Charlie Cascio and Angela Karegeannes will be the featured chefs at Wilbur Hot Springs Nov. 13-15.

Cascio has cooked throughout Europe. He has worked as a personal private chef and has been head chef for numerous restaurants. He has taught natural food cooking seminars to individuals, restaurants, and health professionals throughout Europe and the United States. Cascio worked as the head chef and kitchen manager for the Esalen Institute in Big Sur from 1998-2004 and continues to work for Esalen as a consultant and instructor.

Karegeannes became a chef while living and working at the Esalen Institute in 2001. She now resides in San Rafael and has her own catering business. She also works at the Marin Academy as a full time chef, sourcing food from local farms for the menus. Evenings and weekends are spent doing catering events and participating as a guest chef at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center .

For reservations, call (530) 473.2306. For more information, visit www.wilburhotsprings.com.

The California Tahoe Conservancy is issuing a Prospectus/Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking an operator for the Patton Landing Concession at Carnelian Bay in North Lake Tahoe.

The objective of this RFP is to select someone who has a plan that will best enhance the visitors’ beach related recreation experience at this lakefront facility. The concessionaire contract is likely to be five-10 years.

Interested parties should contact Lisa O’Daly of the Public Access and Recreation Program at (530) 543.6037.

There will be a drop in open house at the facility on Nov. 10 from 10am to 2pm, 5166/5188 North Lake Blvd. in Carnelian Bay.

Proposals are due by 3pm on Dec. 9.

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe’s first city attorney, Melvin Beverly, died Oct. 29. He was 84.

Flags are being flown at half-staff in his honor.

Mr. Beverly’s roots on the South Shore run deep, as do his family’s. His grandfather, John E. Dunlap, was a rancher in South Lake Tahoe. Some of the Dunlap clan still owns the property near the Tahoe Keys along the banks of the Upper Truckee River.

Melvin Beverly, circa 1970 Photo/Laine Photography

He was born Sept. 15, 1925.

Mr. Beverly earned his law degree in 1952 from Boalt Hall at UC Berkeley. He spent the first two years out of law school as a clerk for a U.S. Appeals Court judge. In 1954, he began practicing law in Placerville. He worked on the West Slope for seven years before moving to South Lake Tahoe with his wife, Evelyn.

The Beverlys had been married for 48 years.

Mrs. Beverly said during the last nine years the two spent a good deal of time traveling. Mr. Beverly also kept up with his golf game after retiring in 2000 as a commissioner with El Dorado County Superior Court.

“Mel certainly was an institution in the legal profession and basically was the founding father of law in South Lake Tahoe in particular,” El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury said. “He was very much a mentor to me as I was making my way up the ranks as an attorney. He gave a lot to the community and to the legal profession. He was extraordinarily well respected by the Bar.”

Bob Henderson knew Mr. Beverly for more than 30 years, having worked in his law office for a couple years in the early 1980s.

“He was a good man. We are going to miss him,’ Henderson said.

In March 1989, Mr. Beverly became a commissioner with the court and retired from private practice. Retired El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Terrence Finney, who is out of town, appointed Mr. Beverly to the position.

Kris Dehnen clerked for Mr. Beverly.

“As a human being you couldn’t ask for better,” Dehnen said through tears. “He was patient when he needed to be and firm when he needed to be.”

She remembers beautiful jazz coming from his chambers on afternoons when a trial wasn’t scheduled. Dehnen also recalls Mr. Beverly being diligent about his 2:30pm break to go outside to smoke a cigar.

“He was really the most delightful man. He had a heart of gold,” Dehnen said.

Sylvia Smith knew Mr. Beverly as an attorney and court commissioner from her work as a court reporter.

“When he walked into the courtroom, as a court reporter I knew there would be no game playing,” Smith said.

She said when Mr. Beverly became a commissioner he was there early, but rarely worked past 5pm so staff could get the paperwork done.

“He was very respectful of women,” Smith said. “He was a gentle man.”

She also remembers Mr. Beverly as being a good dresser, who never showed up at a function in anything less than a sport coat and tie.

Smith spent the better part of Thursday at the Beverly home. She read a scrapbook about Mr. Beverly that said originally his plan was to become an accountant, but then he went into the Army. He was in World War II on the front lines in a tank.

Smith remembers Mr. Beverly caring about families, and how hard the Child Protective Services cases were for him.

It’s because of Mr. Beverly that Court Appointed Special Advocates is in South Lake Tahoe.

Jim Duke, who was president of Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe at the time, remembers Mr. Beverly, who was a member, talking about starting CASA and how it took a couple tries to get a grant for the program.

“He was a quiet supporter of things in the community,” Duke said. “I was chairing a church committee and we needed some legal help. I told him what I needed and clearly was prepared to pay for it. But then he refused to accept any money for it.”

