By Green Bay Press Gazette

GIBSON, Wisc. — A boy hanging from a ski lift 25 feet above the ground was safely caught by a group of people below him, a witness said Monday.

The boy was seen about 2:45pm Sunday hanging from a chair on the lift at Hidden Valley Ski & Snowboard Area in Manitowoc County, according to witness Matt Roeser of Green Bay.

Roeser, who was inside a ski lodge, heard the commotion. A group had formed under the boy as he dangled from the lift. The ski lift was shut down during the rescue.

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Tahoe City Golf Course’s future is the subject of a noon Feb. 7 meeting at Tahoe City Public Utility District’s board room (221 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City).

The district is still finalizing the $5 million agreement to buy the property from the Bechdolt family.

Still to be decided is if the property would remain a golf course.

For information, call (530) 583.3796, ext. 21.

By USSA

CHAMONIX, France – Bode Miller of Franconia, N.H., came within 0.01 of victory in the first of two Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhills in Chamonix on Friday, as Klaus Kroell snagged the first Austrian speed win of the season.

Swiss Didier Cuche finished third to snap a two-race win streak, but retained the World Cup downhill points lead as Erik Fisher of Middleton, Idaho, and Travis Ganong of Squaw Valley stormed into the top 15.

It was Miller’s fourth World Cup podium this season.

Fisher was 12th and Ganong 13th.

Marco Sullivan of Squaw Valley was 27th.

The race was a make-up from the wind canceled downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.

A second downhill is scheduled for Saturday in Chamonix.

Northstar will host the Tough Mudder event series Sept. 22-23 at the Truckee resort.

Tough Mudder events are 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million participants, and more than $2.5 million raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

Registration is open.

For more information about the Tough Mudder event at Northstar or to register, go online.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

Maintaining the status quo when it comes to protecting Nevada’s sage grouse will eventually lead to its listing under the Endangered Species Act, a situation that could come with widespread economic impact to the state, experts said.

Instead, federal and state officials and private property owners must work together in a unified strategy to conserve increasingly threatened sagebrush habitat vital to the bird’s future, participants in a “stakeholder’s update” hosted recently by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office agreed.

“If we keep doing the same thing, we will end up with a bird that is listed,” said Amy Lueder, Nevada’s state director for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Representatives of the BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife and other agencies gathered in Carson City to discuss ongoing activities to protect sage grouse habitat and avoid its listing as a threatened or endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared in March 2010 that listing of the greater sage grouse is “warranted but precluded” across its range of 11 western states, including Nevada. That means federal scientists believe listing would be justified, but other species in bigger trouble have a higher priority.

By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog famous for making midwinter weather forecasts, had his moment in the spotlight early Thursday and declared that winter is far from over. But the competition begs to differ.

From Canada to Staten Island to the tiny town of Dunkirk, N.Y., on the shores of Lake Erie, other groundhogs competing for the title of grand prognosticator offered differing opinions on this Groundhog Day, which marks the midway point of winter. Perhaps they were confused by the unseasonably warm weather across much of the eastern half of the country. The temperature Wednesday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport hit a record for the day: 64 degrees. That’s more than 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.

Bob Will, who cares for Dunkirk Dave — a groundhog in upstate New York — along with many other sick and wounded marmots that he nurses back to health, calls the rivalry among groundhogs “a friendly competition.” But he also pointed out that while Phil, the most famous of the woodchucks, is actually pulled from his hole and paraded in front of a crowd, Dunkirk Dave is allowed to slowly emerge on his own from a hibernation spot under the ground in Will’s yard.

“That’s what they do — they pick them up by the neck and hold them up,” Will said of the event at Gobbler’s Knob, Pa., which was unfolding as Dunkirk Dave poked his head above ground and apparently didn’t spot a shadow, promising early spring weather. “But ours is in the ground. We always kid them and say ours is more accurate.”

Still, Punxsutawney Phil remains the big star in this competition, and as the sun slowly began creeping above the hills and trees of rural Pennsylvania on Thursday, thousands crowded Gobbler’s Knob to await his annual prediction. Legend has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow, winter weather will last another six weeks. If no shadow appears, an early spring is on the way.

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Heavenly Mountain Resort is teaming up with Nike Snowboarding to host the fifth stop of the Nike Winter Chosen Tour on Feb. 4.

The slopestyle rail jam will take place from 4-7pm on World Cup.

Nike’s Winter Chosen consists of two components: a video crew competition, in which riding and filming crews enter online for a chance to travel to Austria and compete with professional riders and videographers, and the Night Jam, a freestyle slope session featuring production lighting and local and professional snowboarders competing for $5,000 in cash prizes.

Watch the competition at the base of World Cup for free. For more information, or to enter the competition, go online.

There will be a rail jam Feb. 3 at the Hot Gossip parking lot (3447 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe).

Registration is from 4-5pm, practice 5-6pm and competition from 6-8pm. Registration fee is $25.

All competitors must wear helmets and be members of the USASA. Memberships available on site.

Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Foundation is having a Full Moon Yurt Dinner Fundraiser on Feb. 3.

Douglas Dale of Wolfdale’s will be the chef for the night.

The evening adventure starts with a moonlit ski or snowshoe from the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area to the trailside warming hut on Yellow trail where there will be fireside hot mulled wine and hot chocolate. The terrain is gentle.

Skiers return to the yinner Yurt. When the meal is complete you are within walking distance to your car. Limited tickets are available at $65 per person. This is an evening out for adults. All money raised benefits the Winter Discovery Program at Tahoe Cross Country.

Call (530) 583.5475 to make a reservation for the 6-9pm.

Sugar Bowl Resort will host its annual Environmental Awareness Day on Feb. 4.

A vendor village on the Judah Lodge deck will showcase local environmental organization’s services and programs, offering tips and ideas on how to live a greener lifestyle. Sugar Bowl will provide insight and details on the resort’s programs and policies in place for its extensive environmental stewardship efforts.

Businesses slated to participate include the Sierra Green Builder’s Association, Sierra Nevada Journeys, Envirolution, 3 Degrees and the Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships.

Sugar Bowl will match dollars on all Ski Green Tags purchased on Environmental Awareness Day as a charitable donation supporting Ski Green’s efforts. The tags are available for purchase at all resort ticket outlets for $2 a day or $20 for the season, with proceeds helping to offset carbon footprints emitted while traveling to and from the resort.

Lisa Phenix will provide music from 2-5pm.

For more information, go online.