Amber Bently

A San Francisco socialite who grew up in Gardnerville, graduated from Douglas High School and is estranged from her husband was found dead in Douglas County.

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies said Amber Marie Bently, 34, had been dead for several weeks before her body was found last week in her apartment on High School Street in Gardnerville. She had returned to Gardnerville after separating from her husband, Christopher Bently.

Sgt. Pat Brooks said there is no evidence of foul play. The cause of death is not expected for at least six weeks when pathology reports from the autopsy are completed.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Lake Tahoe author Todd Borg has released his latest book “Tahoe Chase”.

He has scheduled a slew of signings.

The dates are:

July 26 4-7pm: Artifacts, 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd (in the Raleys center at Stateline)

July 27 11am: Talk and signing, Sundance Bookstore at 121 California Ave., Reno

July 27 3pm: Signing at Geared for Games, Boatworks Mall, Tahoe City

July 31 6:30pm: Talk and sign at the South Lake Tahoe Library, Rufus Allen Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe

Aug. 1 3 ppm: Signing at The Bookshelf,11429 Westgate Shopping Center, Truckee

Aug. 1  5-8pm: Signing at Truckee Thursdays downtown Truckee

Aug. 2 6:30pm: Talk and signing at Shelby’s Books, 1663 Lucerne St., Minden Village, Minden

Aug. 4 8:30am: Signing  at Red Hut Cafe at Ski Run Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe

Aug. 10 1pm: Talk at the Cameron Park Library, 2500 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park

Aug. 11 8:30am: Signing at Red Hut Cafe Reno, 3480 Lakeside, No. 1, Reno

Aug. 17 3pm: Talk and signing at El Dorado Arts Council Gallery, 459 Main St., Placerville

Aug. 18 8:30am: Signing at Red Hut Cafe, 4385 S. Carson St, Carson City.

The Nevada Highway Patrol will be stepping up enforcement efforts on Highway 50 effective now through Aug. 12.

These efforts will be focused on stopping and citing motorists who exceed the posted speed limit; in addition to the speed enforcement campaign, troopers will be looking closely at other traffic violations such as reckless or aggressive driving, driving under the influence, following too closely, talking or texting on a hand-held cell phone, and lane change violations. Anyone violating these offenses will be receiving a citation as part of a “zero tolerance” approach to reduce accidents in the area.

Funding for this enforcement campaign is from a joint grant through The Office of Traffic Safety.

A main water line of South Tahoe Public Utility District ruptured Thursday about 1:40pm.

Crews have been doing work this week on Tahoe Keys Boulevard. The break is between Montana and Oregon on Tahoe Keys Boulevard.

There had been a leak on one of the steel lines. After a while it’s common for them to corrode and then fail.

About 500 customers are expected to be without water until 3:30pm.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Capt. Scott Carey and fisherman Bill Brush with the record-breaking Kokanee. Photo/Tahoe Sport Fishing

By Kathryn Reed

A Nevada City man broke a 40-year-old state record when he went fishing last weekend. Bill Brush reeled in a 5-pound, 2-ounce Kokanee salmon from Lake Tahoe.

Dave Bournique of South Lake set the previous California record of 4 pounds, 13 ounces on Aug. 1, 1973.

The day started slow. They were trolling in the Camp Richardson, Baldwin Beach area when the record breaker clamped on.

“The next thing that freak fish hit the line and we could tell he was on to something the way the fish was banging on that rod,” Capt. Scott Carey told Lake Tahoe News. “When it hit the deck I knew we had (the record).”

Kokanee lose weight when pulled from the water so it was imperative to get to an official scale as soon as possible. It’s also been recorded with California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The 45-year-old Carey has been fishing Lake Tahoe half his life and July 20 was the first record where he was the skipper. He said he didn’t think it was going to happen.

“I tell everyone if you can catch half the fish that hit the line, you had a good day,” Carey, who works for Tahoe Sport Fishing based in South Lake Tahoe, said.

When the fish surfaced, the deck hand went for the Kokanee scooper. Then Carey told him to get the big scoop. In one swift motion the fish was on the boat.

“He played the fish perfectly,” Carey said of Brush.

A long line of 150 was cast which went to a depth of about 67 feet. They used a flasher set-up called a double whammy that looks like a wedding ring. The little lure is on a 6-pound line.

Corn is placed on the tip of the lure because it resembles daphnia, a form of plankton that no longer exists in Lake Tahoe.

“That’s why we don’t have big Kokanee here like we did in the ’70s,” John Shearer, who owns Tahoe Sport Fishing, said of the daphnia.

Now through September is the best time to fish for Kokanee at Lake Tahoe – before they begin to spawn.

Shearer said the record-breaker is a “beautiful fish.”

It’s sitting in a cooler at Carey’s house and will eventually be mounted. Brush told Carey he wanted the captain to be the keeper of record-breaking Kokanee.

By Kathryn Reed

A mother and daughter riding personal watercraft on Lake Tahoe collided Wednesday resulting in one death.

Dawn Finn, 52, of Westwood, N.J., died upon impact July 24, according to officials.

The two women were on individual rented personal watercraft at 1:50pm about 200 hundred yards from Incline Beach when the accident occurred.

The 21-year-old daughter was not injured in the accident. Both women were wearing life jackets. Many family members were on the beach and saw the vessels collide.

“This was a traumatic injury,” Ed Lyngar, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, told Lake Tahoe News.