Duke said that’s how Mr. Beverly did things –behind the scenes, without wanting recognition.

Mr. Beverly is one of a handful of people who got the Tahoe Valley Pharmacy Building off the ground. It was there that he opened the law offices of Beverly, Riley & Petersen.

While he had his private practice, Mr. Beverly also was legal counsel for several agencies: South Tahoe Public Utility District from 1957-59, Lake Valley Fire Protection District from 1958-65, California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency from 1968-70, and South Lake Tahoe from 1965-72.

“Mel was a man of great integrity. He cared deeply about Tahoe and his family’s heritage, and having been given the opportunity to guide the city through its very early years,” said Del Laine, a family friend for years.

In June 2001, the city honored Mr. Beverly for his years of service to the city. The proclamation mentions how Mr. Beverly wrote South Tahoe’s first sign ordinance.

Mr. Beverly was instrumental in helping the city get incorporated in 1965. That November he was appointed the first city attorney. As the job began to entail more work, Mr. Beverly successfully lobbied upon his departure in 1972 for the city attorney to become a full-time position.

Mr. Beverly served as interim city attorney from August 1976 to November 1978.

Besides the legal arena, Mr. Beverly was president of the South Lake Tahoe Little League and South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, a board member at Barton Memorial Hospital, and a member of Rotary. At the time of his death, Mr. Beverly was on the Lukins Brothers Water Company board.

Survivors include his wife Evelyn Beverly of South Lake Tahoe; sons William Beverly of Placerville and Robert Chadwick of Ontario, Ore.; daughter Kathryn Fenton of Davis; and two grandchildren.

Mr. Beverly did not want a service. The family plans to scatter his ashes to honor his love for Lake Tahoe.

This photo was submitted by Chris Heng, who writes, “I wanted to make a pumpkin that we could all remember from 2009 … The Swine Flu.”

The former owners of Tahoe Tom’s gas station in South Lake Tahoe were fined $412,900 this month by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board for failing to cleanup the site.

The board said Mohammad Ahmad and the Thomas E. Erickson Trust did not comply with a Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) to define the extent of petroleum hydrocarbon releases and to clean up unauthorized releases of petroleum hydrocarbons from underground storage tanks, which have impacted groundwater.

Lahontan, in a statement, said it believes the $412,900 liability should provide a deterrent to others who may consider violating Water Board enforcement orders.

The releases were first identified in early 2007 at the Tahoe Tom’s Gas Station at 4029 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. Testing found leaks in three fill and turbine sumps and in all four dispenser nozzles.

Ahmad was operating the business at the time of the releases, and the Thomas E. Erickson Trust owned the property.

Clean up and abatement was needed to contain plume migration in groundwater to prevent pollution of nearby domestic and municipal wells.

In the ACL complaint, Water Board staff alleged that the two parties failed to comply with one CAO directive and complied late with six investigation and reporting directives.

At an Oct. 14 public hearing, the Water Board heard testimony from Water Board staff and Erickson about the allegations. Ahmad did not attend the meeting or submit evidence for consideration.

After learning clean up and abatement was stopped at the site for 257 days in 2008, and that gasoline was detected in a nearby motel well, the Water Board increased the fine amount above the recommended $248,400 to $412,900.

The gas station is no longer owned and operated by the Erickson Trust and Ahmad. However, the parties have since come into compliance with Water Board orders for cleanup at the site. Cleanup actions are reducing petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater and, thereby, reducing the threat to nearby wells.

Letter to the Publisher,

My name is Eric Schafer and I am the incumbent running for re-election to Seat 5 on the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors. I am a Certified Public Accountant, practicing in South Tahoe for over 23 years, and have served on the STPUD Board for the past 8 years.

Local elections go very unnoticed unless an incumbent is not running for re-election or there are significant issues open to honest debate. STPUD has operated effectively and efficiently for all 8+ years I have been on the Board. In this year’s election for the Board, there seems to be only one issue, a manufactured one at that: water meters. The October 6 candidate forum at the District facilities and recent letters/articles in local publications have created the issue of water meter installation and subsequent customer rates based on reading the meters. Let’s clear the air on this issue:

– The District worked with Senator Keogh who sponsored the State legislation and since 2004 has known there would be a $20+ million cost to install and read water meters for entire system by 2025;

– In 2005 we requested an exemption because we are not part of the California watershed. An exemption was not granted, however, Senator Keogh suggested an extension for the compliance date could be considered. Work continues with the legislature to obtain an exemption;

– In 2008 we testified to the Senate Sub-Committee on Water and Natural Resources, telling them we had a waterline replacement program in process, could not do the waterlines and water meters concurrently, and felt our highest priority was the waterlines. They agreed and said our commitment to the waterlines was proper. The fire threat is greater than water meter compliance for our construction dollars;

