U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to resume prescribed fire operations in the Rubicon Bay area Aug. 23.

Operations are taking place near Scenic Drive, on small urban lots and are expected to continue through the end of the week. All prescribed fire operations are dependent on weather and available staffing.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from these prescribed fire project areas and smoke may be visible on Highway 89. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts are taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas.

This and other prescribed fire projects are designed to reduce wildfire risks to communities and critical resources.

State and local fire management agencies may also be conducting prescribed fire work during this period.

Goods are being collected as part of military care packages for the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Nevada Army National Guard based in Reno.

Soldiers have recently been deployed.

The following items are needed or money can be donated to purchase them:

Beef jerky

Sunflower seeds

Sugar-free chewing gum

Nuts

Coffee

Music CDs or iTune cards

Cookies in individual packages

Pringles chips

Microwave popcorn

Macaroni and cheese

M&Ms

DVDs

Brown T-shirts – preferably Under Armor or Dri-fit

Boot socks

Underwear.

To make a donation or for more information, call (775) 588.5651. Packages will be sent Sept. 30.

• A fundraiser for the Marie Hanson Search Fund is Aug. 24 at Brothers Bar & Grill (888 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe) starting at 5pm. The South Lake Tahoe resident was last seen in Washington on July 10.

• South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center annual gala is Sept. 17.

• Nevada is one of five states where Wells Fargo will test a $3 monthly fee for its debit cards starting in October. The other states are Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington,

• The Timber Cove lodging property in South Lake Tahoe is for sale.

• Rent My Vacation Home dot com is opening stores for each of its 83 websites, including in Stateline. Homeowners and vacationers can book the home by this system just like a hotel in the area. Rent A Lake Tahoe Vacation Home dot com store will create 10 jobs.

• Tahoe Youth & Family Services is starting an alcohol treatment program in Incline Village and is likely to be located in the Parasol Building.

• Fire Fest 2011 is Sept. 24 from 10am to 3pm at Lake Tahoe Airport.

• The North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association has named Randy Lusetti, game warden for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, National Wildlife Officer of the Year.

• Tahoe City-based Heslin Construction has launched a new website.

• Barton Health offers Tahoe’s Medical Marketplace, an online medical product retail store, for people needing specialty medical products.

By Bob Shallit, Sacramento Bee

Debbie Meyer, the former Sacramentan who won three swimming gold medals at the 1968 Olympics, is selling her scenic home in Truckee.

Her real estate agent? Jeff Hamilton, who won a bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in France for speed skiing – a demonstration sport that year.

Hamilton tells us the two met a few years ago when his kids started taking swimming lessons from Meyer.

“Olympians gravitate toward each other sometimes,” he says.

Meyer and her husband own two homes in the Truckee area. They’re selling one – with an asking price of $759,000 – and moving into the other.

Hamilton, a Tahoe-area agent with Chase International, says he tends not to play up his Olympic achievement of flying down slopes at 150 miles per hour.

Not with new clients, anyway.

As he puts it, “I want people to know I have skills other than going straight downhill.”

All students entering grades 7-12 in California must provide proof of immunization against whooping cough (also known as pertussis) for the upcoming school year.

Placer County will also be offering additional Tdap vaccine clinics for the North Tahoe and Truckee area in collaboration with the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District. There is no cost for the vaccine due to support from the California Department of Public Health for these school-based clinics. The vaccine will be offered at the following locations:

Truckee High School – Aug. 22 3-7pm

North Tahoe School – Aug. 23 10am-2pm

Alder Creek Middle School – Aug. 25 4-6pm

Vaccinating students will be the priority at these clinics; however, others may also be able to get the vaccine if supplies last.

For more information, call (530) 889.7161.

South Lake Tahoe-based environmental organization Tahoe Resource Conservation District is seeking a member to serve on its five-person board of directors.

Board members are appointed by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. They serve a voluntary, four-year term.

Applicants are required to reside or own property in the Lake Tahoe Basin in either Placer or El Dorado counties. Submit a letter of interest along with a county committee application to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors by Sept. 30

Applications are available online.

Tahoe Resource Conservation District’s mission is to promote the conservation and improvement of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s soil, water, and related natural resources by providing leadership, information, programs, and technical assistance to all land managers, owners, organizations, and residents. Tahoe RCD is a non-regulatory, grant funded, public agency that works with a variety of partner agencies to implement programs and outreach, which currently focus on erosion control, runoff infiltration, terrestrial and aquatic invasive species control, and conservation landscaping.

According to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, nearly 3 million children in the United States have food allergies, and the incidence in those under the age of 3 is one in 17. The good news is many children will grow out of them.

Kahle Community Center will host Jennifer Ehmann from Barton Pediatrics on Aug. 23. She will discuss food allergies and their effects on children, especially allergies and alternatives to certain foods.

The lecture is from 6:30 to 7:30pm at 236 Kingsbury Grade, Stateline.

This lecture is part of the 2011 Barton Health & Wellness Lecture Series. It is free.

• Assemblywoman Beth Gaines, R-Roseville, testified Aug. 17 before the State Water Resources Control Board against what she calls new burdensome stormwater permits that are estimated to cost the state billions of dollars and have a detrimental effect on local businesses and governments.

• There is free yoga on Nevada Beach on Aug. 26 from 5:30-6:30pm, followed by a potluck, wine and snacks. This is put on by Svadhyaya Yoga Studio. Donations will be accepted.

• Tahoe Derby Dames are in action Sept. 17 at 2pm at Bijou Community Park.

• Lorenzo Gigliotti, former South Lake Tahoe fire chief, is now a consultant at Sierra Nevada Strategies.

• South Lake Tahoe’s planning staff has been told not to expect a tenant application for the old Mikasa building at the Y for a few months. Exterior and interior improvements, though, are continuing.

• On Aug. 21, Hilride will be back on the South Shore to review their plans for lower Corral Trail. They will be on the trail from 9-11am, so give your input if you are out there.

• Here is Caltrans’ Sierra roadwork schedule for next week as well as the Tahoe schedule.

What do you get when you combine networking, local charity, and a bar with karaoke — a Tahoe Regional Young Professionals’ August FUNdraiser at Murphy’s Irish Pub on Aug. 25 at 7:30pm.

It is a benefit Christmas Cheer All Year, the food bank in South Lake Tahoe.

The outdoor patio will feature an evening of karaoke and giving back to the community.

TRYP is a new organization created to connect Tahoe’s next generation, while helping the Lake Tahoe community. The young professionals encourage people to bring any type of donation for Christmas Cheer, including cash, non-perishable items like canned food, rice, soups, vegetables or even toys gearing up for the holidays. Cash is the easiest item for them since they use it to buy from the Nevada Food Bank.

In addition to Murphy’s offering a venue for this event, the South Lake Tahoe restaurant will write a check to Christmas Cheer.

Next month, the group will organize a TRYP mixer, incorporating a full moon hike/stroll on Sept. 12. In addition, they’ll pair up with Great River Sierra Cleanup to help collect trash around the Lake Tahoe Basin on Sept. 17.

For upcoming events with TRYP, find them online or email tahoetrpy@gmail.com.