Snoopy is a goofy, entertaining, and smart little puppy. He probably has some Shetland sheepdog in him, considering his long and slender muzzle, but he’s already a little bigger than most Shelties.

He is affectionate, and just wants to be around people. He has been at the shelter only a few days, but he’s eager to get to his new home.

Snoopy is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He 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.

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

Auditions for the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of “The Tortoise Versus the Hare” are Nov. 14 from 4-6pm at South Tahoe Middle School multipurpose room.

If cast, there will be a fee of $35 per child.

Auditions are open to students in grades K-12, must be at least 5 years old.

A limited number of scholarships are available..

The performances are Nov. 19 at 2pm and 6pm at STMS. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children.

Call Peggy Thompson with Tahoe Arts Project at (530) 542.3632 for more information.

In rural areas, heating fires account for 36 percent of all house fires, according to CalFire.

Tips for a warm, worry-free winter:

• Make sure your wood burning (pellets or firewood) stove or fire place is clean and ready for the winter. Chimney fires often occur when the first cold nights arrive and someone lights a fire in a stove or fireplace that has not been properly maintained. Creosote builds up over time in your chimney or stove pipe and can catch on fire which can spread to your roof and/or attic. It is best to hire a professional who can check the entire system, not just clean out the chimney or stove pipe.

• Never use an outdoor heater, such as a patio heater or barbecue, indoors. They are designed to burn fuels such as propane, natural gas or wood all of which

release carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that kills 500 people annually and sends another 15,000 to emergency rooms.

• Never heat your home with your kitchen oven, they are not designed for that purpose and could overheat and catch fire. If your oven is gas, the resulting carbon monoxide can pose a deadly threat.

• If you use space heaters, make sure they are a minimum of three feet away from flammable materials such as curtains, drapes, furniture, etc. Also make sure

they will shut off automatically if they are tipped over. Kerosene space heaters are illegal to use inside a home in California. You can use them in a garage or barn where the ventilation is more open and able to dissipate the fumes.

— Provided by CalFire

Tickets go on sale today for what officials hope will be the event to shake things up New Year’s Eve weekend – SnowGlobe Music Festival.

With thousands of people milling about the Stateline casino corridor each New Year’s Eve with nothing to do but be cold and drink, South Lake Tahoe has come up with an alternative for this crowd and anyone else.

With three main stages and nearly 50 world-class musicians, Lake Tahoe Community College is going to become a music venue Dec. 29-31.

Mirrored after the SnowBall Music Festival near Beaver Creek, SnowGlobe it Tahoe’s version of this event that this year sold out in Colorado.

No need to drive from the Stateline hotels because a shuttle service will be provided.

A limited number of reduced-cost early bird festival passes go on sale today, with the advance three-day passes on sale Nov. 9. Regular three-day passes will be for sale later – but the date had not been released.

For more information, go online.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November as “National American Indian Heritage Month.”

As of the 2010 Census, the nation’s population of American Indians and Alaska Natives, including those of more than one race totaled 5.2 million. They made up 1.7 percent of the total population. Of this total, 2.9 million were American Indian and Alaska Native only, and 2.3 million were American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.

The projected population of American Indians and Alaska Natives, including those of more than one race, is 8.6 million on July 1, 2050. They would comprise 2 percent of the total population.

The nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native population between the 2000 Census and 2010 Census increased by 1.1 million.

The states with more than 100,000 American Indian and Alaska Native residents as of the 2010 Census were: California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New York, New Mexico, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota and Illinois.

There were 334 recognized American Indian reservations in 2010. This total excludes Hawaiian homelands. All in all, there are 617 American Indian legal and statistical areas for which the Census Bureau provides data.

The federal government recognizes 565 Indian tribes.

Tahoe Regional Young Professionals will bring the Lake Tahoe community together to raise funds for Tahoe Youth & Family Services on Nov. 19 from 6-10pm at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe.

TRYP’s Winter White Holiday Party not only benefits a family in need, but provides an opportunity for locals from around the basin to get to know one another.

The evening includes live entertainment, holiday games and door and raffle prizes donated by local businesses including ski resorts tickets, gear tune-ups, wine tasting, and more.

Attendees are encouraged to wear “winter white” (though not required). Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and drinks will be available for purchase.

Tickets are $15 in advance at Tahoe Production House (2291 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe) and Lake Tahoe TV (3445 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Ste. A, South Lake Tahoe) or $20 at the door.

Cash or checks will be accepted.

Questions, tickets, volunteer opportunities or to donate raffle prizes, email TahoeTRYP@gmail.com.

By Rob Sabo, Northern Nevada Business Weekly

Nevada’s oldest settlement is set to get a face lift next summer.

Douglas County community leaders are working through a plan to make Genoa’s downtown more pedestrian friendly with improvements designed to increase parking and help shoppers move about more freely. Other proposed enhancements are planned to upgrade aging infrastructure and beautify the historic settlement — and leaders hope the work will lure more travelers to the town.

