The Bringing Art To Schools Program recently had an end of year art show in conjunction with South Lake Tahoe elementary school open house.

Student art pieces were displayed in each school.

Student art work at Bijou. Photo/Provided

Trained volunteers attempt to provide the opportunity to explore a variety of different art materials ranging from chalk, crayon, marker, cut paper, printmaking, clay, watercolor and even 3-D sculpture. Guest artists are recruited from the community to provide additional lessons when possible.

The BATS volunteers wish to thank all the dedicated teachers and eager students who helped to make the program so successful.

For more info on this program, go online.

Bona Fide Books in Meyers is offering a two-day class, An Organized Mess: Making Graphic Novels at its office in Meyers. Two three-hour sessions are June 25 and June 26 from 10am-1pm.

The cost is $69 for both sessions.

Instructor Jared Manninen is a graphic novelist and co-founder of Makoto Press. Manninen was an artist for years before publishing his first graphic novel, the recently released “Gruesome Tales to Tickle Your Terror Bone”.

Jared Manninen

Students will learn about the process of creating graphic novels. Through practical application and discussion, students will explore script writing, illustration, lettering, scanning, and printing. Other topics to be covered include contemporary comics history, self-publishing, and graphic novel resources.

The class is geared toward people who want to write and draw black and white books, but anyone who is interested in the medium is welcome.

Class size is limited, so early registration is recommended. Register for the class online at www.bonafidebooks.com/events or send an email to erin@bonafidebooks.

For more about Jared Manninen, go online.

Bona Fide Books is an independent press that seeks to connect readers with writers and build community. For general information, contact publisher Kim Wyatt at (530) 573.1513 or editor@bonafidebooks.com.

The park and log cabin museum are open at Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa.

While at the park, visit the log cabin museum and see the 1862 Light Cavalry saber belonging to John Reese, founder of Mormon Station. The sword is on display at Mormon Station for the first time in more than 40 years. View other relics of early settlers from when they traveled along the California Trail, some settling in Genoa.

The museum entry fee is $1 per person. Children 12 and under are free. There is no charge to picnic in the park, walk the grounds and enjoy the area.

Upcoming events:

June: Pony Express re-ride celebration on June 17, the Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneers Living History Re-enactment on the 18th, an evening with young Chatauquans on the 15th and a Snowshoe Thompson celebration with the Sons and Daughters of Norway on June 18.

July: Annual Pops in the Park during the Fourth of July weekend celebration with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra. Later in the month, enjoy several historical presentations by state Archivist Jeff Kintop, California Trails Center Director Dave Jamiel and others.

August: On Aug. 20, a Chautauqua presentation by Doris Dwyer, who plays Sarah Royce, a pioneer woman who traveled the Carson route of the California Trail.

September: The annual Candy Dance celebration is Sept. 24 and 25.

For more information on any event, call (775) 782.2590.

Jazzie is a nice medium-sized shepherd mix who will make a great addition to just about any family.

She is just under a year old, is house trained and gets along well with the other dogs at the shelter. She loves to play and would be happy in a home with older children. Jazzie will be great at keeping the cats and squirrels out of your yard. She needs a family who will take her on long hikes, as she has lots of energy.

Jazzie 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.

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

By Bonney Brown

This is a busy time of year for those of us who enjoy gardening. There are a few things you can do to keep your yard and garden safe for your pets and wild animals, too.

Some lovely garden plants can be toxic to animals. If your pets tend to eat plants, see a full list of toxic plants on the Animal Poison Control Center’s website.

Fertilizers can be attractive to some animals and can cause digestive upset or more serious problems. Careful storage and following of the instructions on the package for the appropriate waiting period after application will protect your pets. The same goes for insecticides and herbicides.

Nontoxic pest control, such as diatomaceous earth (food or garden grade — not the treated stuff for pools); Safer Insecticidal Soap; Sluggo Plus; and BT, or Bonide Bacillus Thuringiensis, are effective and a lot safer.

Bonney Brown is executive director of the Nevada Humane Society.

Read the whole story

By Kara LaPoint, Reno Gazette-Journal

When the Nevada Women’s Fund honors 62 Northern Nevadans at its Salute to Women of Achievement luncheon June 13, Barbara Corcoran will address them as the event’s keynote speaker.

What she will present them with is, in many ways, a message of hope and possibility — peppered with some practical advice from her own journey to success.

“I’m going to talk about my 150 percent belief that perception creates reality when it comes to business,” she said.

