An online tool is allowing Douglas County residents to help the county manage its checkbook.

Now through Dec. 19 people will be given the opportunity to emphasize which services and programs are most important to them by dividing the funds just as they would for their own personal household budget. The six categories are:

· Safe community
· Economic vitality
· Well maintained infrastructure
· Financial stability
· Preservation of natural environment, resources and cultural heritage
· Managed growth and development.

Holiday shoppers who infiltrate North Tahoe and Truckee businesses between Black Friday and Christmas Eve will be entered to win a seven-night vacation accommodation package or cash.

Shoppers can enter the Show Your Love — Shop Local promotion by picking up a contest card at participating retailers in Tahoe City, West Shore, Kings Beach, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Incline Village and Truckee and then getting the card stamped by those retailers after completing a purchase of at least $25. Shoppers with 12 stamps will be entered into a drawing for the seven-night accommodation package in Greece, Costa Rica, Sedona or Cancun. Shoppers with four stamps will be entered into a drawing for a $300 cash prize.

The contest was designed to support local businesses, reduce the carbon footprint of locals traveling outside of their community to shop, and protect the region’s local character. The contest begins Nov. 28 and runs through Dec. 24. Contestants have until Jan. 5 to submit their cards for entry into the drawing. The winners will be chosen Jan. 15.

For a full list of participating retailers, full contest rules and contest submission guidelines, go online.

• People who purchase a new Lake Tahoe license plate in either California or Nevada could receive two free lift tickets to one of 13 Tahoe resorts participating in the program. More info is available online.

• Tahoe Regional Young Professionals’ mixer is Nov. 12 at 6pm at Azul Latin Kitchen in Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe. Admission is free for TRYP members and $10 for non-members.

• Tahoe Cross Country ski swap is Nov. 15 from 10am-4pm, 925 Country Club Drive, Tahoe City.

• The last day to purchase a fuel wood permit from the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is Nov. 14 and the last day to cut wood is Nov. 16. Permits cost $20 per cord, with a two-cord minimum purchase and a limit of 10 cords per household.

• Bill Hoffman, executive director/CEO of the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors and Convention Bureau for the last 16 years, is retiring. Andy Chapman, chief marketing officer for North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, will replace Hoffman.

The Tahoe Area Sierra Club is hosting a presentation about Antarctica by Brooks and Karen Martin on Nov. 20.

Brooks Martin was the onboard physician of the National Geographic ship Explorer for one month last December. The Explorer departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, and crossed the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula.

The couple will show a 30-minute video produced and edited by the onboard videographer and then share their slides of the trip. The presentation will highlight the wildlife and scenery.

The event is at 7pm at Unity at the Lake Center, 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe. All are welcome and the event is free.

Tahoe Choir and Lake Tahoe Community College Chorus’ winter concert Celebrate the Season is Dec. 7.

The String Beings is the special guest.

The concert is at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 1041 Lyons Ave., South Lake Tahoe starting at 3pm.

Get tickets from choir members, or one hour before show. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, and free for children under 5.

For more info, call 530.541.2635.

Now that the autumn months are upon us, it’s a good time to locate and label, or visually indicate where your water and gas shut-off valves are.

Do this inside and outside of your home.

Then, when the snow flies again, and the possibility of frozen and buried pipes occur, we will be able to quickly minimize any damage to your property.

Thanks for helping us serve you better.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center’s annual tamale fundraiser is under way. Orders being taken through Nov. 12 at 5pm.

Pork, chicken and cheese tamales are $20 a dozen. People may mix-and-match orders.

Orders will be taken Monday-Friday from 8:30am-5pm by calling 530.542.0740, or email dhooper@tahoefrc.org or fax 530.542.0397. Pickup will be Nov. 17 from noon-5pm. at the center.

Hard Rock Cafe inside Harveys at Stateline is hosting a paint and sip event to benefit WhyHunger.

Between Nov. 10 and Dec. 1 at 6pm an artist will guide people through each step of the featured painting. All the materials you will need will be provided, including a 16 x 20 canvas, paint, brushes, and apron.

Cost is $40. The ticket and select beer-wine sales will benefit WhyHunger. WhyHunger is a leader in building the movement to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutrition, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.

To purchase tickets, contact Jenny Meazell or Kimberly Templeton at 775.588.6200.

Incorporate OV Foundation has received nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Incorporate Olympic Valley was formed by Squaw Valley residents concerned about maintaining their mountain culture and gaining local control and jurisdiction over land use decisions, locally generated tax revenues, and key services prioritized by locals, such as snow removal and road maintenance.

This came about after the ski resort proposed a large scale development project in and around the village area.

The startup IOV organization recently reorganized into two entities: The Incorporate OV Foundation was restructured as a 501(c)(3) and Incorporate OV restructured as a 501(c)(4). The 501(c)(3) is focused on managing the legal process of incorporation, while the 501(c)(4) is focused on the incorporation process as well as the campaign for community dialogue and support.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team will host an open house Nov. 12 to explain and answer questions about how agencies plan and implement prescribed fire in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The event is from 5 to 6:30pm at the USFS office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe.

Participating agencies include the Forest Service, CalFire, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, and Tahoe Douglas and Lake Valley fire protection districts.

The open house will provides an opportunity for the public to meet basin fire managers and find out how these agencies make decisions about when and where prescribed fire operations will take place. Fire weather forecasting, smoke dispersal and fire behavior modeling, and how moisture in vegetation is tested before burning will be explained.

Attendees can also see prescribed fire before and after photos, maps of upcoming project locations and sign up for prescribed fire notifications.