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In The News – Fighting hunger in North Lake Tahoe: How a non-profit is addressing food insecurity

January 29, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published by KUNR Radio, 1/27/2025, Written by Maria Palma

Despite Tahoe’s reputation for affluence, many residents struggle with food insecurity. A local non-profit has been making a significant impact through food distribution.

On a cold Tuesday afternoon, Wendy Conti walked along the tables filled with boxes full of produce and canned goods. She placed cans and produce into a basket. She goes to the Sierra Community House’s Food Pantry in Truckee at least once a week.

She walked through the pantry with her dog Peanut. They browsed through a selection of breads, sauces and vegetables. Originally from the East Coast, Conti moved to Truckee four years ago. A former special education teacher, health issues forced her out of work, and she soon found herself homeless.

READ MORE >

Photo by Sierra Community House

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From Incline Village to Nepal: Helping a Remote Himalayan Village Thrive

January 29, 2025 | Member Submitted

Submitted and Written by local residents Helen & Eric Durfee, 1/25/2025

Longtime Incline Village residents Helen and Eric Durfee are dedicated board members of the Basa Village Foundation USA, regularly traveling to Nepal to support the remote village of Basa. From donating ski jackets to funding education, supplies and keeping power on through hydroelectic projects, the Basa Village foundation helps improve the lives of the people of Basa.

Basa is a remote village in Nepal, off the beaten path, in the foothills of the Himalayas, south of Mt Everest. It consists of 63 households primarily engaged in subsistence farming. Jeff Rasley, after many trips to Nepal, founded the Basa Village Foundation USA (https://bvfusa.org) in 2008, to improve the way of life for the people of Basa.  I’ve been on the board since 2001.  Some of the projects that BVFUSA has completed include providing safe drinking water in the village, building a school and funding three of the five teachers, providing school supplies and computers, a small hydroelectric project for lights in the homes, rebuilding the school after the 2015 earthquake, clean burning stoves in the homes, among other projects. 

Last year we funded an animal husbandry project to build up a local co-op herd of goats and pigs.   Having a staff to care for, and protect, the animals will provide jobs and the selling of goat milk, yogurt, cheese, and young animals themselves will provide income for the village.  This project entailed building sheds, pens, and fences, leasing land, and the purchase of twenty five pigs and twenty five goats.  

We work closely with our sister foundation, Basa Foundation-Nepal, which is headed up by Niru Rai.   Niru is from Basa and now lives in Kathmandu.   Niru started and owns Adventure Geo Treks (https://www.adventuregeotreks.com) and hires his guides, porters, drivers, cooks and staff from Basa.  Together, we define a need, determine a solution, create a budget; then BVFUSA funds the project, monitors the progress, and evaluates the success of the project after completion. Basa Foundation-Nepal oversees the project, provides the volunteer labor, and gets the materials to Basa, mostly by oxen, donkey, and on men’s backs. 

Education is crucial for the 85 students in the K-5 school. The Nepali government pays for the Nepali language and math teachers; BVFUSA pays for the English, science, and the social studies & computer science teachers.  The five year funding that BVFUSA previously established ran out in 2024.   The teachers are now working without pay and will move on if new funding is not forthcoming.   Many, or most, of the young people of Basa will have to leave for places where they can find employment so having some education is essential.   Knowing some English is important if they end up working in a tourist based business.  One of the projects we are funding immediately is for the teacher’s salaries to keep the students learning. 

The second project is to expand the animal husbandry project that we started last year.   Unfortunately, nineteen of the pigs died of swine flu and need to be replaced, along with adding to the number of goats and pigs.   We will continue to pay the salaries of the staff working the farm and have also increased the budget to provide for veterinarian visits as needed and medicine.   We expect the farm to be self sustaining in two to three years.

This is a brief explanation of what the Basa Foundation is and what we do.   You can get more information by going to our website (https://www.bvfusa.org).   Helen and I have been to Basa and met many of the families there.  We found the people to be very kind, supportive, and hard working.   They are most appreciative of everything the foundation has done.  

Please consider contributing to our fundraiser for the school and farm projects.   If you would like to donate, you can donate via our website directly at https://bvfusa.org/donate.  If you prefer to donate by check, please make it out to BVFUSA and mail it to our corporate treasurer, BVFUSA, C/O David Culp, 2322 E. 66th St, Indianapolis, IN   46220.   As a registered 501©(3) organization any contributions are tax-deductible.

If you managed to read all the way here, thank you, and thank you for your consideration.  All donations make a difference, no matter the size, and are appreciated. Don’t hesitate to call, text, or email me if you have any questions.  

