Friends of the Library discusses critically acclaimed books at 3pm on the third Wednesday of each month.

Readers meet in the conference room of the South Lake Tahoe library.

For additional information, call Jeanne Benin at (530) 541.1371.

Books that will be discussed:

“Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos, July 18

“Dreams of Joy” by Lisa See, Aug. 15

“Remarkable Creatures” by Tracy Chevalier, Sept. 19

“The God of Animals” by Aryn Kyle, Oct. 1

“The Widower’s Tale” by Julia Glass, Nov. 14

Your favorite poetry selections, Dec. 12

“What is the What” by Dave Eggers, Jan. 16

“Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson, Feb. 20.

The North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association and the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sierra Human Resources Association are offering Working the Room: Build Your Elevator Pitch & Networking Skills on June 26, 4-5pm.

The event is at the Village at Squaw Valley, Alpenglow Conference Room, 1750 Village East Road, Olympic Valley. Cost is $10/person.

Attendees will learn how to make the most of networking opportunities to develop business and leads, while increasing their visibility. Participants will have the opportunity to try their new skills afterward at the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association business mixer, 5-7pm, at Squaw Valley.

The workshop will be lead by financial adviser Cynthia L. Houck, who has specialized in helping families and businesses solve immediate financial needs, such as investments, home financing and business loans, as well as plan for long-range goals, such as retirement planning and estate planning since 1996.

To register and for more information about the workshop, call Laura Moriarty at (530) 573.0224.

The California State Parks and the Sierra State Parks Foundation will be hosting Living History Day at Pine Lodge, a celebration of the anniversary of the lodge also known as the Ehrman Mansion, at Sugar Pine Point State Park on July 28 from 10am to 4pm.

Living history activities will include open house tours, a children’s activity zone, an antique car show and a wooden boats display. Refreshments will be available for purchase. All events are free, though there is a $10 parking fee.

Organizers of the event are looking for members of the community to help put on this annual living history day presentation. People of all ages are needed to wear costumes and play roles of the Ehrman family members, guests and employees. Helpers are also needed for the children’s zone that will include crafts, games, and activities.

Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, parking attendants, facilities assistants, boathouse docents, crafters and raffle assistants. Volunteers may contact Heidi Doyle at (530) 583.3074 for additional information.

By Danielle Knowlton

A common myth is hearing loss only affects “old people” and it is merely a sign of aging. The majority (65 percent) of people with hearing loss are younger than 65. There are more than 6 million people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 44 with hearing loss, and nearly 1.5 million are school age.

Did you know that untreated hearing loss can not only affect your ability to understand speech, but can also negatively impact your social and emotional well-being and ultimately decrease your quality of life?

Danielle Knowlton

The signs of hearing loss can be subtle and may emerge very slowly, or can be quite significant and come on suddenly. In either case, there are common indications. Possible social and emotional indications of hearing loss include:

• Requiring frequent repetition and having difficulty following conversations.

• Thinking words and voices sound muddled or hearing mumbling.

• Having difficulty hearing in noisy situations like restaurants, malls or crowded rooms.

• Answering or responding inappropriately in conversations.

• Having trouble hearing people with higher-pitched voices.

• Hearing ringing in your ears.

• Reading lips or intently watching people’s faces when they speak to you.

• Feeling stressed from straining to hear what others are saying.

• Feeling embarrassed about meeting new people or misunderstanding what others say.

• Feeling annoyed at other people because you can’t hear or understand them.

• Withdrawing from social situations because of hearing difficulties.

Physically, many things can contribute to hearing loss:

• Having a family history of hearing loss.

• Taking medications that can harm the hearing system (ototoxic drugs).

• Having diabetes or heart, circulation or thyroid problems.

• Exposure to very loud sounds over a long period or a single exposure to explosive noise.

In children, hearing issues can cause obstacles with speech and language development and cognitive thinking skills, especially if hearing loss occurs at birth or before speech and language are acquired. They may develop emotional difficulties and low self-esteem. Learning and behavior problems may arise at school. While most children are screened for hearing loss at birth, hearing loss can occur later, so if there are any concerns, they should be retested.

If you notice any of the signs above, call Barton Audiology or see your primary care physician for a referral. It may just be the best news you’ve “heard” all day.

If you or a loved one shows signs of hearing loss, make an appointment with Barton Audiology at (530) 543.5815.

