Trey Stone and Rocky Sleight at Fresh Ketch in South Tahoe on Dec. 1 at 6:30pm.

Snowshoe Cocktail Races are back at the Beacon Bar & Grill at Camp Richardson on the South Shore.

The dates are: Dec. 2, Jan. 13, Feb. 10, and March 10. Race starts at 7pm.

The races are free to participate in.

The winter pursuit will include food and drink specials, prizes for winners and losers and happy hour extended until close.

No snow? No problem – snowshoes work great on the sand.

It’s a gorgeous day in Lake Tahoe. With many Thanksgiving travelers headed home, the slopes are apt to be less crowded than Saturday. The recent dump has Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood Mountain Resort looking at Dec. 4 to open. Read the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe, to know what conditions are like today.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — It was 1975 when Judy Collins won a Grammy for Song of the Year for “Send in the Clowns” – the one song I knew she sang before I saw her in concert Saturday night.

What a shame that I thought this 70-year-old singer-songwriter was all about this one song. In fact, it turned out to be my least favorite song of the night.

Saturday night was like being introduced to someone for the first time, despite hearing her on CDs many a time at my parents. This night I listened with interest.

Collins dazzled the appreciative crowd at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room with lyrics and music of a bygone era. So much of what is on the airwaves today is noise. Collins belted out song after song with lyrics both audible and memorable – stories in words, with a richness coming from the guitar and piano she played so eloquently.

Much of the evening she was accompanied on piano by music director Russell Walden. Collins spent most of the night strumming her Martin, tuning it along the way – just like Eric Clapton.

Her vocal range is what it was years ago – hitting every note as though it was 1961 when she released her first album.

Walking onto the stage in a glittery black pantsuit, Collins began the 90-minute show with “Both Sides Now” – the Joni Mitchell classic that is part of the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The longevity of her career has allowed Collins to be associated with legends in the music industry. Before singing Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” she said, “Harry is up there looking for a rhyme for indictment.” To this, the audience applauded.

This folk artist clearly has a strong following. As a contemporary and friend of Joan Baez, she taps into that style of musicianship that embraces artistry and simplicity.

Collins’ easy manner on stage makes you feel like her friend by the time the night is over. She talks about the songs, the artists who may have first sang the song, the songwriters, life, getting older – and she continuously welcomes the audience to sing with her.

It was 1979 when Collins made her debut in the South Shore Room. She played 11 consecutive nights, two shows a night.

She talked about the beautiful home on Lake Tahoe that Bill Harrah owned and where all she did was sleep because of the schedule she had.

Collins capped the night with her renowned rendition of “Amazing Grace” in a cappella. It brought about the second standing ovation of the night – with the crowd clapping in hopes she’d return to the stage one more time.

By Anna Richter

With the holidays just around the corner, many of us are beginning to think about warm meals with loved ones, and the joys of exchanging gifts. Many other local families with few resources are struggling to rebuild their lives after experiencing violence and they are solely focused on how they will pay rent, and provide food and winter clothing for their children.

For the ninth year in a row, South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center is organizing an opportunity for community members to come together to provide happier holidays for struggling adult and child survivors of violence.

Last year, the community adopted 300 individuals working closely with the Women’s Center. Each mother and child adopted expressed gratitude, and many mothers cried when they saw and wrapped the gifts donors brought for their children. We know that in these challenging times, more families than ever need your help.

There are many ways you or your business can help local families who have been working closely with South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center:

* Adopt a family and receive the Wish List completed by the family. You could really get into the holiday spirit and deliver these gifts to the family yourself, or arrange to drop the gifts off at the Women’s Center where the family can pick them up. There are families of all sizes to fit any budget.

* Donate non-perishable groceries or gift certificates for pre-cooked holiday meals at local grocery stores (such as Safeway) so families can enjoy special holiday meals and make happy memories together!

* Make a special end-of-the-year tax deductible donation toward the Women’s Center’s Adopt-a-Family Program or to support our other comprehensive and trusted services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

* Donate a $25 Safeway card to support our Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter’s life-skills program.

