TRUCKEE, Calif. - Truckee Town Council has agreed to pay $15,000 to install three 16-foot tall flower sculptures at the Pioneer Trail roundabout.
The forged steel sculptures will be donated by Troy Corliss, a local Truckee artist, who estimates his mountain flowers sculptures to be worth $30,000. The $15,000 in installation funding comes from the town's general funds; it was approved unanimously at last Thursday's meeting.
Joining fellow council members in their praise for the sculptures, Richard Anderson said he thought the installation fees are more than justifiable.
"I think for a town investment in relation to what we're receiving it is appropriate," Anderson said.
While council members unanimously supported the installation, there were still concerns about liability and the structural integrity of the sculptures in harsh weather conditions.
"I think the likelihood of the structures causing damage would be on the slim side," said Dan Wilkins, engi

In the article about Tahoe Donner open space concerns, there is no mention of how any of the proposed building complexes will affect the cross country trails and hiking and biking. So far only a "group of homeowners" is concerned because not everyone who uses the trails in both the summer and winter even knows about proposals. I only heard about it from a neighbor by chance last week; I didn't get a mailing that was supposed to have been sent.
There was no mention of notifying the Tahoe Donner cross-country customers who don't live in Tahoe Donner of the plans. All three of the proposed open space sites would be on or right next to trails. The Skislope sites would be on the Crazyhorse ski trail where it parallels Skislope and on or by the trail that intersects with the downhill area. The Alder Creek site would be at the trail junctions of Lions Leap, Sundance, Tumbleweed and the trail to Euer Valley. These areas are supposed to protected. With offices and storage, the buil

Newsflash: Being a local has nothing to do with how many days you spend in Tahoe Truckee.
Communities are changed and improved by people who care enough to do something about it. The Lahontan community exemplifies how part-time residents - many of whom are very part time - achieve local status by doing what it takes to make your community a better place.
For the most part, Lahontan community members are in residence July to August. They pack a lot into those months. Playing golf, Friday night gatherings, dinners, book clubs, bridge games and many children's activities.
Here's what else they pack into these months: a charity golf tournament, cooking breakfast at the Senior Center and a mentoring project that matches successful business people with nonprofit executives. The payback for this work is that Lahontan community members become invested in the community and have a sense of belonging - in short, they become locals.
Lahontan residents volunteer t

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Variations on the phrase are nearly everywhere - from the back of cars to storefront windows.
There's The Brewery at Lake Tahoe's "Drink Tahoe Brew," Blue Turtle Seduction's "Keep Tahoe Seductive," Tahoe Hemp Company's "Keep Tahoe Green," and seemingly countless others.
But one variation on the League to Save Lake Tahoe's famous "Keep Tahoe Blue" logo recently attracted the attention of the conservation group's lawyers.
On July 16, Rochelle Alpert, an attorney representing the league, sent a letter to Chris Minnes, the owner of Keep Tahoe Fit, contending the South Shore personal trainer's logo infringed on the conservation group's registered trademark.
Keep Tahoe Fit's initial logo closely resembled the league's, which includes a light blue stamp of Lake Tahoe's shape to the left of white, uppercase, sans serif letters reading "Keep Tahoe Blue" on a blue background. Minnes replaced th

TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. - The annual Trails and Vistas "If Dreams Were Clouds" art hike will occur in Squaw Valley, USA, Sept. 11 and 12. As in past years, the goal is to educate the community about the beautiful, yet fragile, Lake Tahoe environment by way of a creative, interactive art hike. Once again, residents and visitors will participate in an artistic journey along a stunning hike.
Trails and Vistas is on the verge of receiving a $10,000 grant if they can raise just $386 by Friday, Sept. 10. Contribute $10, $20 or more to keep arts and the environment thriving in Tahoe. Make a tax-deductible donation to Trails and Vistas for any amount, large or small. Donations may be made with Paypal at www.TrailsandVistas.org, by check to Trails and Vistas, 10309 Cromley Square, Truckee, CA 96161.
With more than 30 artists working together and nonprofit organizations helping to produce the event, collaboration is essential to a running a smooth event and Trails and Vistas i