Danielle Knowlton is an audiologist with Barton Health.

By Michelle Lee, Hollywood.com

Mobsters play a lot of games. You know, catch the machine gun fire, duck-duck-rat, follow the consigliere. But now, there’s a real board game made just for them. Or, at least fans of mobster movies.

To help celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Godfather, Hasbro is launching Monopoly: The Godfather Collector’s Edition.

And the transition into boardgame-dom is surprisingly smooth for the Francis Ford Coppola classic. In fact, the gamemakers could’ve easily repurposed some of the original tokens: the wheelbarrow (for burying bodies), the shoe (to fill with concrete) and the thimble (which makes a passable bullet).

But they revamped them all: so now, you can play with a gun, a dead fish, a cannoli, a Genco olive oil tin, Brando’s limo, and a horse’s head.

Meanwhile, the classic locations like Boardwalk and Park Place are replaced by the Corleone’s Long Island and Lake Tahoe estates.

Here is a video about the game.

The Squaw Valley Institute presents Western States Ultra Runners and the movie premiere of “Unbreakable” on June 21, 6:30pm, at Olympic Village Lodge in Olympic Valley.

Tickets are $15/person.

The Western States Endurance Run is a 100-mile run starting at Squaw Valley and finishing in Auburn. The event is June 23-24.

Nevada State Parks invites the public to enjoy a day of free historical presentations at Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa on June 23.

The outdoor presentations will begin at 10am and end at 4pm. Each presentation is approximately 30 to 45 minutes, with time for questions at the end. Bring lawn chairs, but leave pets at home.

The following is a schedule of the presentations:

• 10am – Cindy Southerland, cemeteries of Carson City and Carson Valley

• 11:30am – Doris Dwyer, Chautauqua presentation of Margaret Breen (Donner Party survivor)

• 1pm – Bob Stewart, Friends of Mark Twain

• 2:30pm – Fred Horlacher, Stevens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first wagon train into California in 1844.

Members of the Truckee Meadows and Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneers will also be on site demonstrating rope making, Dutch oven cooking, musket firing, pioneer toys, and pioneer tools.

For more information, call (775) 782.2590.

There’s really nothing witchy about this very friendly shorthair cat who has beautiful gray, velvety fur. She is a real sweetheart.

Found as a stray, Witchy loves to be stroked and she’ll play all day with you and other cats.

Witchy is spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to see photos and description of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe is seeking four outstanding professionals to visit Andhra State, in South Eastern India during January and February 2013 as part of the Group Study Exchange program of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

The exact travel dates have not yet been set, but the team is expected to leave in early to mid-January and return about four weeks later.

Through the program, teams of young professionals from two different countries exchange visits. For four to five weeks, team members experience the way of life, customs, and vocational practices of another country, while sharing information about their homeland. If selected, team members will be expected to attend at least three all-day training and orientation sessions in the Reno-Tahoe area in the four months prior to their departure for Brazil. The training sessions are normally conducted on Saturdays.

The purpose of the Group Study Exchange program is to promote international understanding and goodwill through personal connection. While abroad, team members stay in Rotarians’ homes and have the opportunity to meet their professional counterparts. They also give presentations to Rotary clubs and other groups about their home country.

The Rotary Foundation pays for round-trip airfare, and Rotary club members in the host country provide meals, lodging, and group travel in their district. Team members pay for personal and incidental expenses.

Young adults between the ages of 25 and 40 who are interested in applying should be employed full-time in a business or profession, and should be able to travel, with their employer’s permission, for the entire trip. Applicants must live or be employed in Rotary District 5190, which includes north-eastern California and northern Nevada. Team members are chosen through a process that includes an application and interview.

For information or to receive an application, contact John Upton at (530) 541.0525 or rkupton@aol.com or Cynthea Preston at (530) 541.4660, ext. 225 or preston@ltcc.edu. Applications are due by July 20.

The idea of Father’s Day was conceived slightly more than a century ago by Sonora Dodd of Spokane while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm.

A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration. June 17, 1910, was proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth.

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

The estimated number of fathers across the nation is 70.1 million, according to the Survey of Income and Program Participation

Number of single fathers in 2011 was 1.7 million, which represents 15 percent of single parents, according to Census Bureau.

The estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2011 is 176,000. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for at least one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for about 332,000 children, according to America’s Families and Living Arrangements.