South Lake Tahoe’s Parks and Recreation Department’s inaugural Spring into Summer event is June 1 from 10am-2pm.

This event is free.

It allows families to tour the recreation swim complex, meet the recreation partners and sign up for programs such as the South Tahoe Adventure Recreation Camps and meet camp leaders and enjoy refreshments.

Attendees of the event will receive a one day use pass.

The Parks and Recreation Swim Complex is located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.

For more information, call (530) 542.6056.

This hand-tinted photo postcard (courtesy of Theresa and Darrell Eymann) was postmarked Sept. 9, 1908, as “TAHOE, CAL” and mailed to Richmond, Calif. It depicts the source of the Truckee River at Tahoe City.

1908 was five years before the Tahoe City Dam was built to control the top 6 feet of Lake Tahoe’s surface elevation and the flow into the Truckee River.

For comparison, 105 years later, the second photo was taken in April 2013 standing on the dam.

The third photo, also one I took, shows the 100-year-old dam between Fanny Bridge on the Truckee River and the lake outlet.

— Bill Kingman

By Kathryn Reed

SCOTTSDALE – It’s a bit of a freeway as people zip past us. They are running. Sweat drips. And the sun hasn’t been up long on this last Monday in April.

Hiking in the desert this time of year means getting an early start. Temps are in the triple digits and there are no towering pine trees to provide shade. And even though some of the trail is in the shade, it’s still hot.

My friend Penny lives near Phoenix and makes the decision about our start time. I whine. I don’t do mornings well on a good day and I really don’t relish a 6:15 start while on vacation.

It didn’t take long before I was thanking her. I was hot before 7am. And to think I used to live in Vegas and loved, loved, loved the heat. Not so much anymore. I’m kind of wimpy. (It’s so hot in Scottsdale now that on May 19 the park will open at 5am.)

Penny and Sue lead the way hiking Pinnacle Peak. Photos/Kathryn Reed

But the hike was worth it – even with all the people – even with feeling the heat so early in the day.

The 150-acre Pinnacle Peak Park is run by the city of Scottsdale. While the starting point is at 2,570 feet, the low point is actually 2,366 feet. The highest point is 2,889 feet. But with all the up and down of the trail, the elevation gain is about 1,300 feet.

Day hikers never actually reach the summit. Rock climbers with the appropriate gear may access it.

The Sierra Club rates this a moderate hike. If it weren’t for all the stair stepping, it would probably get a lower rating.

It is 3.5 miles out and back.

The trail winds around, providing an expansive view that goes for miles and miles. At the base of the peak are massive houses. Close by are lush golf courses. Farther out are the McDowell Mountains, Four Peaks and Granite Mountain.

One of the great things about the hike is all the signage on the plants. In some ways it’s like being at a botanical garden.

While much of it is cactus; they are all so different. And the blooms are as stunning as the wildflowers found on a Sierra hike – just in a different way.

With all the people on the trail, the critters were hiding. But animals that have been seen along this trek include desert tortoises, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, coyotes, grey foxes, mule deer, javelina, bobcats and mountain lions. It is considered a wildlife sanctuary.

We were fortunate to have seen a javelina earlier on the Troon North Golf Course. Pinnacle Peak is a constant fixture when walking the course. The flowers and variety of cacti and other plants on the golf course are reasons to play a round – or just rent a condo and walk it with a glass of wine after the golfers have all left for the day.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

“I am a wife, a mother, a life-long reader, wanderer, and daydreamer.

“When my two sons were small, I constantly had to remind myself: if I raced through my life, I’d miss it. I wanted time to enjoy my children as children, time to play games on the floor, daydream, and read aloud at bedtime. Writing is still a way to stay in touch with my wiser self, a chance to pause each day and make sure I’m appreciating life as we are living it — right here, right now.”

— Katrina Kenison

The Cabin Creek biomass facility between Tahoe City and Truckee is moving forward.

Placer County Board of Supervisors at the last meeting unanimously denied the third-party appeal of the Dec. 6, 2012, Planning Commission certifications of the project’s final environmental impact report and approval of the project’s conditional use permit. The county and the appellant formulated several new conditions of approval for the project which were approved.

The next step is for permits to be obtained from the Placer County Air Pollution Control District to operate the proposed facility.

One of the goals of the project is as the county strives to reduce the threat of wildfire by thinning forests, the biomass facility would generate economically-sustainable forms of energy or other beneficial products.

Placer would be the first county to implement elements of the state’s Bio-energy Action Plan.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

To the community,

This week is National Nurses Week. It was May 12, 1820, that Florence Nightingale was born. Nightingale is most known for her work during the Crimean War of 1854. She and a team of 34 nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds.