TAHOE CITY, Calif. - The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association (NLTRA) has retained the executive recruiting firm SearchWide, headquartered in Minnesota and specializing in the tourism and travel industry, to identify and recommend potential candidates to take on the leadership role of Executive Director/CEO of the organization.
"SearchWide is assisting us in finding the best possible candidates to move the NLTRA forward in achieving world-class destination resort status," said NLTRA Board President Alex Mourelatos of Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort. "This individual will lead us in addressing the tourism challenges and issues that face our region as documented in our master plan and prioritized by the Board of Directors. This is an outstanding opportunity to continue the journey and great work that has been done in collaborating amongst a diverse stakeholder group in achieving sustainable prosperity in the region."
SearchWide specializes in tourism and travel

TRUCKEE, Calif. - As the winter season approaches, Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort is beginning its search for service-oriented, professional employees to fill a variety of seasonal positions for the upcoming winter. The resort, recently named a "Best Employer" finalist in the 2010 Best Of Truckee/North Tahoe contest hosted by the Sierra Sun and the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, has scheduled two on-site job fairs and will hire for positions including the Northstar Resort ski and snowboard school, race department, lift operations, food and beverage, rentals, demos, resort activities and sales, retail and more. Upcoming job fairs include:
Ski & Snowboard Instructor & Race Team/Services Hiring Fair: Oct. 9, hosted in the Village at Northstar Saturday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., this hiring fair is designed for applicants interested in working for Northstar Resort's race and/or ski and snowboard school. Skiing and non-skiing positions will include full-time, part-time and holiday/on-

NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. - A brainstorming session about marketing Nevada County didn't yield any groundbreaking ideas, but attendees hope support from supervisors will take a major campaign from idea to reality.
About 100 people attended the western Nevada County planning meeting last Wednesday, led by Truckee-based Switchback Public Relations. It's a kick-off after Switchback won $90,000 from the county to market the area as whole. A similar meeting took place later in the day in Truckee.
"We need to create a united effort, because right now (marketing efforts) are pretty fragmented," said District 2 Supervisor Ed Scofield, who attended the Grass Valley meeting. "And somehow, they're going to have to draw west and east (county) together."
Past marketing efforts have been spearheaded by the county's six separate chambers of commerce and focused on individual cities. Supervisors have talked about a countywide campaign for years.
Th

OAHU, Hawaii - Tahoe City Boy Scout Troop 266 spent their one week summer camp on the North Shore all right, but not Lake Tahoe's North Shore. They attended Camp Pupukea on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Scouts from Troop 266 with the rank of First Class and higher were able to attend this Boy Scout Camp.
While at camp the Scouts participated in the Hawaiiana Award Program. This award is unique to the Aloha Boy Scout Council. The program is designed to educate Scouts about Hawaiian heritage. The Scouts had to research pre-European history of the Hawaiians, collect leaves from different Hawaiian plants, learn Hawaiian terms, participate in Hawaiian games and visit Hawaiian historical sites. The Scouts were able to imu a pig, make ti leaf skirts and perform the hula with accompanying chants at the camp luau. The Scouts also had time to go snorkeling, ocean kayaking, boogie boarding, swimming with sea turtles and enjoy shave ice. After leaving Camp Pupukea the scouts drove

TRUCKEE - His team had just completed a 44-0 rout against visiting Dayton to open the season, and Bob Shaffer was hardly thrilled about it.

"It was a win," the Truckee head coach said. "We had a good first quarter. But the other three quarters were pretty bad. Not from a defensive standpoint; our defense did well for the most part. It was our offense that had too many turnovers and penalties.

"We can't play that way and expect to beat anyone else. We can't just play one quarter and think we're going to win."

On Saturday it worked out just fine, as the Wolverines gained 490 yards of total offense to Dayton's 136, with senior quarterback Ben Bolton connecting on 9-of-10 for 137 yards and three TDs, all in the first half. By then Truckee led 41-0, having outgained the Dust Devils 356 yards to 70.

