El Dorado County’s 2012 Home Energy Assistance Program will begin accepting applications Sept. 10.

Federally funded HEAP helps income-eligible families pay their energy bills. HEAP can help pay for electricity, natural gas, wood, propane, or heating oil costs of eligible households. Benefits may be paid once a year. The amount of the benefit depends on household income and size, and the amount of the energy bill compared to income. Even if utilities are included in rent, HEAP may be able to help.

Due to limited funding, applications for 2012 HEAP will only be accepted from households with the highest energy burden that have at least one of the following living in the home: child(ren) under age 5, disabled individual(s), or individual(s) over the age of 60.

Applications can be picked up 937 Spring St., Placerville and 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Suite 202, South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call (530) 573.3490.

• Clean Tahoe was named volunteer of the year by Caltrans’ Adopt-a-Highway Program.

• Alta, Aspen-Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are partnering to offer one pass for the 2012-13 season.

• A celebration of life for Chris Nelson is Sept. 30, 2pm at the Tahoe Donner Lodge in Truckee.

• Here are the Caltrans’ roadwork schedules for the week – Sierra, El Dorado-Tahoe.

• The fields committee of the South Shore recreation JPA meets Aug. 20 at 4pm at Lake Tahoe Airport. Here is the agenda.

A smoke detector with a missing or dead battery is of no help to anyone. It’s a good idea to test your smoke detector periodically and a bad idea to take the battery out and use it for something else.

Read the instruction manual for your smoke detector and know how it operates and how to test it.

Remember, a smoke detector with a missing or dead battery is of no help to you or your family. Test your detector today.

— Sally Ross-Filgo, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department

Camp Tadaka is having its last fun trip of the summer on Aug. 21 for K-10. Campers will be going to Wild Island in Reno.

Cost is $30 and it includes lunch.

Bring swim stuff, sunscreen, and a water bottle.

Space is limited — (530) 542.6056.

El Dorado County residents can save big on energy bills and keep their homes cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter by taking advantage of free weatherization services available through the El Dorado County Community Services Weatherization Program.

Through the Weatherization Program, qualified low-income property owners and renters can receive up to $3,055 in improvements to the home. Weatherization technicians check the home to see where improvements can be made; services are tailored to each home and designed for maximum cost savings. Technicians can provide shade screens, fix broken glass, install fans in ceilings and insulation in attics, repair or replace water heaters, and repair or replace heating units and air conditioners.”

The Weatherization Program also has emergency heating and cooling funding to assist eligible households with the emergency repair, replacement and new installation of certain heating/cooling appliances and water heating appliances.

Households must meet program eligibility guidelines and specific income criteria to qualify for services. To learn more about the Weatherization Program and its requirements

For more information, call (530) 621.6150 in Placerville, or (530) 573.3490 in South Lake Tahoe.

If you drink and drive in El Dorado County, beware because the El Dorado County Avoid the 6 DUI Task Force is joining with law enforcement throughout the state for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign now through Sept. 3.

A DUI-driver’s license checkpoint will be conducted in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 17. Here is the schedule for the enforcement.

In 2010, 791 people died in California in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was at or above the legal limit. The group with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes was ages 21-24.

“On average there is one alcohol impaired driving-related fatality every 51 minutes across America. But this tragic loss of life can be reduced if we get impaired drivers off our roadways,” South Lake Tahoe police Sgt. Shannon Laney said in a press release. “Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign reduces alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. By joining this statewide effort, we will make El Dorado County’s roadways safer for everyone throughout the Labor Day period.”

If you’ve got a computer headache, curiosity or question, the South Lake Tahoe Public Library’s Computer Tutor might be able to help.

Bring your laptop, tablet, e-reader or smart phone and meet one-on-one with an experienced computer instructor. Appointments are available from 1–6pm on Sept. 18 and Sept. 25. Each appointment is 30 minutes and completely free.

Make an appointment by calling (530) 573.3185 or visiting the library at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.

Kmart in South Lake Tahoe on Aug. 18 from 10am-1pm will be collecting school supplies and cash to fill backpacks for local children.

The Lake Tahoe Boys & Girls Club is looking to fill 400 packs with pens, paper and other supplies.

Kmart with Jon Hetherton Farmers Insurance Agency, KRLT and KOWL is putting n the event.

Friends of the Library book sale is Aug. 18 from 10am-3pm.

Members get in a 9am. Membership is $10.

The Friends are paying for many of the new book purchases, for the children’s programs and special programs.

This is the only book sale of the summer. This is a “bag sale”, so all the books, DVDs, and more that you can get into a paper bag will be yours for $10.

If you have something to donate, call (530) 544-0938, ext. 3 or drop them off at the county library on Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

• Squaw Valley President and CEO Andy Wirth received the honor of the Chairman’s Outstanding Service Award from the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority board of trustees.

• Secret Cove on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is listed as one of the top 20 awe-inspiring U.S. beaches by SmartTravel.

• John Preston, 62, of Shingle Springs has been appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Board of Psychology.

• The annual Oscar de la Renta fashion show fundraiser for the League to Save Lake Tahoe raised a half million dollars for the group. The show moved to Incline Village after controversy arose over the former site in Tahoe City.

• Preschool Storytime is a fun-filled half hour of stories, games and crafts suitable for ages 3-5 on Sept. 14, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at 11am at the South Lake Tahoe branch library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.