Darya Vogt points out various features in her garden. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – “Gardening is such a surprise.”

So said one of several people on Monday’s preview of the annual Tahoe in Bloom Garden Tour.

Much of the time they are good surprises. For the six houses that will be featured on the July 25 tour the recent hail storms were an unwanted surprise. Most homeowners lamented how prior to the storms their gardens were in much better shape, leaves didn’t have holes in them and plants didn’t look so downtrodden.

Call them perfectionists because the beauty that spills forth from this neighborhood off Kingsbury Grade is a sight to behold. Despite most of the yards having grass – and some with quite a bit, the focal point is what can be done without sod.

This field of lavender was planted in October and one day will be filled in.

Robin and David Winter created the most drastic change after removing sod from the side of their house. It’s now a lavender field.

“The main thing I wanted to do was save money on water and save water,” Robin Winter said. And save they did. In summer 2012 they used 44,000 gallons of water per month. Now usage is 18,000 gallons per month.

Six varieties of lavender are planned. Eventually, the perimeter will have the tallest which will create a fence of sorts around the property. Another variety will be used to make oils for Winter’s massage therapy practice.

Karen and Billy Hayes grow a variety of veggies in their back yard.

Billy Hayes has multiple rows of raspberries out front covered with mesh to keep the birds out. These edibles were brought from Cottonwood, where he lived years ago. They are thriving at Tahoe.

More things to eat are being grown in the back yard in raised beds.

Burying bowling balls halfway into the ground created a unique element to borders. Golf clubs and sawed off skis are accent features.

Some areas of various yards are more manicured than others. While most have sections that look wild and a bit unkempt, it’s that natural setting with native or adapted native plants that oozes Tahoe. No need to go on a hike – these yards have plenty of wildflowers.

Drought-tolerant plants are everywhere. Some are ground cover, while others are waist high and make for a kaleidoscope of color.

Paths meander through the colorful flora. Yard art is popular in most places – whether it’s birdhouses, an old two-seater chairlift swing from Stagecoach and ski boots planted with flowers, or a fire hydrant with recirculating water.

Big blue

Sitting areas abound to be able to enjoy these natural works of art.

All houses are within walking distance to each other. The tour, sponsored by the UCCE Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe, will have a master gardener at each house who will be able to answer questions in addition to the homeowner.

At three of the houses will be specific presentation stations. They are:

·       Fill your yard with perennials that reseed – how to make it happen in Tahoe.

·       Toss that lawn and plant water-wise Tahoe friendly perennials.

·       Square foot vegetable gardening and attracting Mason bees.

Rose campion

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Notes:

·       Tahoe in Bloom Garden Tour is July 25 from 9am-2pm.

·       Tickets are $20. They are available at Nel’s Garden Center, Aspen Hollow Garden Center, Tahoe Outdoor Living, and Sun Basin Nursery.

The 3rd annual Meyers Mountain Bike Festival is designed to be bigger, with two days of riding and fun on Aug. 8-9.

On that Saturday there will be demos, shuttles and riding with Ibis, Norco, Specialized, Knolly and Intense. Sunday will be the famed Triple Crown Ride, expo and bands at Divided Sky.

Pre-registration is available online for $35 per day or $65 for both days. All proceeds go back to the trails.

Several bike baths are being built in the Lake Tahoe Basin this summer, with most expected to be completed by fall.

They include:

• Sawmill 2 – Closing the gap on Sawmill Boulevard Bike Trail in El Dorado County
• Nevada Stateline to Stateline Bikeway – Laura Drive connection on the South Shore
• South Tahoe Greenway – Herbert to Glenwood Shared Use Trail in South Lake Tahoe
• Al Tahoe Boulevard – upgraded sidewalk in South Lake Tahoe
• Highway 89 – bike lanes and wide shoulders from the Y to  Taylor Creek Visitor Center on the South Shore and then Tahoma to Ward Creek on the West Shore
• Zephyr Cove Campground to Warrior Way – this shared-use trail is now under construction and will be completed next summer.

By KXTV-TV

An orphaned baby bear cub is now safe thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers in Lake Tahoe.

The BEAR League, a non-profit organization in Lake Tahoe, said the orphaned cub named Bridger had been seen on his own without his mother, Jasper, for 10 days. Bridger’s sister had been killed by a car months earlier.

Read the whole story

“I kept telling my caddie, ‘Keep me in the moment,’ because I kept thinking ahead a little bit. I couldn’t think straight. On 18 I thought I had to two-putt to win. When I missed that putt, I was so angry at myself,” Mark Mulder told NBC. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

By Susan Wood

STATELINE – Former Major League Baseball pitcher Mark Mulder threw a curve into the final round of the American Century Championship Sunday by winning the golf tournament for the first time.