Dayton (1-1) showed signs of life after the break, limiting Truckee to only a third-quarter field goal, but by that time the score was well out of reach

Labor Day closings
The Sierra Sun and North Lake Tahoe Bonanza offices will be closed to honor Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6, dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. Banks, Nevada and Placer County offices, Tahoe Truckee Unified Schools and alternative schools will be closed. Select health care practitioners will be closed, however, retail and grocery stores, recreational facilities and dining establishments will be open for business. Call ahead for hours and reservations.

Dog days of summer
Gold Country Kennel Club, an all-breed dog club located in Nevada County, is gearing up for their annual dog show. Almost 1,500 dogs, representing most of the more than 170 breeds of purebred dogs now recognized by the American Kennel Club, will be entered in the shows at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, Sept. 4 and 5. There will also be several specialty shows on Friday, Sept. 3. Admission to the show is free. Day of show parking is $7 for a single day or $10 for a

TRUCKEE, Calif. - A group of Tahoe Donner homeowners are upset about the prospect of a new multi-use facility which could be built on the border of large plots of open space in the area.
The project, according to the Tahoe Donner Association, is the result of 15 years of increased usage and tremendous residential growth in the area, thus demanding greater facilities.
In an article posted on the association's website, current maintenance and forestry facilities are described as "fundamentally inadequate" and "significantly under capacity to meet the future needs of the association," findings that stem from Tahoe Donner's 2007 General Plan, which recommended either new construction or renovation of Tahoe Donner's existing facilities.
However, homeowners in the area are concerned - not necessarily by the creation of new facilities - but that three of the four potential sites would place the structure at the edge of Tahoe Donner's vast open spac

The Lakers played 4A Douglas to a 1-1 tie in a nonleague game on the road Thursday.
After falling behind 1-0, North Tahoe senior Felipe Rodriguez scored the tying goal unassisted.
"The boys played well. It was very encouraging," said North Tahoe coach Beto Alcaraz.
The Lakers are now 0-1-1 on the season after opening with a 2-0 loss at Nevada Union (Calif.) last Friday. They face another tough test at nationally ranked Jesuit (Calif.) on Saturday.
North Tahoe then returns home to host Placer (Calif.) on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. The Lakers begin league play at Sparks on Thursday, Sept. 9.
Stay tuned for a North Tahoe season preview in Wednesday's Sports & Outdoors.

The 2010 Wolverines are bigger and better than they were a year ago, and they're as hungry as ever to prove last year was a fluky non-appearance in the state championship.
"We have pretty high expectations for our team. We expect to win our league and state," said Truckee head coach Hernan Valdivia, whose Wolverines had won back-to-back state titles before falling to Incline in the state semifinal in 2009, when they finished 12-7-3 overall. "After having a little bit of a down year last year, the guys are hungry to get back to where we're used to being."
Make no mistake about it. Truckee is accustomed to playing for state title hardware. The Wolverines have won a Nevada boys record seven championships, which is one more than longtime rival North Tahoe. Last year, however, both teams watched Tahoe Basin foe Incline march through the season en route to the title.
This year it's anyone's for the taking, as South Tahoe, a successful program for decades at the 4A

The Truckee High volleyball team is off to a 8-2 start after finishing runner-up in the Yerington Tournament and splitting a pair of nonleague matches against 4A Spanish Springs and McQueen.
Most recently, the defending state champion Wolverines defeated McQueen in straight sets Wednesday night.
Krysta Murphy and Kiersten Knoppel led Truckee with four digs each. Katie Mohun and Jillian Akers followed with three digs apiece. Akers completed 95 sets with 30 assists. Junior setter Brittany Thomas contributed with an additional six assists. Annie Reiswig led the team with 12 kills, followed by Knoppel with seven and Akers and Murphy with five each. Kristina Tirman contributed to a great defense, which increased the pass rating from the previous night.
Truckee lost to Spanish Springs in five games Tuesday night. After starting well and winning the first set, Truckee senior libero Natalya Jones injured her shoulder and could not continue. Without their libero, the Wolverines went on to

