Girl Scout Leader Tammy Blanchard and her South Lake Tahoe Brownie Troop No. 123 intend to “make the world a better place” by remembering and celebrating the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low’s, on her birth date – Oct. 31.

The troop will be honoring the first-to-be-born-on-that-day baby girl at the Barton Memorial Hospital by furnishing a basket of baby products and handmade birthday cards.

South Lake Tahoe Brownie Troop No. 123

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is a leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada, with whom Troop 123 is affiliated, serves more than 6,400 girls with assistance from 1,900 volunteers in 23 counties in Northern Nevada and Eastern California.

To donate new baby items for the basket, contact Girl Scout volunteer Linda Kabealo at (760) 238.0091, or Peggy Wright at Barton Memorial Hospital (530) 543.5547.

Attention all you crafty folk who sew, knit and crotchet. The 24h annual Caps for Kids’ collection is under way. The South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department is again the place to drop off all of your handmade goodies – booties, hats, scarves and mittens are wanted and appreciated for holiday distribution.

All of the donations will be given to local children this holiday season through Christmas Cheer.

For timely distribution, “caps” should be dropped off at the Recreation Complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., by Dec. 2. Include a note with your name and address.

Need an easy crotchet or knitting pattern? Drop by the Recreation Complex or call (530) 542.6056 to have one sent to you.

CalFire will be down staffing its two engines in the Lake Tahoe Basin (Station No. 5 in South Lake Tahoe and Station No. 55 in Carnelian Bay)starting Oct. 17 for winter.

Staffing levels are sufficient to respond to local emergencies and CalFire is prepared to call back additional resources if fire weather conditions change.

The month of October is fire prevention and awareness month.

This month, city fire crews will be visiting all the elementary schools to provide kids with hands-on practice of what to do if your clothes catch on fire, how to escape a burning building, dialing 911 for emergencies, and an introduction to some of the department’s apparatus and equipment.

So now is a good time to review fire safety plans with your family, check for working smoke detectors in your home, and establish a meeting area for your family in case of a fire.

— Sallie Ross-Filgo, SLTFD

Tahoe Douglas Rotary recently provided a donation to Zephyr Cove Elementary School for a climbing wall in the gym.

“The climbing wall supports physical activities for our local youth and is a natural fit with the outdoor environment that we live in here at the Lake,” Keith Byer, a member of Tahoe Douglas Rotary, said. “Support like this is just one of the many ways our club helps strengthen our local schools and community.”

Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club has made significant contributions to the Lake Tahoe South Shore and surrounding communities for more than 45 years, including raising more than $200,000 for local programs since 2000.

As part of its Chamber EDucation program, the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sierra Economic Development Corporation is hosting a Business Identity Theft Compliance Workshop on Oct. 26, noon to 1:30pm, at Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort, 6834 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe Vista.

Deadline to register is Oct. 24.

Attendees will learn about identity theft laws and how they affect businesses, business liability when there is a breach, the types of identity theft and behavior awareness, as well as tools for creating a policy to protect their business.

The cost is $55/person, and participants need to bring their lunch. To register, call the Sierra Economic Development Corporation at (530) 823.4703 or email info@sedcorp.biz.

• Northstar is the only California resort on Forbes magazine’s list of most kid-friendly ski areas.

• Mark Williams, music department chairman at Lake Tahoe Community College, will be staring in Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company’s production of “Phantom of the Opera” in November.

• Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows auctioned off the first combined season pass on eBay, with all proceeds benefiting the Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe. Tahoe Super Pass number 00001 sold for $1,294.69.

• The new Uranus record label just released its first CD containing Elvis Presley’s previously unreleased Dinner Show from May 11, 1973, in Lake Tahoe.

• Kate Bush’s latest album is called “50 Words for Snow” and one of the tracks is called “Lake Tahoe”.

Lattin Farms’ 14th annual Fall Festival and Corn Maze in Fallon is under way.

This year’s maze was inspired by Tractors & Truffles, a small farm agriculture and arts event that will be celebrated in Fallon on Oct. 15. Visitors going through the maze will find a trail quiz filled with tractor trivia questions.

The fall festival is a jubilee of family activities. Visitors can take a hayride to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin, build a life-size scarecrow at the Scarecrow Factory, or treat the little ones to a cow train ride or a trip through Critterville.

The fall festival is open throughout October from 5-8pm on Fridays and 10am-8pm on Saturdays. The maze will close at 6pm on Oct. 29.

Lattin Farms is located at 1955 McLean Road in Fallon. For more information, call 866.638.6293.

South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena is having a coat drive Oct. 6-Nov. 1.

Drop items off at the rink — 1176 Rufus Allen Blvd. They will be given to people on the South Shore.

Items being collected include:

-Blankets

-Coats

-Scarves

-Hats

-Gloves

-Firewood

-Other winter apparel.

For each donation, the rink is offering $2 of the admission to Terror in Tahoe.

Now is the time to order the finest fresh cut evergreen wreaths and decorations for the holidays. A portion of each purchase will benefit Austin’s House.

Choose from four holiday evergreen arrangements at reasonable prices. Noble fir and mixed evergreen wreaths are $20, 10 feet of western cedar garland is $20 and the table centerpiece $15. These prices are for local pick up. You may also order evergreen gifts that will be delivered directly to the homes of your family and friends for an additional charge. All holiday decorations are shipped direct from Sherwood Forest Farms in Washington and are guaranteed to be fresh.

The holiday evergreens will arrive around Dec. 5.

Contact Paula Hennefer at Austin’s House to place your order – (775) 267.6711 or -mail paula@austinshouse.org.

The deadline for orders is Oct. 25.

Austin’s House is the only emergency children’s shelter in rural Northern Nevada. The children are placed at Austin’s House after being removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.