With family in tow, Mulder won with 82 points (5-under 67 on Sunday’s final round) by edging out ex-Los Angeles Dodger Eric Gagne by one point and Jacksonville Jaguar kicker Josh Scobee by three.

Upon the last putt on the 18th hole, Mulder threw his arms up and his wife and three children soon joined him. They’ve been a steady presence throughout the tournament. Then, he held up the trophy and the crowd cheered.

“It feels amazing. I’m not going to lie. It’s something I think about all year long I guess, leading up to this,” Mulder said during the press conference where his son Xander joined him. It was like a Golden State Warriors Steph Curry post-game moment.

Mark Mulder for the first time hoists the ACC trophy. Photo/Susan Wood

Mulder practices through the year in Flagstaff where he feels the higher altitude will help his golf game here at Lake Tahoe. His odds here were 8:1, making it “a regret” he didn’t bet.

The ex-ball player appeared poised, dedicated and humble.

“It’s great to see a first-timer win,” NBC Sports spokesman Gary Quinn said, walking out of the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course clubhouse.

When asked by Lake Tahoe News whether he can relax now that’s he’s won despite admitting numerous times to feeling nervous, Mulder laughed and shook his head.

“I’m going to sleep so well tonight. To be honest with you, the last couple of nights I didn’t sleep (so) terribly. I just didn’t sleep that great. And people don’t understand, this isn’t what I or any of the other guys (do for a living). So you put me on the mound in front of 100,000 people, and I could (not) care less. You put me in front of a couple thousand people, and it’s a different animal. I see guys make fun of PGA Tour players when they hit a bad shot. People don’t understand how stressful this is and how difficult this is,” he told Lake Tahoe News. “It’s taken me a few years to kind of understand what it takes to win this. I played with ex-winners or previous winners in previous years, been paired with them. I’ve seen what it takes. So I think that’s all a part of that preparation for today I guess.”

Mulder had a point about the stress level of so many people staring at such a close distance. It seemed the whole spectator crowd had gathered at the 18th hole to watch Mulder, Scobee and Gagne duke it out. A hush came over the crowd, which was more subdued Sunday than the day before at the afternoon hour.

Josh Scobee took third after leading after Day 2. Photo/Susan Wood

Saturday afternoon featured a sombrero worn by Scobee’s caddie, a foot race between a sponsor and one-time center fielder Kenny Lofton and a mass autograph session that took almost an hour for entertainer Justin Timberlake to move off the course.

Mulder admitted Saturday at the end of the round that he “didn’t start out great but ended strong.” He just tried to stay consistent. Multiple winner actor Jack Wagner even gave a tip to his fellow leaders Mulder, Scobee and Gagne – focus on the putting, and in particular, the 4-footers.

Mulder had a 35-footer on hole 12 Sunday and way overextended with the ball ending up at the bottom of the green. He still pulled off a bogey, a rally that proved instrumental in his success.

Despite the occasional snafus and distractions associated with this golf tournament, Sunday was all about the business in hand. And Mulder had the upper hand. Even the crowd seemed to appreciate his family ties watching most every move.

When they weren’t watching the leaders, Florida friends Margo Roca and Sharon Popa took in their favorite part of the event – the scenery. They’ve attended three times.

“We like the scenery on this walk. We don’t have this in Florida. To see the beach on one side and the mountains on the other, it’s gorgeous,” Roca said.

Cheyenne Brown at the Junior Championships at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon. Photos/Provided

By Jessie Marchesseau

Anyone who has spent at least a few days on the slopes can tell you that skiing is an expensive pastime. But the cost of a weekend ski trip pales in comparison to the expense of being a ski racer.

Each season, racers and their families fork out thousands of dollars to get a shot at a podium. They pay for ski passes, coaching and training, race entry fees and gear, including multiple pairs of skis, boots, goggles, helmets and race suits. Then there are the travel costs to get to each race, about 20 per season, such as gas or airfare, hotels (most races last two to four days) and food while on the road.

Long-time Squaw Valley Ski Team coach Lee Schmidt said it’s not unrealistic for families to spend upward of $50,000 on a season of ski racing. Some help is available through scholarships, sponsors and donations, but he admitted nearly all of the members of the U.S. Ski Team come from privileged socioeconomic backgrounds.

Cheyenne Brown is on quest to make the U.S. Ski Team.

Regardless, a big pocketbook is not necessarily a requirement to be a successful ski racer. Take Cheyenne Brown of Soda Springs for example. At 15, Brown has only been ski racing for four seasons, but has racked up some pretty good finishes as a member of the Squaw Valley Ski Team. Last season she was one of six girls in her age group from the entire western region to qualify for the National Championships in Sugarloaf, Maine. At the Junior Olympics, Brown was the highest placing girl from the western region. This year she has set her sights on a spot at the Junior World Championships.