– Absent our waterline commitment, the 2007 Angora Fire would have been a far greater disaster. The improvements in that area alone, approximately $18 million over the past 10 years, kept fire suppression water on the fire at all times. The Joint Committee reviewing the fire agreed that water for firefighting is our highest priority and urged continuance with the waterline replacement because fire is still the greatest threat in the Lake Tahoe Basin;

– The District developed a 10-year plan, including construction projects, many years ago and keeps it current by rolling it forward every year. The Board review, since 2004, has constantly put waterline replacement at the top of the list. We have received millions in grants from governmental agencies who agree; and,

– We continue to seek grants for the water meter installation projects and the $4.3 million awarded for 2009-2010 is the first grant to help us with these costs. We will install over 1,500 meters next year with these funds and are optimistic that further grants can be secured.

As for the rates customers will pay when the meters are read, it is important to remember that, even under our flat rate system, 82% of your bill is a fixed cost for having the system to deliver your clean water to you. The remaining 18% is the consumption charge and, when meters are read, that charge will be based on the water volume you use. The Board policy currently is that we will remain revenue neutral, as much as possible, as we transition from flat rate to volumetric billing, starting in 2011.

So, did I know that we had a mandate to install and read water meters by 2025? Absolutely! Is there any fact-based data to that a financial loss could fall upon the District? Not to my knowledge. Have we annually informed our customers of our infrastructure improvement needs? Yes, through the annual budget review and publication of our 10-year plan.

My opponent wants water that is safe, clean and affordable. That is exactly what I have helped deliver to you for the past 8 years, with no rate increase during our current fiscal year.

As a financial professional I have used my skills and experience to make the right decisions while serving on the Board for 8 years. STPUD is a big business in South Lake Tahoe, spending $40-$50 million annually to deliver clear water to you and treat and dispose of waste products and I am up to the challenge to serve you for 4 more years.

I have served the community for 20 years in elected public office, the last 8 at STPUD. I am confident that, with your vote on November 3, I can help the District continue to deliver superior services to you.

Thank you,

Eric Schafer, incumbent STPUD Seat No. 5

Letter to the Publisher,

I am writing this letter to ask for the community’s support of Measure B. By passing Measure B, we can reallocate unused funds for the upgrade and modernization of the playing fields on Rufus Allen Blvd. By voting yes you are not only helping South Tahoe National Little League, but also AYSO youth soccer, and other organizations that use these fields. These fields have served our community well for many years, and now they need to be upgraded with new concession stands, maintenance facilities, and rest rooms. With the passing of Measure B these fields will be made better and safer for our children to play on and enjoy. I hope you will vote yes for Measure B.

Dan Sullivan, president South Tahoe National Little League

Mount Rose ski resort is opening Friday with the Flying Jenny lift and Show-Off run. Show-Off will have park features set up and will be open Fri-Sun from 10am-4pm.

A base of 8-12 inches covers the run, thanks to snowmaking.

Reduced prices: $20 ages 13 & over (flat rate), $10 ages 6-12 (5 and under ski free).

Halloween Special: On Oct. 31st get a $5 discount on a lift ticket if you show up in costume.

For current weather conditions at Mt. Rose- Ski Tahoe, visit www.skirose.com or call (775) 849.0704.

Publisher’s note: This is an email from Charter Cable to El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer Gayle Erbe-Hamlin dated Oct. 26.

Dear Ms. Erbe-Hamlin:

In June 2009, Charter notified customers in the Meyers, CA area that with the beginning of their July 2009 billing cycle, rates would be adjusted for Basic and Expanded Basic cable television service levels along with a similar change in corresponding digital packages. These price changes were to be implemented in conjunction with the addition of 67 new standard definition channels and 16 new HD channels:

A subsequent review of our billing system noted that approximately 400 accounts in the Meyers area did not reflect the adjustment although their services and lineups were upgraded. Those customers are being notified by first class mail with the attached post card. Rest assured Charter will not bill those customers for past months of the adjustment amounts as we move forward to correct this error.

Billing corrections that reflect the price adjustments will begin with December billing cycles. Please note that this was a previously noticed change and is not a part of the rate adjustments for customers in South Lake Tahoe, NV and Douglas County, NV.

We remain committed to providing excellent cable services to the Meyers community and all communities we serve. If you have any questions about these changes, please call me at 775-850-1267.

Sincerely,

Franny

Franny Buffa, Government Relations Administrator

Charter Communications

Choices for Children is offering a free workshop “The Early Months: Infant Development and Parenting, birth – 36 months” on Nov. 7 from 9-11:30am. It will be at 1029 Takela Drive, Ste. 1, South Lake Tahoe.

Call (530) 541.5848 to reserve a space or for more information.