Tom Darby, KOH AM-780
A Mountain Life Flight Helicopter out of Susanville crashed this morning 15 miles north of the Nevada-California stateline. Three crew members on board are confirmed dead at this time.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
The flight was on a return flight from transporting a patient to Renown Medical Center in Reno.
Your eyes won’t be playing tricks on you. Lights illuminating the Nevada Capitol Building and the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City will turn blue today. This is an effort to raise awareness of diabetes on World Diabetes Day. The Empire State Building in New York, the Sears Tower in Chicago, Niagara Falls, Los Angeles International Airport, as well as other well known landmarks around the world will be bathed in blue light on today.
The effort is coordinated by the International Diabetes Foundation. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, one out of every three children born in the United States from the year 2000 on will develop some form of diabetes in their lifetime.
“All Nevadans should be aware of this serious disease and do whatever they can to help find a cure,†Gov. Gibbons said in a statement.
The blue lights at the Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City will stay in place until the end of November.
An infusion of cash means a historic fish hatchery will open to the public next July as a science exhibit.
UC Davis officials secured $350,000 in grants and from other sources in the last few months. The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association cut a check in the form of a grant for $200,000. That money will be spent to market the Tahoe City facility.
UC Davis owns and manages the Field Station. Scientists have been working there even though it was not open to the public.
More than $2 million was spent last year to renovate the nearly 90-year old building in hopes of allowing public access.
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee
The intrigue over who will serve as accused kidnapper Nancy Garrido’s attorney continued Thursday as a judge in Placerville appointed a new attorney to replace the one he removed last week.
Nancy Garrido
Veteran defense attorney Stephen A. Tapson was appointed Thursday to represent Garrido at least until a hearing on the matter is held Nov. 30 in El Dorado Superior Court.
On Nov. 18 at 1pm a bronze plaque will be added to the granite cross in the Carson City Pioneer Cemetery detailing the story of Carson County Sheriff John L. Blackburn, the first Nevada peace officer killed in the line of duty.
This is the 148th anniversary of his death.
According to research, Blackburn is likely buried between the grave site of William Allen and the granite cross marking the previous grave site of William Ormsby.
Blackburn was stabbed to death in Carson City’s St. Nicholas Saloon while attempting to arrest William Mayfield. Mayfield was convicted of the murder and later escaped from the territorial jail.
The sheriff was laid to rest next to his friends, Ormsby and Allen whom he served with during the 1860 Paiute Indian war.
The ceremony will start with a mounted sheriff’s deputy leading a riderless horse from 2nd and Carson streets to the Carson City Pioneer Cemetery. They will follow the original 1861 funeral procession route. The site of St. Nicholas Saloon is now the front lawn of the Attorney General’s Office. Once the rider arrives at the cemetery, a short ceremony dedicating the plaque will be conducted.
By Sallie Ross-Filgo
One of the most common fires we respond to is a fire caused by hot ashes being placed in a box or bag and stored on the back deck.
When you clean the ashes from your fireplace or wood-burning stove this fall, make sure to place them in a metal container with a tight fitting lid. Place the container on a non-combustible surface like your concrete garage floor and leave them in the container for at least one week. At this time they will be safe to discard in the trash.
Sallie Ross-Filgo works for the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.
By Kathryn Reed
Embattled South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Terry Daniels is calling it quits after more than 27 years in law enforcement.
As part of a reorganization plan that will be before the City Council on Tuesday, a number of jobs are likely to go by the wayside. This doesn’t mean there won’t be a police chief or building inspector (Ron Ticknor may be retiring as well), but having people on the higher end of the pay scale retire will save money.
Terry Daniels
“Early retirement is being offered to the chief and to some line people,” City Manager Dave Jinkens told Lake Tahoe News on Friday night. “We are not trying to get rid of people.”
But the city is trying to eliminate positions in an attempt to save about $1 million a year.
Furlough days are still going to be part of the mix even with the retirements. It’s expected city workers will have to take four in December and then two days each month through September — the end of the fiscal year.
Most employees are also feeling a 9.23 percent cut in pay in 2009-10.
In addition to the restructuring of city government, the budget is also on the Nov. 17 agenda. The fiscal year began Oct. 1, therefore the city has been operating without a final budget.
Other people expected to leave the police department are officers Chuck Owens, who has been with the department for more than 20 years, has had stints on the FBI and local narcotics task force; and Scott Willson, who is currently the school resource officer at South Tahoe High School.
It is up to each employee if he wants to accept the golden handshake. They have 90 days to make up their minds.
Retirements in the fire department and public works are also expected.
“Our goal was the equivalent of five people,” Jinkens said. “It could be more.”
Getting to this point
The city has been working with its various labor groups to rework the contracts to allow for furlough days and the reduction in staff. Those memorandums of understanding will be before the council on Tuesday.
The police officers association has been holding out, not wanting to compromise because of the dissatisfaction with Daniels as well as Jinkens.
An email that was sent by the association’s labor consultant, David Swim, to Jinkens Nov. 13 says in part, “In response to your letter, the Association feels as though our proposal of having three frozen positions and potential retirees will clearly meet your initial budget objective. We are concerned and disappointed that our suggestion for cost savings was not considered. We provided what we viewed a viable alternative to address the city’s financial deficit and in doing so avoided any additional job losses, furloughs or other negative impact. Since the department has been functioning for the prior 6-7 months down three sworn positions we felt by keeping those same three positions frozen, in conjunction with some scheduling adjustments and the addition of an officer who had been absent for almost three years, we could actually offer better service to the residents of the city.”