“She’s very dedicated. She sets very high goals and can reach those goals,” Schmidt, who has coached Brown for the last two seasons, told Lake Tahoe News. He said she is a good example and a leader for the other girls on the team, both on and off the slopes.

Brown was born into a skiing family; she was on skis before her first birthday. Her grandparents, Norm and Karen Saylor, were the former owners of Donner Ski Ranch. Her brother was a racer for a while, as was her mother. Now the family runs a ski shop in addition to a firewood business and a shirt printing company.

“We’re all blue collar. We work hard,” Cheyenne’s father, Mitch Brown said of his family. “You do what you can do, and Cheyenne helps out a lot.”

He estimated they spent between $5,000 and $10,000 on ski racing last season.

So why does a self-proclaimed lower middle class family dedicate so much of their income to making sure Cheyenne gets to ski race?

“For the love of the sport, you know,” he said. “You love it; your kids love it. And we wish we would have had the opportunity to do the same thing.”

So even though it’s expensive, they make it work. And Cheyenne is a big part of it. When she’s not skiing, working out in the gym or doing her schoolwork she is often working. She attends a charter school to better accommodate her racing schedule. Cheyenne is a busser and hostess at Village Pizzeria, runs the child care at a local gym, coaches softball, acts as a scorekeeper for the men’s softball league, takes babysitting jobs and works at all three of the family businesses.

After eight-hour days training on the ski slopes, Cheyenne will stop into the ski shop in the evenings to help out. She works alongside her mother, Mitzie, designing and printing T-shirts and sports jerseys. And when it comes to the firewood business, Cheyenne can run the backhoe, the loader and the saw.

Competitive ski racing is in Cheyenne Brown’s blood.

“She knows that the money we earn goes into the ski racing fund,” her father said. “She’s not afraid of hard work.”

Nonetheless, she could still use a little help. Cheyenne applies for ski racing scholarships each year and has received aid from entities such as the Squaw Valley Ski Team and Lake Tahoe Ski Club Foundation. She gets discounts on gear from her sponsors including Völkl skis, Bollé goggles, Briko helmets and Olympic Bootworks, but they don’t offer up any cash. She also accepts donations on websites she has set up with organizations such as Make A Champ and Go Fund Me.

Cheyenne has every intention of taking her ski career all the way to the U.S. Ski Team like her friend and mentor Resi Stiegler, and that means dedicating summer months to skiing as well. She has attended off-season camps in the past at places such as Mt. Hood, Mt. Bachelor and Mammoth, but this year she has made an even bigger commitment. Starting at the end of July, she will be spending almost a month training alongside big name skiers and coaches in New Zealand.

“It’s very hard here in Tahoe to get better if there’s no snow,” she said. And though a ski trip to New Zealand may seem like an unnecessary expense to some, Cheyenne said that’s not entirely true, not if you want to really take your skiing to the next level, and she does.

Cheyenne doesn’t mind giving up her summer to skiing. She would be happy if it were winter year-round. Skiing is where her heart is.

“I truly, genuinely love everything about skiing and ski racing .… I love the adrenaline of going fast and arcing the perfect turn,” she said. “I don’t even know what it is. It’s my passion, I can’t even explain it.”

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Notes:

To help Cheyenne pursue her ski racing dreams, donations are being accepted here and at this website.

Josh Scobee, right, goes into the final round of the ACC on July 19 in the lead. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

For a man who makes his living using his foot, Josh Scobee is proving he also knows what to do with his hands when holding a driver, irons and putter.

The Jacksonville Jaguars placer kicker finished Day 2 of the American Century Championship atop the leaderboard by five points. Scobee was in the hunt much of the first day. He goes into Sunday with 57 points, six under par.

Scobee shot a 33 on July 18 to tie the best record for the second day of the tournament. That’s what Billy Joe Tolliver shot in 2010 when he won the tournament. Scobee pulled this off with having bogeyed on hole 18.

“It was a fantastic round. I just tried to stay focused and take each shot as an individual shot. Being a kicker, it is kind of like kicking a football. You have to take each thing individually and focus on that one thing and not try to get anything clogged in your head and play your game,” Scobee told NBC.

Retired MLB pitcher Mark Mulder shot the same score as Day 1 – 26 – and while that was good enough to be the leader with Jack Wagner after Friday’s round, it puts him in second place going into Sunday’s final 18 holes.

The celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe uses a modified Stableford scoring system.

Actor-comedian Rob Riggle, right, indulges in a selfie with a fan. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

Rounding out the top 10 are:

Eric Gagne – 51

Mardy Fish – 49

Jack Wagner – 46

Rick Rhoden – 43

Billy Joe Tolliver – 41

John Smoltz – 40

Mike Modano – 40

Sterling Sharpe – 38.