She became known as “the Lady with the Lamp” or the “Angel of the Crimea.” She was given these names because of her constant watch and care of the soldiers – when she and her team arrived at the hospital, not only did the soldiers need wound care, but the hospital was filthy and in unmentionable conditions. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform. In 1860 she established St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses.

Transitions in Care nurses: Cesilia Uribe, R.N.; Emily Barkley, R.N.; Melissa Dahl, R.N., P.H.N.; and Andrea Baldwin, R.N. Photo/Provided

Still today, nurses play a critical role in the care of a patient. Their compassion and knowledge helps keep the health care setting steadily going strong.

As South Lake Tahoe’s only acute-care facility in this world-renowned destination area, our 200 nurses are dedicated to caring for Tahoe residents and visitors alike. They sit at the bedside and meet every need possible for patients. While putting their emotions aside, they communicate with patients’ loved ones at some of the toughest times of their lives. Often times, nurses treat visitors who have unexpected accidents or suffer from illness while on vacation. Not only has their adventure been delayed or canceled, but they are in an unfamiliar place and with a different culture. Nurses have become experts at understanding and empathizing with people from the all over the world. By using interpreter services to communicate in more than 100 languages, nurses have been able to build strong relationships with patients and their loved ones.

To all of you who serve in not only the inpatient and outpatient areas of the hospital but in various areas of our health care system, such as Barton’s urgent care, community clinic, family and internal medicine, ski clinics, surgery center, pediatrics, imaging, occupational medicine, long-term-care, home health, hospice, sports medicine, telehealth and many more – you are amazing. You have been critical in researching, introducing and implementing new programs based on evidence. Additional achievements include reducing the number of hospital-related infections (by 65 to 100 percent); you have been instrumental in the Patient-Family Centered Care Initiative to allow for 24-hour visitation at the bedside; received national recognition of the Transitions in Care Program, where specially trained nurses in chronic disease management assist patients after they leave the hospital. Several of your initiatives have helped move Barton Memorial Hospital to reach its highest patient satisfaction scores in history.

Whether you have just started your nursing journey or you have been here for 40 years – we are proud of your contributions, continuous passion and commitment to patient care.

Sincerely,

Barton Health’s Nursing Administration

Out & About Marketing, a digital marketing and social media firm, is taking a survey about social media in the Tahoe-Reno area.

Go online to participate. Participants will receive Milena Regos’ “20 Facebook best practices to increase engagement on your page,” entry to win a $25 gift card from Amazon.com, and the ability for businesses to compare their social media activity to others.

It takes about five minutes to complete the survey. Submissions are confidential. The survey is open until May 15.

Updated: May 11, 7:25pm

A climber was airlifted from Lover’s Leap late this afternoon to Sutter Roseville with at least a broken arm.

It took several hours for search and rescue crews to get the male climber – whose name, age and hometown are unknown at this time – off the rock.

Rescue helicopters are not an unusual site at Lover’s Leap. Photo/LTN file

CHP Officer Chuck Brothers told Lake Tahoe News the climber fell about 80 feet.

El Dorado County sheriff’s Deputy Greg Almos told Lake Tahoe News the climber was about 200 feet from the top. He was climbing Cravens Image on the western wall.

Lover’s Leap is a popular outing for rock climbers because it has technical and non-technical routes. It is on Highway 50 across from Horsetail Falls.

The call came in about 12:30pm May 11 and the CalStar helicopter left the scene just before 5:30pm.

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies and SAR led the efforts, with assistance from Lake Valley Fire, California Highway Patrol and CalStar, and El Dorado County Fire.

No one else in the climbing party was injured.

— Kathryn Reed

The dental van is returning to the South Shore.

This is for children who are on Medi-Cal.

Schedule:

· Bijou Community School from May 13-24

· Sierra House Elementary from May 27-31

· Tahoe Valley Elementary from June 3-7.

To make an appointment, call (530) 626,4786. If your child does not have dental insurance, call 800.388.8690.

Parents do not have to be present at the appointment. Dental services may include X-rays, cleaning teeth, applying fluoride varnish, sealants, filling cavities and removing decayed teeth that cannot be repaired.

In the first four months of the year, Washoe County sheriff’s deputies have issued 449 citations to drivers talking or texting on their handheld cell phone device.

Nevada prohibits the use of any handheld cell phone while driving. It is punishable by fines of up to $250.

The department supports the state’s traffic safety goal of zero fatalities on Nevada roadways.

“My office will continue enforcing traffic laws because I want Nevada roadways and highways to be as safe as they possibly can be, however, I urge those who continue to risk their lives and the lives of others to consider the most devastating consequences,” Sheriff Mike Haley said in a statement. “Maybe then, drivers will understand that the consequence outweighs the importance of using a phone and change their driving behavior.”