In Nevada, the law is to take the length of a boat and times it by five to know how many feet away the boats should be from each other. If a personal watercraft is 10-feet-long, then it should be no closer than 50 feet from the next boat.

“They were a little too close together. We are not exactly sure what happened. At some point they collided,” Lyngar said. “We have taken possession of the two watercraft. We are looking at them trying to reconstruct what was happening.”

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor. Lyngar said it’s possible a citation could be issued for not keeping the proper distance or recklessness.

“The best way to stay safe is to take a boating education class even if you rent for the day. The more you know, the safer you will be,” Lyngar said.

Publisher’s note: This letter was sent to Alfred Knotts at the Tahoe Transportation District and is reprinted with permission.

Dear Alfred:

I hope that this communication finds you well. I wish you continued success and good fortune.

I am writing to offer a few suggestions to you and leaders of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) regarding the review of the Relocation Plan for the proposed Highway 50 Relocation Project. I understand that you have identified a variety of options that will be the subject of the plan.

David Jinkens

My comments below can be summarized by the statement that the proposed highway realignment plan should do the most good for the most people on both sides of Stateline and the least harm to the people who own property and live along whatever is selected to be the preferred new realignment. I support and want to see the success of large and small businesses on both sides of Stateline and fairness in this process to all concerned parties.

Here are some thoughts regarding the process to ensure fairness and equalize benefit. Some of these ideas you will recognize from past communications and some you may not recognize.

1. No eminent domain – The City Council has expressed its policy that the development of a Loop Road be done without the use of eminent domain, namely the acquiring of private property with compensation but without the consent of property owners and residents. I agree with this statement and the direction of city policy leaders;

2. Fiscal Impact Report – TTD should fund a city-managed study to fully examine the fiscal impacts of the proposed Loop Road on existing city businesses not just in the proposed project area but citywide, identify the least destructive fiscal model, and tell the complete story of how this project impacts the city economy;

3. Mitigation Fund – The developers of the Loop Road project who will benefit most financially from the project should establish a fund in the amount of at least $6 million to be held and managed by the city of South Lake Tahoe (with the assistance of a City Council appointed Area Advisory Committee) to mitigate the impacts of any road constructed on business and property owners and residents. This fund would be in addition to whatever costs and expenses are required as part of state and federal law; and

4. Locals Job Preference – TTD and the developers of the project and the managers of the businesses developed or expanded along the new route should agree in writing to make a good-faith effort to hire qualified city and South Shore residents for jobs created by this new project to help mitigate impacts and reduce local unemployment. This premise should be applied to all construction work to build the project and permanent jobs created. Developers and operators receiving grant money to build a $70 million plus road need to look out for the interests of city and South Shore residents first and foremost in job creation.

I am requesting that you make these comments part of the public record for this process and project and that copies of it be provided to TTD senior management and board members.

Thank you Alfred for your review and consideration of this matter and for your efforts to do a competent and fair job for all concerned parties.

Best wishes and regards,

David M. Jinkens, South Lake Tahoe

A traffic stop in Trinity County ended with $50,000 in a South Lake Tahoe man’s vehicle being confiscated.

The California Highway Patrol stopped Isaac James Walker, 33, on July 20 about 11:50pm on Highway 299 west of Helena.

A Trinity County sheriff’s K9 unit searched the vehicle, alerting officers to something being in the quarter panel. Officers said they found $50,000 in U.S. currency in a heat seal bag.

The Trinity County Narcotics Task Force confiscated the cash because officers believe it was to be used for the purchase of controlled substances. The three duffel bags in the vehicle are possibly what the drugs would have been put in, according to officers.

Walker was released and the investigation is ongoing.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

A South Lake Tahoe woman who was holed up in a neighbor’s apartment where she had access to a rifle and ammunition was eventually arrested this morning without anyone but her boyfriend being hurt.

Kimberly Ann Leard, 33, was arrested July 25 on felony charges of domestic violence and a misdemeanor charge of resisting, delaying and obstructing police in the performance of their duty.

The incident at the St. Francis Apartments on Emerald Bay Road started about 1:30am with officers called to a unit because a woman was screaming. The argument turned into a physical altercation.

Leard’s 37-year-old boyfriend was bleeding from the head, hand and foot when officers arrived. He refused medical treatment.

To avoid the police, Leard went onto the third story balcony, climbed onto the neighbor’s balcony and entered that apartment. The neighbor was in the bathroom when Leard came into his apartment. He fled and Leard retreated into her neighbor’s bedroom.

The neighbor told officers he keeps a .30-caliber lever action rifle stored in his bedroom in plain view, with ammo right next to it.

“Officers strongly suggested residents in neighboring units leave until the matter was concluded because of the potential for rifle bullets to penetrate walls,” Lt. Brian Williams told Lake Tahoe News.

The officers tried to talk Leard into surrendering, but she refused. Officers entered the apartment about 2:40am, where they found Leard hiding in the bedroom closet.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

• Barton Health CEO John Williams is expected to be back on the job next week after sustaining injuries from being thrown from a horse while on a pack trip in Yosemite.

• Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe’s annual wine tasting is Nov. 15.

• Erosion Control magazine recognized Northstar ski resort for its erosion control and revegetation program.

• Lisa Gallup has been hired as director of catering and wedding sales at the Landing Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe.

• South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority will meet July 26 at 9am at the Lake Tahoe Airport.