The tournament has been all bad for Larry the Cable Guy. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

Charles Barkley – perennial cellar dweller – has resumed that position with a score of minus 62. The next closest person to him is Larry the Cable Guy with minus 32.

The action starts early on July 19 with the first tee time at 6:50am.

1. Brian Polian ‏@BrianPolian 

   It wasn’t just celebrity golfers who were getting some exercise at Lake Tahoe on Friday.

UNR football coach Brian Polian brought his players to the lake on July 17 for a workout before camp starts next month.

He posted a series of photos on Twitter.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Mark Mulder on July 17 putts on a reconfigured hole 9 at Edgewood Tahoe. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — Veterans of the American Century Championship are contending with two new holes. Holes 8 and 9 have been reconfigured to accommodate the Edgewood Lodge that will break ground in August.

A fence is up around part of what was the green for hole 9. It has been moved farther west to be closer to Lake Tahoe.

The fenced area is where the 159-room hotel will be built. It will have views of the lake and golf course.

At one point there was talk of having the tournament be 15 holes this year, but Edgewood Companies, which owns the property, and the contractors were able to keep 18 holes intact for the ACC.

The lodging property is expected to take 20 months to build.

These hotel guests will be able to watch the ACC because on Friday a seven-year contract was signed to keep American Century Investments as the title sponsor of the tournament that is owned by NBC, and to continue playing it at Edgewood Tahoe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

American Century Investments’ Chief Marketing Officer Mark Killen at a press conference said the chemistry of all the parties involved makes this tournament so successful. This is year 17 American Century has been involved in the 26-year-old tournament.

This is the longest running celebrity golf tournament in the United States.

Justin Timberlake has a phalanx of Douglas County deputies at the golf tournament. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – The biggest name in this year’s ACC celebrity golf tournament can’t be found in the top 10 after Day 1, but the fans don’t care. Justin Timberlake is No. 1 with the crowd – at least based on gallery size – no matter his score.

The singer-actor is tied at 20 with Ray Allen and Joe Carter. As he approached each hole the throng of autograph seekers and admirers swelled compared to the other groups. Plus, he had five Douglas County sheriff’s deputies walking the course with him to ensure fans didn’t get out of hand.

This is the first year Timberlake has played in the 26-year-old event at Edgewood Tahoe. He didn’t disappoint on Friday.

Actor Jack Wagner is seeking his third ACC title. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

“He’s really social and he’s one of the guys. He’s very easy to hang out with. And it’s really a big, big plus for this tournament, I think,” actor Jack Wagner said at a press conference.

While there are other entertainers in the field of 91 athletes, it is dominated by athletes. This duo met at the tournament this week. Both are serious golfers.

Timberlake was showing he could entertain and play golf at the same time. He and Alfonso Ribeiro (“The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and 2014 “Dancing with the Stars” champion) appeared to see who could swivel their hips the best. It brought out rousing whoops and hollers from the crowd.

Kevin Nealon and Charles Barkley are comedic with their play and fan interaction. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

For Charles Barkley – ex-NBA star – hip swiveling is about the last thing he can do. While Sir Charles has always been challenged on the golf course, it’s even more apparent this year because he is awaiting a hip replacement. Still, he isn’t in last place. That distinction goes to former model Kim Alexis.

Former soccer star Brandi Chastain has not lost her touch. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

Alexis and Brandi Chastain played together July 17. Chastain showed off some footwork that might have made her eligible for this year’s U.S. women’s World Cup championship team. On hole 17 she was bouncing a mini soccer ball like it was a Hacky Sack, then sent a spiraling football into the crowded beach and sunk a basketball with her feet into a mini soccer goal.

Willie Robertson gives the broadcast crew an earful. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

Chastain is in 80th place, tied with Larry the Cable Guy. He played with Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame, who in his lime green headband with feather still looked like he had walked off the set of the TV show. At one point he sprawled out on the ground and began talking into one of the microphones on the grass.

Some familiar and not so recognizable names are atop the leaderboard after the first day of the three-day tournament. (A modified Stableford scoring system is used.) Past champions Wagner, Billy Joe Tolliver and Rick Rhoden are in the hunt. Wagner is tied with Mark Mulder for first place. Wagner won the event in 2006 and 2011.

Mark Mulder has been prepping for this tournament with the goal of winning it. Photo Copyright 2015 Carolyn E. Wright

Mulder, a former pitcher with the A’s and Cardinals, got his groove on when he moved to the front nine after starting the round on hole 10. By the end of the day he proved pitchers transition well to a sport with a smaller white ball.

“I’m looking to win it. And I’m going to be disappointed if I don’t because I know my game’s good enough and I’ve worked on it enough to try to be prepared to do that,” Mulder said at a press conference.