The Genoa Destination project, working with an already-established $1.5 million budget, seeks to beautify the historic downtown by adding landscaping, burying overhead utilities, repaving disintegrated asphalt and improving walkways, street crossings, lighting and signage.

Currently in the engineering phase, Douglas County officials hope to get projects out to bid by next spring, says Lisa Granahan, economic vitality manager. Work is expected to be completed before the annual Genoa Candy Dance, the largest special event in the Carson Valley. Much of the scoping work was conducted in previous community assessments and economic vitality studies, Granahan notes, which has allowed the project to advance at a much quicker pace.

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The Valhalla Grand Hall of the vintage 1924 Heller Estate which is listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places hosts the 16th annual Valhalla Holiday Faire. Featuring a 40-foot high natural stone fireplace, the Grand Hall will be decorated in a festive holiday mode Nov. 19 10am-5pm and Nov. 20 from 10am-4pm.

Twenty-three local vendors and artists will be offering a varied assortment of handmade and other special items for purchase at this South Shore event.

Father Christmas comes to visit as local school choirs and other musical groups perform through out the two-day holiday festival.

Raffle tickets for raffle packages of items donated by the vendors will be available as well as chili, clam chowder, hot mulled wine, hot cider, water, sodas, and cookies will be available for purchase.

The event is free.

Overflow parking will be available near the gate on Highway 89. A shuttle will be provided if people don’t want to walk in.

By Megan Hicks

BROWN’S TOWN, Jamaica – For over a year and a half now, I have been working as a Peace Corps volunteer at the St. Christopher’s School for the Deaf in Brown’s Town, Jamaica.

I have revamped the school’s library by organizing existing books, giving the room a fresh coat of paint, and hiring a deaf artist from the community to paint a beautiful mural of the alphabet in sign language. The school has also received donations from various organizations – including the Moose Lodge of South Lake Tahoe – that donated books, bookends, and DVDs. This generous donation allows students to read books in and out of the classroom and to participate in other reading-related activities during designated “Library Time”.

South Lake Tahoe's Megan Hicks is working with the deaf in Jamaica. Photo/Provided

Because the ability to read and comprehend is such an invaluable skill, I have endeavored to instill a love for reading among my deaf students. To this end, I have assisted in the implementation of a reading competition and a pen pal program for students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades with a school in San Ramon. The students not only learn about another culture, but they improve their writing skills through the pen pal program. And through partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, St. Christopher’s School has also become involved in the Junior Achievement program, which teaches students financial literacy along with other valuable life skills.

I also teach sign language classes to ancillary staff members who work in the school dorms and to community members. I interpret meetings at my school and occasionally for the Jamaican Association for the Deaf in Kingston.

I initially learned about the Peace Corps from one of my college roommates, and later again, from a teacher in my interpreting program, who served as a volunteer working with the deaf community. Though I always thought that giving two years of your life to help others was extremely honorable, my teacher’s experience made me think more seriously about becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. Growing up in South Lake Tahoe, I always felt so lucky to have amazing family and friends and I thought it was time to give back. The Peace Corps is the best way to do that.

Volunteering in Jamaica has been enormously rewarding. Every day I am rewarded by seeing my students’ beautiful faces light up when they pick out a book or when they run to give me a hug first thing in the morning. Knowing that I have helped the students increase their motivation to read is extremely gratifying.

A little background

I’m a true Tahoe girl. I was a Thunderbird at Tahoe Valley Elementary School, a Timberwolf at South Tahoe Middle School, and a Viking at South Tahoe High, graduating in 1999. I was even a Fighting Kokanee Salmon at LTCC until I graduated 2002 and transferred to UC Berkeley to get a degree in American studies with an emphasis in disability studies. After graduation, I attended Berkeley City College for two years to learn more sign language and the Interpreter Preparation Program at Ohlone College in Fremont. I became a freelance interpreter in the Bay Area for about two years, and then moved to South Lake Tahoe to spend time with my parents before leaving for the Peace Corps. In South Lake Tahoe I worked as an interpreter for the Lake Tahoe Community College, and also waited tables at new Red Hut on Ski Run Boulevard.

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

Bill Eadington has taught economics for 42 years at UNR, and along the way he’s become one of the world’s leading authorities on commercial gaming and gambling issues.

On Tuesday in Las Vegas, Eadington will be inducted into the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame with a Special Achievement Award for Gaming Education.

Last week, Eadington, 65, sat down with the Reno Gazette-Journal to discuss the uncertainties and challenges gaming and tourism face in the Reno-Sparks market and what the future may hold.

Question: You’ve been in Reno for more than four decades. You’ve seen the trends. Where is the area headed?

Answer: The tourism component of the economy is shrinking and likely will continue to contract. The local casino market will become a locals market, and that’s even more dire for Lake Tahoe as consumers in general are more convenience driven. Look at the last decade with the increase of casinos in California.

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