Genevieve Evans of Tahoe City defended her crown from a year ago while finishing 18th overall in the XTERRA Lake Tahoe triathlon in Incline Village this past Saturday.
David Cloninger raced to a first-place finish overall, posting a time of 2 hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds. Evans improved on her winning time from last year, finishing in 3:09:17.
Truckee's Julie Young, author of the weekly Fit to be Tried column, was the second woman to finish, as she placed 21st overall with a time of 3:11:44.
The course measured out to two 750-meter swims (split by a 50-meter beach run), a 22-mile bike ride on the Flume Trail and a 6-mile run.
In the sprint race, Tom Faukner captured the win for the second straight year, finishing in 2:28:29 to improve on his time in 2009. Dorea Shoemaker of Incline Village also improved on her winning time in the women's race last year, winning the women's event and placing fifth overall with a mark of 2:50:14.
Short-course racers faced one 750-meter swim lap

For some, this transition period into winter is an important act of recovery from a long summer of cycling. But for those who may have gotten a late start to their season, or racers with a competitive fire that can't be doused, end-of-summer bike riding is an unhappy time.
If you find yourself lamenting the cold weather and lack of serious bike riding, I have a solution to your problem - cyclocross. Cyclo-what? It's an off-road style of bike racing, a mix of riding on pavement, dirt, grass, sand and mud combined with some running, obstacle hurdling and bike shouldering.
The courses are usually short, no more than a mile or two and are run for multiple laps for up to an hour. It's designed to be a fast, hard event that can be performed in any type of weather, including snow. Cyclocross events are usually ridden on mutated road bikes with knobby tires and cantilever-type brakes, however, specialized equipment is not needed to be competitive. Many cyclocross

There are many runners who get stuck in a rut or a routine that prevents them from improving. A common mistake is to go for the same or similar run day in and day out without changing the intensity. This is where interval training comes in. By no means is this just for the avid runner; this is for anyone wanting to improve his or her ability as a runner.
Intervals can be done by either distance or time. I prefer distance. That keeps you from having to look down at your watch (unless you have it set to be every 5 minutes or so). Because you will be running faster than you normally do, you're going to want to find a trail that you're comfortable with. Two weeks ago I mentioned linking some of the cool trails around Donner Lake and Coldstream. If you had a chance to run them, you'll easily be able to give this a shot.
Here we go: Park wherever and warm up to the dam. Your first section is about 1 mile from the dam to China Cove. Once there, walk jog over to the trailh

All anglers in their pursuit of catching fish use leaders. To fly fishers, they are probably even more important since the design of the leader helps the fly turn over properly.
Most fly-fishing leaders are tapered from a thicker butt section to a finer tippet, the connection to the fly itself. Because flies are lighter than lures, the fly line provides the weight and the leaders are tapered so they will turn over and straighten out.
Leaders are constructed with both monofilament and fluorocarbon material. Fly fishers carry a pretty large selection of leaders for specific purposes.
For dry-fly fishing, monofilament lines are the best since these leaders will float as opposed to fluorocarbon lines that sink. Anglers typically carry dry-fly leaders in lengths from 9 to 15 feet, or more, for particularly finicky fish or stillwater conditions.
If anglers come across a particularly selective fish while dry-fly fishing, they can apply some leader sink to a few inches of tippet above the

Following a strenuous event - for example, last weekend's XTERRA Lake Tahoe triathlon in Incline Village - rest and recovery take top priority in the training plan.
There is the investment of training intensity and volume in preparation for the event in order to stress and challenge the physiological systems. Prior to the event, we counter and remedy this resulting accumulation of fatigue with the taper period. But then comes the big day, and we dig deep and push ourselves beyond those self-imposed limitations - one of many positive benefits of competitions - and these deep, sustained efforts take their toll on the body and mind.
In order to fully capitalize on the training and the intensity of the competition, and realize the fitness gains of the investment, it is absolutely vital that every ounce of the body and mind is allowed to completely rest and regenerate. This recovery period leaves us refreshed and hungry to go after the next goal and the tra