• Parade magazine calls Adventure Mountain and Granlibakken in Lake Tahoe two of the best sledding hills in the U.S.

• Lynn Gillette this week resigned as president of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village and Shannon Beets, executive vice president and provost, is temporarily taking over the top spot.

• The Christmas bird count on the South Shore tallied 74 species, with an additional seven during the week.

• Lake Tahoe News T-shirts are available for $15. Send a check made out to Lake Tahoe News to P.O. Box 13406, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151 and tell us your shirt size and where to mail it to. We have small, medium, large and extra large.

• Tahoe Donner Cross Country is opening this weekend.

• Dori Borjesson, a veterinarian and professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, will give a presentation on how stem cells function to heal tissues in animals and people, and clinical trials using stem cells to treat diseases in small and large companion animals on Jan. 15 at 5:30pm at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village. Cost is $5.

• The draft master plan for Martis Creek Lake and Dam in Truckee requires dogs to be leashed.

• J.T. Thompson is now tourism director for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.

• Ball field No. 2 at North Tahoe Regional Park will be named for fallen Placer County Detective Mike Davis.

• A report by the Partnership for a New American Economy says better tourist visa laws would boost the country’s revenue by at least $7.6 billion and create 50,000 jobs within five years.

El Dorado County Senior Day Care Services is offering Dementia 101, a mini workshop for families and friends who care for or supervise people with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.

The workshop will be Jan. 24 from 8:30am-noon at the Senior Day Care Center, 935A Spring St. in Placerville. The workshop features two sessions from presenters who have extensive experience and knowledge in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Session 1 is Dementia: What is it? Session 2 is Dementia: Understanding and Managing Behaviors.

Seating for the workshop is limited; registration is required. The workshop is free, although there is a suggested donation of $10. Check-in begins at 8:30am and includes a continental breakfast. The workshop begins promptly at 9am. For reservations, call the 530.621.6180.

• Employees of South Tahoe Public Utility District are making donations to Christmas Cheer and Live Violence Free this holiday season. Staff collected donations of food, toys, and more than $200 in cash for Christmas Cheer. They filled wish lists for 15 families of Live Violence Free.

• Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board is putting on a Climate Change Adaptation Planning workshop Jan. 15 from 8:30am-noon at Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.

• Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra is accepting grant applications. Applications and information are available online. The deadline is due Jan. 31.

• Squaw Valley will host the annual 2015 Reebok Spartan Race World Championship in 2015. The obstacle race series will be Oct. 3-4.

Alpine Smith Inc. South Lake Tahoe is providing free snow and ice removal services to families of currently deployed military personnel as well as wounded and disabled veterans.

Project EverGreen’s SnowCare for Troops program for in its fifth season. Snowplow and landscape professionals from across the country donate their services and time to ease the burden on military families or disabled and wounded veterans needing assistance this winter. Nearly 1,400 snow and ice contractors currently volunteer.

Interested local military families may register by calling 530.541.0250 or emailing info@alpinesmith.com.

• Chuck Nelson, South Lake Tahoe resident and president of the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, was appointed to the California Bicycle Advisory Committee.

• A bobcat has been seen multiple times recently in Washoe Meadows State Park.

• Lira’s market in Meyers is contemplating putting in an electric car charging station.

• Surf Air, a private membership airline, is serving Oakland International Airport with daily nonstop flights to Truckee.

• Diamond Peak is opening Dec. 20.

Update Dec. 16 9pm:

The Dec. 19 DUI checkpoint has been canceled because of the forecasted storm.

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South Lake Tahoe Police Department has plans for one  DUI/driver’s license checkpoint and 12 roving DUI saturation patrols this month.

The DUI saturation patrol will be operating from 7pm-3am now until Jan. 1. The DUI checkpoint will be Dec. 19 from 7pm-2am.

Additionally, police, sheriff and the CHP throughout the region are deploying multiple DUI operations to increase DUI arrests.

In December 2012 there were 830 people killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher; 26 of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. On average, a third (31 percent) of all crash fatalities in America involves drunken driving. But on Christmas Day 2012, the percentage jumped to 36 percent. Every year, more than 10,322 people are killed by drunken drivers in America, with 802 of those in California. In California, an additional 24,000 are seriously injured.

Nationwide, approximately 10,000 motorists are killed in alcohol-related crashes annually. The Nevada Highway Patrol is increasing impaired driving enforcement now through Jan. 5 in an effort to reduce that number.

The enforcement is part of the state’s Joining Forces program, consisting of officers from law enforcement agencies statewide, and is designed to keep travelers safe during the holiday season with high-intensity enforcement that zeros in on drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs.

So far this year, Nevada has experienced 59 alcohol-related deaths on its roadways, a decrease of 16 from the same time in 2013.

The Nevada Office of Traffic Safety urges motorists to designate a sober driver, take taxis, stay overnight or call a friend when celebrating the holidays. Make plans to get home prior to leaving for the evening.

Impaired driving statistics:

· Somebody dies every 51 minutes in the U.S. from impaired driving.

· Male drivers ages 26 to 35 are involved in the most impaired driving fatalities.

On Dec. 18 from 4:30-6pm the Truckee Police Department is hosting a presentation on the new driver’s license available from the California DMV as of Jan. 1.

This driver’s license will be available to any California resident regardless of immigration status.

The presentation will be primarily in Spanish and will include information, applications and study guides from DMV. DMV representatives will be present to answer questions and help applicants through the process.

The presentation will be at the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District building at 8924 Donner Pass Road.

The Truckee Community Christmas toy, food, and coat drives are under way. Collection bins can be found all over town for toy donations.

Coats may be donated at Church of the Mountains or Sierra Bible Church. And food items are being collected at local grocery stores. Look for the recommended food lists and barrels at the front of your favorite grocery store.

Contributions will directly help a local family in need that has been identified by area agencies, schools or churches, screened and approved to be a program recipient. To make an online donation, find out where collection bins are located, how to volunteer and more, go to this website.

For questions, call 530.587.2757.