma High School broke his neck while diving at South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, and is paralyzed from the chest down.

Danny Cox, the son of Graffiti restaurant owner Maureen McGowan, was on vacation at a beach, playing with some friends, when he did a flat dive into the water at around 4pm.

“A friend pulled him out within a minute, and three doctors who happened to be at the beach helped out,” said McGowan, who rushed to the area after she was notified at 4:15pm.

Cox, 18, was airlifted to Renown Hospital in Reno, Nev., where he immediately underwent surgery to remove a broken vertebrae. He also suffered damage to his spinal cord.

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By Kathryn Reed

Play was not interrupted as engines rolled across the fairways of Bijou Golf Course on Thursday.

The smell of smoke drifted toward Happy Homestead Cemetery as crews about a quarter mile away on the South Lake Tahoe course put out the small fire.

CalFire Capt. Nathan Barcklay makes sure water gets to the buried hot spots. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Although South Tahoe, Lake Valley and Forest Service personnel responded, CalFire did the bulk of the work.

Capt. Nathan Barcklay took a hoe-like hand tool to the smoldering debris as he showed firefighter Chris Perondi how to break up the wood so the water gets in deeper.

Corey Nicholson took a chain saw to some of the wood, while Spencer Ray hosed down the 20-foot-by-20-foot area.

“There’s a bunch of willows and a downed old Jeffery. It’s snaking down in the duff,” Marty Scheuerman, South Tahoe division chief, said of the fire.

A type of biodegradable foam was used on the smoldering mess because the wood absorbs it better.

“It works great when you have duff like pine cones and with things that retain heat. It cools it better (than water),” Scheuerman said.

The crew had the scene cleared a little more than an hour after the 5:18pm call Aug. 12.

Authorities speculate a cigarette probably started the fire.

John Poell with Lake Valley Fire Department left that call to cross Al Tahoe Boulevard where U.S. Forest Service workers saw smoke in the woods by their office and behind Lake Tahoe Community College.

Tree thinning crews had been in the area all day as part of a several hundred-acre project in the city. It’s possible their equipment got hot and started the small burn.

A small plume of smoke was rising. Poell turned the scene over to South Tahoe firefighters when they arrived. Forest Service crews assisted them.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

South Lake Tahoe voters will have 11 names to choose from for the three open City Council seats on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The candidates are Tom Davis, Angela Swanson, Georg May, Claire Fortier, Joy Curry, Steve Kubby, Adrian Gooch, Elizabeth Hallen, Dough Cichowicz, Alice Jones and Clint Schue.

No one challenged the incumbents for city clerk or treasurer, Suzie Alessi and David Olivo.

Join the Tahoe Rim Trail Association on Aug. 21 for the Galena Falls Wildflower Hike/

This leisurely hike starts with a climb up and over a ridge and through the forest to a cascading waterfall. It is followed by a moderate climb to a high mountain meadow.

It may be hot. so bring lots of water (two liters), lunch, camera, and wind/rain gear depending on the weather. This hike is open to participants, 10 years old and up; no pets; maximum number of participants is 15.

Hike Time: Four-five hours

Meeting time: 10am at the Mt. Rose Summit Welcome Plaza parking lot; north side of Highway 431 at the summit.

Distance: Six mile loop hike

Difficulty: Moderate; elevation ranges from 8,900 to 9,400 feet.

Register: Contact TRTA for pre-registration as space is limited;(775) 298.0012 or email jaimes@tahoerimtrail.org.

Lake Tahoe Wellness Weekend is Sept. 24-26 at Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe.

The weekend includes four fitness classes with top fitness experts inspiring Vinyasa Yoga classes with San Francisco instructor Ginger Layden-Braun held outdoors on Hyatt’s Cottage Green, and Balletone and Aikina Aerobics with former Russian competitive gymnast Alyona Aikina. Also included in the weekend: wellness breakfasts and snacks, a wellness seminar by top instructors and experts, spa treatment at Stillwater Spa, wine tasting, outdoor activities that allow you to make the most of the spectacular location, and a wellness-themed gift bag. It costs $449/per person single-occupancy, $649 double-occupancy; day-only rate (excluding breakfast and accommodations) is $100/per person per day.

Click here for more information.

By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY – Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip suffered their lowest monthly gross win since 2003, with players of baccarat, blackjack and craps winning more than usual in June.

The 37 casinos, which account for more than 50 percent of the win in the state, captured $382.9 million, off 7.6 percent for the month. One bright spot was the “other” category in sports wagering, which rose 220 percent, a good part of it due to betting on the World Cup.

The state Gaming Control Board reported today that every casino market in Clark County suffered a drop in gambling win during June with downtown Las Vegas getting hit the hardest, at 11.6 percent.

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Award-winning Nevada schoolteacher Janet Bremer will give a Chautauqua presentation of Comstock socialite Marie Louise Mackay at a free event at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

Mackay came to Nevada during the “Rush to Washoe,” but her husband’s drug and alcohol addiction left her a widow with a young child. In 1867. she married John Mackay, one of the four “Silver Kings” of the Comstock and her fortune changed. Her husband’s mining success made fine living and world travel possible and Mrs. Mackay became a wealthy socialite who lived in Virginia City, San Francisco, Paris and London. The Mackay family endowed the University of Nevada’s School of Mines in 1908.

What: Chautauqua presentation of Marie Louise Mackay

When: Aug. 14, 10am

Where: The park is located at 1450 Highway 88, Minden, one-half mile south of the Carson Valley Swim Center. A map and further information can be found at parks.nv.gov/hr.htm or by calling (775) 783.9417.

Who: The event is open to the public and is a part of a speaker series offered by Nevada State Parks.

Cost: This is a free outdoor program.

Contact: Mark Jensen, (775) 783.9417, dangbergranch@parks.nv.gov

More: Janet Bremer, a resident of Henderson, is a retired educator who has been named Nevada Social Studies Teacher of the Year and Mining Teacher of the Year. She helped create the “McCaw School of Mines” at Henderson Elementary School and remains involved with the school on a volunteer basis. She is also a board member of the Clark County Museum Guild. She has been researching the life of Marie Louise Mackay since 1994.

Chairs and shade shelters are provided by the park. Visitors are welcome to bring lawn chairs and encouraged to bring water. Pets should be left at home.

By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee

SUSANVILLE – It wasn’t a simple, orderly process, but the federal government’s controversial wild horse roundup started Wednesday in northeastern California with few of the problems that opponents decry as they try to put a stop to the practice.

Roughly 130 horses were herded into pens by a helicopter buzzing in the rugged, high-desert sky near here, and at times it was far from a pretty sight.

The wild animals kicked hard at the steel railings and horse chutes they were driven into and occasionally turned on each other with bared teeth that left some with large patches of skin gone.

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The Mosquito Road Bridge over the South Fork American River in El Dorado County will be continuously closed for major maintenance from Aug. 16 through Oct. 22.

Rock Creek Road remains open to traffic and is the designated detour route. Mosquito Road north to Sand Mountain Boulevard will remain available as a secondary emergency evacuation route.

The bridge will undergo an extensive replacement of structural members and be closed to all traffic during this time period.

Any questions may be directed to Rick Carter at (530) 621.5900.