Publisher’s note: The letter below was first sent the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board of education and superintendent. It is reprinted with permission.

Dr. [Jim] Tarwater and School Board Members,

The Mount Tallac High School graduation is scheduled for Friday morning. It is truly a remarkable achievement for a group of students who have overcome so many challenges and obstacles during their lifetime. For some, they will be the first in their family to graduate high school. The graduation ceremony is a very happy, but emotional time for the students, their families and friends, the Mount Tallac staff, and the many community members who attend the ceremony.

Harry Segal

Susan Baker, the heart and soul of the school, will certainly have a day filled with mixed emotions. Susan’s determination and passion for helping each and every student, and along with the help of an incredible dedicated staff and many community members have made the school what it is today. Susan knows better than anyone what is needed to continue moving Mount Tallac forward in a positive direction.

Unfortunately, Dr. Tarwater and the school board have decided they know best. Not allowing Susan and the Mount Tallac staff to be a part of the decision-making process to choose her replacement, is an absolute disgrace. It shows a total lack of respect for Susan, the entire staff and especially a lack of good judgment and being sensitive to the needs of the Mount Tallac students.

There is no excuse for someone who has no connection with the school, other than title, to make a decision based on politics, rather than what is best for the children. There is no excuse for elected school board members to go along with the decision. The students depend on the superintendent and school board to do what is best for each and every child in this community, including the students at Mount Tallac. Do any of you actually believe the current decision for Susan’s replacement is the best possible option?

This is not about Karen Tinlin, who is a very capable administrator. It is about the future of a school that helps students who have faced despair and hopelessness. It is about a school that gives positive guidance and hope to students. It is about a school that teaches students how to be successful in life. It is about a school where students feel safe and secure. It is about a school that performs “miracles” every day.

There is no way any of you can justify what has been done. Is this how all of you have chosen to thank Susan for her dedication and passion to help these children? Shame on all of you!

The choice is yours. You can make the needed changes to restore the integrity of our school district. Do what is right for the children of our community.

Harry Segal, South Lake Tahoe

On a June day where the mercury topped 80 degrees in Lake Tahoe, plenty of people found the water one of the cooler places to be.

Keep Tahoe Blue Summer Kickoff Party is June 22 from 1-5pm at the League to Save Lake Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe.

This event is free.

It will feature live music, games and activities, and a complimentary ice cream bar. Blue Moon beer will be served to those 21 and older.

Reduce your environmental footprint by riding your bike to the party and bring a beach chair.

For more information, call (530) 541.5388 or email events@keeptahoeblue.org.

The 10th annual Lake Tahoe Historical Society garden tour is July 27 from 10am-4pm.

It will feature some of the nine most beautiful gardens of the past nine years.

Barton Memorial Hospital is a partner this year. The hospital’s gardens, fountains and wood sculptures in front and back of the building will also be on display because Barton is hosting the refreshments.

Tickets ($25) go on sale July 1 at the museum (3058 Lake Tahoe Blvd. South Lake Tahoe) and at Aspen Hollow, Nels, Sunbasin and Tahoe Outdoor Living.

• Tahoe Fund has released the Tahoe beaches app on iTunes and Google Play.

• Lake Tahoe Boys & Girls Club is having a bowl-a-thon June 26. The cost is $20/person and includes bowling, pizza, and a magic show by Alex Ramon. Contact Patti at (530) 721.2086 if interested in participating.

• Utility relocation construction for the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project this week will be conducted in the eastbound lanes of Highway 28 just east of the Highway 267 intersection.

• Zephyr Cove Tennis Center is offering kids 8 years and older free lessons June 15-16 from 2-3:30pm. To sign up, RSVP to (775) 586.7871.

• The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, along with Nevada Highway Patrol, Reno Police Department, and the Sparks Police Department, will have extra units on the road through June 21 to enforce traffic laws.

A two-car crash in South Lake Tahoe on June 10 sent one person to the hospital. Photo/LTN

One person was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital on Monday following a two-car collision in South Lake Tahoe.

The 4:05pm June 10 accident occurred at the intersection of Third Street and Eloise Avenue.

One vehicle rolled over.

Details are pending.

While there had been rain earlier in the day, the roads were dry at the time of the accident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By KOLO-TV

Highway 28 is down to one lane of travel between Incline Village and Sand Harbor because of an accident involving an excavator.

Mark Regan with North Tahoe Fire says the equipment was being used as part of a project at the house along the road, and it slipped off the highway and into the house. No one was living there and the operator is not hurt.

Regan says 28 will have reduced traffic until roughly 7 tonight.

Ray Nutting

Today’s arraignment of El Dorado County Supervisor Ray Nutting was postponed until Thursday.

El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Daniel B. Proud on June 10 recused himself from the case. It is now being turned over to Judge Curt Stracener.

However, it is possible Stracener, too, will recuse himself. Stracener and Nutting have used the same campaign consultant.

Nutting faces perjury and other charges related to obtaining state grants to clear brush from his property.

The criminal grand jury indictment is sealed until at least June 13.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

One person died and four others were hurt in this traffic collision June 9. Photo/Provided

The woman who died in the two-car accident in Zephyr Cove on Sunday has been identified as Reyna Vizcaara, 24, of Lodi.

Her 29-year-old husband, Eduardo A. Vizcarra-Sicairos, was traveling east on Highway 50 about 2:55pm June 9 when he lost control and skidded into the oncoming traffic. A Hyundai Elantra driven by Shanna D. White, 26, of Carson City, broadsided the Lodi couple’s Toyota Corolla.

White had two passengers in her vehicle; 21-year-old Kellie Kerklay and 21-year-old Katelyn Kraiprai, both from Carson City.

White and Keklay were treated and released from Renown Medical Center in Reno. Vizcarra-Sicairos and Kraiprai remained hospitalized Monday afternoon.

Nevada Highway Patrol investigators say the rain-hail slick road surface may have contributed to the cause of the accident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Lightning strikes in the Tahoe National Forest on June 9.

Lightning lit up much of the sky throughout Northern California on Sunday.

There were 2,871 strikes detected within the state, 526 on the National Forests in California, and 65 on the Tahoe National Forest.

Three small fires in the Tahoe National Forest resulted from the June 9 lightning. All are controlled or in mop-up stage.

More thunderstorms are expected today.