* Donate BlueGo bus passes to help our clients get to work, doctor’s appointments, counseling, and to other agencies providing support toward self-sufficiency.

* Drop off your holiday party bottles and cans at South Tahoe Refuse and let them know you’d like to donate the proceeds to South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center—they take care of mailing us a check.

* Call to learn about the many different ways we could put your energy to good work as a volunteer—one hour per week or even one per month would really help.

Call the Women’s Center, located at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe at (530) 544.2118 or email Sarah at sutzig@sltwc.org to let us know how you would like to make a difference in the life of a family affected by violence this holiday season.

Anna Richter is development director for the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center.

WHAT: South Lake Tahoe’s Annual Community Tree and Menorah Lighting festivities include:

· Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and their elves

· Free sleigh/carriage rides from Borges Sleigh and Carriage Rides compliments of Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

· Pony Express Christmas card ride – bring your holiday card addressed with regular postage. Horse drawn delivery will take your message from Folsom to Old Sacramento, hand canceled with a Pony Express and USPS commemorative stamp then finally off to your recipient.

· Book signing with Dianna Borges author of “Sleigh Rides in Lake Tahoe – Memoirs of Sam Borges”

· Music by Derek Tarpey, Lake DJ, and carols sung by Tahoe Schools Choir

· Complimentary hot chocolate, cider and cookies.

· Food and Toy drive – please bring donations for “Christmas Cheer”

· Santa will be available for picture taking – please bring your own camera

· Additional parking available at the city of South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

WHEN: Dec. 4, 5-7pm

WHERE: Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA) Visitors Center, 3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, near the Senior Center, across from Rojo’s.

Rick Springfield takes to the stage at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room on March 6 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $65 plus tax. For tickets, call 800-786-8208 or go online at www.SouthShoreRoom.com.

Due to the high winds, the Tahoe Queen will have the Sierra Sunset Dinner Cruise dockside on Nov. 28. The cruise time is still from 5:30-8:30pm, but the boat will not be leaving the dock. Tickets will be a reduced rate of $35 for adults and $20 for children. www.zephyrcove.com

Powder is the word of the morning at Lake Tahoe ski resorts. With a few inches falling at lake level Friday afternoon-evening, it means several inches dropped higher up. Wind could be a problem today, but otherwise it’s all about the powder. The highs at the lake will be in the 30s, so it will be super cold on the mountain. For all the details, click on the ski report brought to Lake Tahoe News by Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

SLT firefighter Doug Bailey straps a heart monitor onto colleague Brennen Davis. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Wires are strapped to Brennen Davis’ chest. A South Lake Tahoe Fire Department paramedic reads the squiggly line on the monitor to analyze what is going on with the patient’s heart.

Brennen is a healthy 24-year-old – no heart problems. He’s the model for the day to demonstrate the latest piece of equipment he and other firefighter-paramedics at SLT and Lake Valley fire departments are using in the field.

The previous heart monitor didn’t have a diagnostic capability. This 12-lead device is designed to tell first responders if the patient needs to go to a cardiac hospital or not.

The various leads give different views of the heart.

Capt. Chris Hertel said with the old equipment it was not possible to always definitively tell is someone was having a heart attack.

The information gathered allows paramedics to relay to emergency room personnel what to expect when the ambulance arrives.

“I like to leave it on during transport because there may be a change,” explained firefighter-paramedic Doug Bailey.

Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District has been using the monitor for about 18 months. With Carson-Tahoe Hospital in Carson City having the closest cath lab, Tahoe-Douglas drives patients there.

El Dorado County is working with Barton Memorial Hospital so starting next year patients would go right to Carson-Tahoe if need be. Most likely the person would be driven to Lake Tahoe Airport and airlifted by CalSTAR.

Five of the devices were bought for South Tahoe and Lake Valley at a cost of $112,000.

Additional training was required by the staff to use the monitor. However, these devices are now part of regular schoolwork to become a paramedic.