Students at the magnet school excelled at the El Dorado County Spelling Bee.

The fifth-grade team of Sophie Aronoff, Marley Befu, Kiara Furrer, Alexa Hall, Khushi Panchal and Katie Riffel placed first.

Taking second was the first- and second-grade team comprised of Tyler Dore, Tiffany Cutting, Ryder Preston, Ava Selger, Ella Schweitzer and Scott Yamaoka. Also taking second was the third- and fourth-grade team of Paden Magdeleno, Abigail Sandorff, Kade Schrauben, Kyla Schrauben, Sophie Waldie and Erin Yamaoka.

· There will be a disc golf tournament May 23 to raise money for the Tahoe Vista Animal Shelter. It is at the North Tahoe Regional Park in Tahoe Vista from 10am-4pm. Registration is at 9am, cost $25. Bring a dog on leash to get $5 discount.

· The Good News Club will have an end of the school year bowling party at Tahoe Bowl in South Lake Tahoe on May 21 from 3-5:30pm. All area students between the ages of 5 and 13 are invited. Bowling is free. The Good News Club is part of the worldwide Child Evangelism Fellowship.

·  Comments on the draft California State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 update are being taken until July 2. The document is online.

·  Tahoe Prosperity Center has revamped its website.

·  Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is putting on a free seminar for business owners with an ABC license and their employees on May 28 from 10am-2pm at Lake Tahoe Airport.

El Dorado County Commission on Aging is planning a three-part series of classes on retirement to help Boomers transition from full-time employment to retirement.

All classes will be at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center, 1800 Rufus Allen Blvd., from 5:30-6:30pm.

Classes are:

• June 3: Social Security benefits.
• June 10: Health insurance during retirement.
• June 17: Living your retirement.

A donation of $5 is suggested to cover the cost of refreshments.

Call Gerri Grego at 530.545.2839 for more information.

Washoe Lake State Park is putting on drought-related program Memorial Day weekend.

Participants will be taught the reason Washoe Lake is dry. Discussion will include the dynamics of Washoe Lake, the rain shadow effect and the water cycle.

There will be a short 15-minute walk out onto the dry lakebed, and children may participate in making bracelets with beads that represent the water cycle: evaporation, precipitation and condensation.

The event will be May 23 and May 24 from 10-11am each day.

All events are open to the public and free of charge; however, there is an entrance fee into the park of $7 per vehicle (cash or check). Nevada residents receive a $2 discount. Washoe State Park is located at 4855 Eastlake Blvd., take the Eastlake Boulevard Exit No. 44 from I-580.

Sierra Nevada College historian and Sierra Nevada native Gary Noy on May 27 will present an illustrated lecture on unusual and lesser-known stories of Sierra Nevada history, with a special focus on the Lake Tahoe region.

The presentation is based upon material from his book “Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots and Rogues”, which will be available for sale and signing. Noy will recount the tales of two journeys — the 1844 journey of the Murphy-Townsend-Stephens Party from Iowa to California and the 1848 story of Melissa Coray and the Mormon Battalion traveling from California to Salt Lake City. The tales will touch on historical aspects of Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass, Truckee, Carson Pass, and Hope Valley.

History Happy Hour starts at 6pm in the Twain Room at the History Exhibit (in same building as Starbucks), 899 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village.

Cost is $5.

·  Comments on the draft environmental impact report for the Squaw Valley Specific Plan are being taken until July 17. The document is available online.

· The Douglas County Public Library in Minden will be closed May 25 for Memorial Day.

· Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County has entered into a contract with El Dorado County Health and Human Services to provide mentors for children as young as 3 years old in South Lake Tahoe. For more information about the South Lake Tahoe program, contact Brenda at 530.626.1222 or brenda@bbbs-edc.org.

·  Leadership Lake Tahoe applications are due June 12. For more info about the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce program, go online.

·  Christopher Cruz, 50, of El Dorado Hills has been appointed chief deputy director of operations at the California Department of Technology.

·  Elena Duarte, 49, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed to the California Commission on Uniform State Laws.

Sign ordinances might prohibit such color today. Photo/Bill Kingman

Constructed in the 1930s as the Bal Bijou cornering Highway 50, this building featured a dance hall. It hosted  many prominent dance bands and performers into the 1950s.

The photo above is from 1965 in a later incarnation as Nay’s Bijou Center Market.

Photo/Bob Rockwell Collection

By the 1970s, it had become one of the three local Inks Markets.

In the succeeding years, it housed the Liquor Barn, followed by Smart & Final. Long’s Drugs opened one of their South Shore locations there in 2004, and today it is CVS Pharmacy.

— Bill Kingman

It was a Long’s drug store until that company was bought by CVS. Photo/Bill Kingman

In 2004, the building was a nondescript blue. Photo/Bill Kingman

Today this is one of three CVS stores on the South Shore. Photo/Bill Kingman

Every Hero Has a Story is the theme of the summer reading program for kids at the Douglas County Public Library. Unmask is the theme for the teen summer reading program for ages 12-18.

Registration starts June 1 at the Minden and Zephyr Cove libraries. The program continues through July 31. Go to the library’s website to fill out a registration form and then bring the printed form to the library.  The website also has program information and a place to sign up to receive email/text reminders.

For more information, call 775.782.9841.

Jeff Marsolais, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit forest supervisor, will be speaking at the May 28 Tahoe Area Sierra Club meeting.

He will be speaking on a variety of issues, including recreation sustainability and landscape collaboration. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and comment in an open forum after the talk.

The free talk is at 7pm at Unity at the Lake, 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

·  John Simons will be taking over for Beth Delacour as principal of South Tahoe Middle. He comes from Oakdale Junior High School.

·  The fifth annual Aquatic Invasive Species Public Forum is May 21 from 5-7:30pm at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course in Meyers.

·  The El Dorado County Grand Jury is accepting applications for the 2015-16 term. Here is an application.

·  Mammoth Mountain is staying open through Memorial Day.

·  Here are next week’s Caltrans roadwork schedules for El Dorado-Tahoe and Sierra.