Corcoran is a renowned real estate mogul who turned $1,000 into a multimillion-dollar real estate firm. She is the author of three books, including her most recent, “Shark Tales,” which details her inspiring story and provides advice for starting a business. But Corcoran is perhaps better known for her appearances as a frequent contributor on NBC’s “Today Show” and as a star of ABC’s reality show “Shark Tank.”

Corcoran said she will deliver a message she hopes will resonate with the audience of professional women.

“I’ve always believed people can learn more from stories than lectures,” Corcoran said. “People retain stories.”

Corcoran was one of 10 children who grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in New Jersey. She earned D’s in high school and college and held 20 jobs by the time she turned 23. But Corcoran had a powerful role model in her mother, she said, who gave her confidence. She also had determination — as well as some good fortune.

While working as a waitress, Corcoran met a boyfriend who would ultimately loan her $1,000 and suggest that she’d be good at selling real estate. Corcoran took the idea, and the loan, and dove in head-first to begin building the business she is known for today.

Read the whole story

By Keith Rogers, Reno Gazette-Journal

LAS VEGAS — When John Gargus helped plan the historic but unsuccessful raid to rescue U.S. prisoners of war from the infamous Son Tay compound in North Vietnam, radar-evading warplanes and stealth helicopters weren’t among his options.

Forty-one years ago, aircraft that delivered Special Forces soldiers to reach their target deep behind enemy lines had to fly below the radar.

Equipment such as infrared imagery and night-vision goggles were only fledgling technologies. The first forward-looking infrared instruments were used on escort planes in the Son Tay raid.

“We had six night-vision goggles. We borrowed those from Fort Belvoir (Virginia), where they were under development. It was a top-secret project,” said Gargus, a retired Air Force colonel who lives in Henderson and wrote a book about the Son Tay raid.

Gargus, 76, said he was amazed by the preparations that were made and technology that was used in the raid by Navy SEALs to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in the early morning hours of May 2 at his walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Read the whole story

In 2007, U.S. military veterans owned 2.4 million businesses, which accounted for 9 percent of all businesses nationwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These businesses generated $1.2 trillion in receipts, or about 4.1 percent of all business receipts nationwide, and employed nearly 5.8 million people.

“Veteran-owned businesses make a valuable contribution to our economy, but until now, we did not have a benchmark that measured their role. This is the first time that we can estimate the total number of veteran-owned businesses,” Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg said in a statement. “Their impact on our economy is even greater when you add to that total those businesses owned equally by veterans and nonveterans.”

All in all, businesses where veterans were majority owners or half-owners numbered 3.7 million, representing 13.5 percent of all businesses nationwide, accounting for more than $1.6 trillion in receipts and employing 8.2 million people.

The new data come from the Survey of Business Owners: Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2007,which provides the first-ever detailed information for all veteran-owned businesses in the United States, including number of firms, sales and receipts, number of paid employees and annual payroll. Statistics are also shown for nonveteran-owned businesses, as well as for businesses that are equally owned by veterans and nonveterans.

Nearly one-third of veteran-owned businesses (32.5 percent) operated in the professional, scientific, and technical services and the construction sectors.

The three states with the largest number of veteran-owned businesses in 2007 were California, Texas and Florida. California had 239,422 veteran-owned businesses, or 9.8 percent of all veteran-owned businesses in the United States. Texas had 199,476 businesses, or 8.1 percent, and Florida was home to 176,727 businesses, or 7.2 percent.

Los Angeles County had more veteran-owned businesses in 2007 than any other county, with 62,667, or 2.6 percent of all veteran-owned businesses nationwide.

By Emilie Lucchesi, Reno Gazette-Journal

There are many outdoor activities that require education and certification.

Scuba divers, for example, must train indoors under an instructor’s supervision before hitting the open water. Or to legally drive a motorcycle, riders must pass a driving test and receive a special license.

But there aren’t any requirements regarding hiking, camping or heading into the deep wild for sport.

Read the whole story

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

Residents of the Sacramento region are less likely to give to charity than their counterparts nationwide – and the average amount given per household lags behind the national average.

These are among the findings of the Greater Sacramento Generosity Project scheduled for release this week, and the impetus for a campaign this fall to boost charitable giving.

The project, commissioned by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and the Nonprofit Resource Center, found that 62 percent of households in the four-county region — El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo – give to charities, compared with 66 percent of households nationwide. The average annual contribution per donor household in the Sacramento region is $1,990, trailing the national average of $2,355.

Read the whole story