The Tahoe Fund has $5,000 more in the bank thanks to Mark Rypien and Korbel.

Rypien, a former NFL quarterback, on July 18 competed in the Korbel Closest-to-the-Pin Challenge as part of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe. Teeing off from hole 17 he placed his ball 7 feet from the pin.

Korbel Toast Life Foundation put up the money for the donation. The Tahoe Fund is a nonprofit working to improvement the Lake Tahoe environment through restoration and recreation projects.

Reservations are being taken for the Placer County Sheriff Office’s Community Awareness Academy, which offers an inside look at the law enforcement agency.

Each of the eight classes covers a different topic.

Classes are Monday and Wednesday evenings, Sept. 3-29, in Auburn.

Attendees must be at least 18, work or reside in Placer County and agree to submit to a minor background check.

The deadline to sign up is Aug. 15; call 530.889.6922 or email arogers@placer.ca.gov.

• Lake Tahoe painter Millicent Meng is the visiting artist at Valhalla on the South Shore through July 22 from 11am-4pm daily. Fifty percent of all sales from this exhibit will be donated to South Tahoe Middle School.

• California has an official state amphibian: the California red-legged frog.

• Truckee is looking for people who are interested in helping to update the town’s Traffic Impact Fee Program. It will be a six- to nine-month process. Click here for an application.

• Forbes has come out with its top ski resorts for 2014. Squaw Valley is No. 5 and Mammoth No. 7.

• Rideshare service Uber is looking to expand into the Lake Tahoe market.

Night work will begin on Truckee’s Glenshire Drive Bike Lane Phase 2 Project starting on July 20 at 9pm.

Glenshire Drive will be closed between Donner Pass Road and Olympic Boulevard from 9pm-6am Sunday through Friday morning.

Olympic Heights residents will be allowed to access their neighborhood during the closure via the emergency gate (which will remain open overnight) through a signed detour route through the Old Greenwood neighborhood and the Overland Trail interchange with Interstate 80. Glenshire/Devonshire residents are encouraged to use Hirschdale Road.

Initial work will include the installation of erosion control measures, clearing and grubbing, culvert replacement and the potholing of utilities.

For any questions regarding the project contact Todd Landry, 530.582.2906.

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has approximately $1 million in federal funding available to provide grant assistance for projects that prevent or control nonpoint source water pollution.

Nonpoint source water pollution occurs when rain, snowmelt and irrigation water flows over developed or disturbed land, carrying with it contaminants including oil, sediment, pesticides, bacteria and nutrients.

All proposals must follow the guidelines that are online.

State, local and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions are eligible to apply. A non-federal match of at least 50 percent of the total project cost is required.

Examples of projects eligible for funding include:

• Water quality improvement projects;
• Implementation of best management practices to protect water quality;
• Public education programs aimed at reducing NPS pollution;
• Implementation of low impact development practices;
• Identified projects from an approved watershed implementation plan and/or total maximum daily load implementation plan.

Proposals will be accepted until Sept. 5.

Students entering kindergarten in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District in August need to be registered at their local school.

A child must be 5 on or before Sept. 1, 2014. If your child will turn 5 before Dec. 1, they qualify for transitional kindergarten.

California law requires:

1. The child’s birth certificate.

2. Proof of immunization, which includes the Varicella (chicken pox), Hepatitis B and for most children, the last booster shot. Children will not be enrolled in school without presenting an up-to-date immunization record.

3. A health examination upon entry to school. Schedule with your family doctor or clinic.

4. Oral health examination upon entry to school (dental examinations that have occurred in the last 12 months meet this requirement).

5. Proof of California residency.

Call the school for an appointment to register. Staff will be available starting Aug. 4:

Bijou Community School 530.543.2337

Sierra House 530.543.2327

Tahoe Valley 530.543.2350

South Tahoe Middle School 530.541.6404

South Tahoe High School 530.543.2255.

The first day of school is Aug. 25.

Placer County is getting hit hard by phone scams. Savvy scammers are making money by using new tactics.

Victims have reported to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office that they were contacted by someone saying they are from PG&E or another utility service. The victim is told that their service will be shut off if there is no immediate payment made. The victim is instructed to make the payment using “Green Dot MoneyPaks.” One local victim was scammed out of $2,900.

The second scam is when a victim gets a call from someone claiming to be a family member in jail or in a medical facility. The victim is instructed to send a “Moneygram” to a specified location.

A Green Dot MoneyPak is a prepaid card usually used by people who don’t have bank accounts. The cards are available at retail stores for $4.95. They can be loaded with up to $500 at most retailers or $1,000 if used at Walmart, and then used to shop online or to add money to a PayPal account.

Victims are told to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak card, load it with a specific amount of cash, and transfer the serial number to the swindler who then transfers the money to another card.

Scammers like using Green Dot MoneyPak cards because it isn’t linked to a bank account and just like cash, it’s untraceable. Unlike cash, though, the transaction can be done over the phone, so it’s totally anonymous, making it just about impossible to catch the criminal.

Sheriff’s deputies are reminding citizens to never give personal information to a stranger and to be wary of anyone who calls on the phone trying to collect a debt.

• Placer County had the best agricultural presentation among all counties at the California Fair.

• Measure E will be on the November ballot for Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District voters. E being for education, though the money is for facilities.

• Carson Tennis Club’s second annual Compass Tournament is July 19-20. Click on for the registration form.

• Vested Interest in K9’s Inc. recently gave Washoe County sheriff’s K9 Astor and his handler Deputy Dennis Allen a K9 ballistic vest valued at $950.

• The Truckee Donner Historical Society’s 34th annual Old Timers’ Picnic & History Expo is July 19 from 10am-4pm at Truckee River Regional Park on Brockway Road. For more info, go online.

The candidates forum for Sue Novasel and Kenny Curtzwiler, who will face each other in a November runoff for District 5 El Dorado County supervisor, has been moved to July 29.

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the 6:30-8pm event at the CCC building in Meyers, had not asked the candidates their schedule before scheduling the event so it had to be changed.

Washoe County sheriff’s deputies are intensifying efforts to keep vehicles and valuables safe at county parks and trailheads.

Data from previous years shows a definite increase in vehicle burglaries at parks and trailheads during the busy summer months. In order to reduce those burglaries, the department has launched a proactive, summerlong action plan.

Investigators identified 54 vehicle burglaries directly related to county parks and trailheads during the summers of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

In an effort to increase public awareness, 30 signs have been installed at two dozen designated parks and trailheads.

The key messages of Take ConTRoL are:

C – Clean it Out: remove valuables from your vehicle.

T – Take your keys with you. Never leave your car running.

R – Report suspicious activity or crimes to the proper authorities as soon as possible.

L – Lock your doors every time. Sheriff’s office statistics show that 75 percent of this year’s vehicle burglaries involved vehicles that were left unlocked

Anyone who see suspicious activity in any County park or trailhead is encouraged to call 775.785.9276.