Tahoe-Douglas crews test Harrah's water system. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Firefighters rolled up in front of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Tuesday morning and caused quite a stir. Traffic was shutdown in one lane. Water was spraying, but no flames were seen.

This is because it was all a test.

Tahoe-Douglas fire crews go out to Harrah’s and Harveys once a year to test the casinos’ fire valves.

“We do this every year. It’s for insurance purposes for the casinos,” explained fire Capt. Terry Hughes. “They have internal fire pumps inside.”

These are the only two Stateline casinos the fire district does the test for.

968 Park Hotel in South Tahoe has received California’s highest green rating for a hotel.

Slow Food Lake Tahoe, a group based in Truckee, is partnering with other organizations to bring the educational program Harvest of the Month to schools. Students will munch on tomatoes, bell peppers, Satsuma mandarins, beets, dried fruits and salad greens.

Lake Tahoe was the focus of Evanne Schmarder’s Labor Day show. A host of rvcookingshow.com, Schmarder talked about the Tallac Site and Taylor Creek Visitors Center, Emerald Bay and Tahoe City.

Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake signed South Lake Tahoe’s Leon Abravanel.

Zephyr Cove Elementary School has been recognized as a high achieving school.

Bonnie Dreeke, a South Tahoe High School graduate, has published Upon the Land under the pen name Ivy Lee Ellas. The book about elves and unicorns is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and www.xlibris.com.

Tahoe Arts Project is selling VIP cards for $20, with $10 of it going right to TAP. Visit www.getyourvip.com for a list of El Dorado County vendors. To get a card, call (530) 542.3632 or email tahoearts@aol.com.

Governor – it’s a title Tom Millham is looking forward to getting used to.

Millham, 59, is governor-elect of the California-Nevada-Hawaii district of Kiwanis. With more than 16,000 members, it is the largest district of Kiwanis International.

The South Lake Tahoe man has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra since 1976. In those 30-plus years Millham has served in a number of leadership roles.

His goals at the higher level are to help the various clubs in the district, provide more service for the communities they serve, and ensure members are having fun. He said it’s about getting back to basics.

Millham becomes governor in October 2010 at the installation festivities in Las Vegas.

Tom Millham           Photo/Dan Thrift

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has added two key figures to the agency.

Harmon Zuckerman, formerly the principal planner for Douglas County and member of TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission, is director of TRPA’s Regional Plan update. Casey Beyer of Manhattan Beach has been appointed to the Governing Board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Zuckerman brings more than 14 years of professional planning experience to the newly created position. He will oversee completion of the Regional Plan update, a 20-year blueprint for revitalization of existing communities and continued environmental improvement for the Tahoe Basin.

From May 2006 to February 2009, Zuckerman was principal planner for Douglas County, Nev., and one of his first tasks there was to help complete the 20-year update of the county’s master plan. While at Douglas County, Zuckerman served as the county representative on TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission

Beyer replaces Tim Leslie as California’s representative on the board. Since 2008, he has been an independent energy consultant and, from 2006 to 2008, was the director of community development for John Laing Homes. He was the chief assistant to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson from 2005 to 2006, director of government relations for the Los Angeles County Children and Families Commission from 2002 to 2005 and director of government and industry relations for Exodus Communications from 2000 to 2001. Beyer worked for Rep. Tom Campbell as chief of staff and California director from 1995 to 2000, district director from 1990 to 1992 and deputy district director from 1989 to 1990. This position does not require state Senate confirmation. Beyer is a Republican.

Harmon Zuckerman

Sierra Recovery Center is no longer an independent nonprofit. This summer became part of Elko-based Vitality Unlimited.

“We aren’t carpetbaggers coming into South Lake Tahoe,” CEO Dorothy North said. “We are members of the community. We are here to build on and improve what has been here a long time.”

The board of directors in May voted to make the change, though the idea had been discussed for months.

Betsy Fedor is out as executive director and everyone else at the South Lake Tahoe rehab center had reapply for their jobs, though no guarantee was made they’d be rehired.

VU has offices throughout Nevada, with this being the first one in California.

“Vitality Unlimited’s mission is to create new paths to better lives by providing services and programs that promote positive life choices, improve the quality of life, and reduce the number of people dependent on alcohol and other drugs,” the website (www.vitalityunlimited.org) says.

For now, the changes amount to cosmetic improvements, according to North.

Literature being passed out by South Tahoe Public Utility District incumbent Ernie Claudio is causing a stir.

The second page of the two-page information sheet lists 102 names of people under the heading “I depend on these people for advice and they know me on a first name basis.”

The document implies the individuals are supporters of his. The names were used without the person’s knowledge or consent.

Lake Tahoe News Publisher Kathryn Reed is one of the people listed. It was brought to her attention by another candidate for the utility district board. Claudio has promised to not use her name in the future. Others have called and emailed Claudio demanding their name be removed from his campaign literature.

Sources have told LTN that the Fair Political Practices Commission has been notified.

In the first week of registration at Lake Tahoe Community College, enrollment is up 31.4 percent for full-time students over this time last year. Part-time admissions is only up 0.4 percent.

Lousy economies tend to send people back to the classroom. But this is happening when the cost of each unit went from up $3 to $17/per unit this fall.

With classes not starting until Sept. 22, enrollment could spiral even higher. This comes off a record year for enrollment in 2008-09.

Another change this fall is the minimum class size. It went from eight to 10 students for academic classes, and from eight to 12 for phys ed-wilderness studies.

The Angora Fire Lookout served the Tahoe basin’s fire surveillance needs for many years until it was replaced in the late 1970s by improvements in aerial and satellite technology.

The first lookout was built in 1924 and was one of many standard lookout designs conceived by forester Coert DuBois in 1914 to be used by the Forest Service nationwide.

This structure was later converted into a small residence for the individuals in charge of the lookout. In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the current lookout alongside the original and a third structure was built in the 1940s that served as the garage. All three buildings are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now the U.S. Forest Service needs volunteers to revitalize the lookout complex on Angora Ridge near South Lake Tahoe in order to preserve part of Tahoe’s fire observation history.

Groups or individuals who can spend a day or two this month helping paint and refurbish these historic buildings are being sought.

For information, contact Tara McCarthy at (530) 543.2766 or tmccarthy@fs.fed.us.

Bijou Bash is back.

Organizers say the Sept. 12 free event at Bijou Community Park will have something for every age.

This event at the city-owned park went on for a few years before it petered. With the park growing in the subsequent years, some said it was time to bring back the Bash. A dog agility course, performances by local youth groups, food vendors and more are scheduled from 11am-4pm.

There will be a Kidz Fun Zone that includes an obstacle course, dual racing slide, bungee run, Velcro wall and bounce house. Skateboard contests and BMX bike demonstrations are scheduled.

Parking is free at Lake Tahoe Community College. The shuttle from LTCC to the Bijou Bash is also free. Or, use the free bicycle coral at the Bash. LTCC and the park are on Al Tahoe Boulevard off Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call (530) 542.6056.

Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe has started an account to help Jaycee Lee Dugard’s family. Checks may be sent to Bank of the West, Jaycee Dugard Family Fund, 2161 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. The account number is 186153508.

MontBleu hotel-casino at Stateline has offered its showroom as a fundraising mechanism. Officials are trying to line up a major act that could fill the seats.

Several funds have been posted online. The FBI said it is paying attention to these and cautions people to give to groups they know.