Jinkens response to Swim was, “Actually, your proposals for cost savings have been considered and this consideration is reflected in the proposed budget. I previously communicated this fact in a lengthy memo this a.m. though in more general terms. The cost containment measures do not require MOU amendments though impacts may need discussion, but the value of the conversation has resulted in the needed cost reductions for this fiscal year based on our budget assumptions.
“In summary, the cost reductions will come from projected early retirements including the retirement of the Chief of Police, backfilling of the Chief position with an interim appointment until a permanent vacancy is filled and then a likely management reorganization and reduction of one upper command staff, freezing of anticipated vacant CSO position and leaving unfilled one sworn officer position.
“What the future holds in regard to the City’s ability to pay will depend on the economy and require additional discussions with you and Association members in the future.”
Terry Daniels
Daniels, 52, has spent the bulk of his career with the local force. He started in January 1983 after working as a deputy for a year with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.
He became a sergeant in 1991 and not long after added another stripe to become a lieutenant.
Daniels became the eighth chief of police in July 2006. He had worked for four of those chiefs.
Prior to taking the helm of the department, the chief, who was unavailable for comment, was involved in a slew of interesting cases.
He was on the force in 1989 when then Mayor Terry Trupp was arrested on a variety of federal crimes — mostly drug related in what the FBI called Operation Deep Snow. Trupp recently died after serving a number of years behind bars.
Daniels was the supervising officer in 2001 the day 9-year-old Rebbeca Aramburo was found with her throat slashed at Campground by the Lake. Her mother is in prison for that crime, while her mother’s boyfriend committed suicide in jail.
He has also been involved in controversial officer involved shootings.
Daniels is highly regarded in K9 circles for his command with his German shepherds through the years.
In August he was part of the parade of thousands who celebrated the release of Jaycee Lee Dugard who had been kidnapped from a Meyers bus stop 18 years earlier.
It has been the last three years that have caused Daniels the most strife. He vigilantly fought to have Officer Johnny Poland fired and kept off the force for an incident at the high school in 2006. Last month a judge ruled Poland should be given his badge back.
Earlier this year Daniels did little to discipline his friend Sgt. Jeff Regan. Regan had been arrested on a DUI charge — this coming after he had a prior arrest, though no conviction, stemming from allegedly hitting his wife.
A scathing grand jury report in 2008 left more questions unanswered — about his leadership and the morale within the department.
In his three-plus years, Daniels was able to increase staffing to a level officers are no longer complaining about. He also has been an active member of the Youth Task Force, through which he got the Police Activities League going again.
A Pollock Pines resident was arrested in Stateline on Tuesday for allegedly trafficking in a controlled substance.
Francisco Reyes-Vizcarra, 31, was booked into the jail at Stateline on felony for charges.
Francisco Reyes-Vizcarra
Members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Street Enforcement Team, working with the Western El Dorado Narcotic Enforcement Team (WENET), arrested Reyes-Vizcarra in a Stateline casino parking lot.
Officers confiscated 116.5 grams of methamphetamine that the suspect reportedly transported from California to Nevada. The methamphetamine is estimated to have a street value of approximately $11,000.
The arrest was the culmination of more than a month-long investigation. During the course of the investigation, investigators performed a number of surveillance operations, during which they observed Reyes-Vizcarra conduct several drug trafficking activities between Placerville and Stateline.
Reyes-Vizcarra has been deported times for criminal activity, investigators said. Because of this, he was being held without bail.
By Vern Pierson
On Nov. 12, 2009, KCRA 3 reported receiving a third letter from criminal defendant Phillip Garrido. In it he reportedly apologizes stating, “First off I would like to apologize to every human being for what has taken place.” It continued, “People all over the world are hearing testimony that through the spirit of Christ a mental process took place ending a sexual problem believed to be impossible.”
The news story describes Mr. Garrido as expressing “genuine remorseâ€.
In response to defendant Phillip Garrido’s recent statements to the media, we see this as just another example of his attempt to control the situation around him and his prior victims – he is a master manipulator.
Defendant Phillip Garrido claims to express “genuine remorse” and asserts that “he’s a changed man.” However, these recent statements are eerily similar to what Mr. Garrido told the judge who sentenced him in 1977 and to the parole board when he duped them into releasing him from prison after serving only 11 years of a 50 year federal sentence and five-to-life Nevada State sentence.
We have been careful to limit our public comments regarding this case. However, it has become clear from Mr. Garrido’s repeated calls and letters that he is attempting to manipulate the process, the people involved in that process, and, most significantly, his prior victims.
Before abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard, Mr. Garrido already had several prior sexual assault victims. It appears once again that Mr. Garrido seeks leniency due to claims of religious transformation and alleged personal change. Our office fully intends to hold Mr. Garrido legally accountable for his actions and see that he is punished to the full extent of the law.
Vern Pierson is district attorney of El Dorado County.
St. Theresa School is have a Baked Potato Bingo fundraiser on Nov. 21 to raise money for eighth-graders to go to Washington, D.C.
The event is being emceed by comedian Howie Nave.
The potato bar opens in Grace Hall at the South Lake Tahoe church at 4pm; with the first game of bingo starting at 5pm.
There is a $10 minimum buy-in for Bingo Packet which is good for 10 games; its $2 for Kid Bingo
More than $500 in prizes have been donated from local businesses.
Raffle items include a 19-inch flat screen TV.
Beer and wine are not included in the price.
Tickets are available from any eighth-grade student, at the front office of Saint Theresa School at 1081 Lyons Ave., or at the door.
For more information, call (530) 544.8944.