Best to you in 2025,

Eric Durfee

 775-813-3040

 Oclv@aol.com

EricDurfee54@gmail.com

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Incline Village School Updates

January 29, 2025 | Mary Danahey

Written by Sharon Schrage of Incline Education Fund, 1/29/25

The Incline Schools have some exciting classes and events on tap for winter quarter:

INCLINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: 

Mark your calendars for the Celebration of Art & Music at Incline Elementary School for the H’Art & Harmony Music Performances & Art Showcase Featuring IES Students Tuesday, February 11, 2025 5:00 – 6:30 pm. Activities Include:     

  • Shrinky Dink Necklace Craft                               
  • Valentine’s Day Card Making                             
  • Raffle                               
  • Snacks for Purchase & More                              
  • Students, Family & Friends of IES are Invited

INCLINE MIDDLE SCHOOL: 

IMS Students start a new Exploratory Quarter with several new options–one of which is the new Avalanche Safety Course.  Led by a  Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (W-EMT)/ American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) 1 Instructor, IMS students will have a mix of class and on-snow field instruction.  At the end of the quarter, IMS  students will have an early understanding of how to: 

  • Manage winter backcountry risk using a systematic process.
  • Actively contribute to a team.
  • Identify hazards in a winter backcountry environment.
  • Choose terrain that is appropriate for the group and hazard.
  • Develop a plan for continued learning and practice.
  • The Goals for the students at the end of the quarter are to: 
  • Understand avalanche basics (types, terrain, weather factors).
    ○ Assess avalanche risks and make informed decisions as a team
    member.
    ○ Be familiar with proper use of avalanche safety gear.
    ○ Work as a team in simulated avalanche scenarios.

INCLINE HIGH SCHOOL: 

Reminder–Have you marked your calendar for the IHS Boosters Crab Feed?   Saturday, March 15, 2025 5:00 pm at the Incline Bowl.  Buy your tickets before it sells out:  Click here to buy your tickets: https://tinyurl.com/ihs-crabfeed2025

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In The News – Incline Village and Crystal Bay’s Lease to Locals pilot program starts February

January 28, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 1/28/2025, Written by Eli Ramos

Last Thursday, the Incline Village and Crystal Bay Community and Business Association, also known as IVCBA, hosted an informational meeting on unlocking housing stock in the area. That meeting coincided with the soon-to-launch Placemate Lease to Locals program, which will open in February.

Linda Offerdahl, executive director of the IVCBA, started off the first presentation of the series by discussing the importance of workforce housing. “The IVCBA has been working to create positive interaction and common ground on issues that can be controversial… Workforce housing includes not just service work, but teachers, nurses, doctors, and firefighters in our community.”

In spring 2024, the IVCBA also conducted a workforce housing series survey, where nearly 70% of people expressed their interest in unlocking existing housing stock for workforce housing.

READ MORE >


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High Sierra Restorative Health

January 28, 2025 | Kayla Anderson

Originally Published in LIVE.WORK.PLAY Magazine. Written By: Kayla Anderson

The warm natural atmosphere with soothing color tones, green thriving plants, and a trickling water fountain is a nice contrast to the stormy weather outside, as Emily Allina sits in a bright office waiting for her next appointment. 

Allina moved to Incline Village in September of 2021 and started a mobile urgent care practice that November. In the early days of the pandemic, she went to Kings Beach to take an advanced wilderness life support class. A friend suggested that Allina should consider practicing medicine on the Nevada side of the lake because there was a need for her kind of specialized health services…especially during covid. (She still treats people dealing with long covid symptoms.)

“It was busy and a big focus for a while,” Allina says. She holds a master’s degree in nursing and has more than 23 years of experience working as a nurse practitioner, in settings such as the ER and critical care transport. When Allina moved here, she wanted to start her own business but didn’t want to take on too much overhead, so she offered mobile care mainly to suss out the need in the community and build up her clientele. Allina also wanted to get more into wellness offerings, and didn’t require a lot of equipment to provide her types of services. Her specialties include emergency medicine, urgent care, integrative & longevity medicine, and regenerative medicine.

In February of 2024, Allina opened a brick-and-mortar office on 923 Tahoe Boulevard, Ste. 100. 

“It’s so nice to have a space for patients to come here,” Allina says about High Sierra Restorative Health, which also has lab services now. 

When asked what the most popular service is, Allina says that a lot of people—both men and women—are seeking out hormone replacement therapy. Peptide therapies, hormone balancing, and regenerative therapies can help with weight loss, thyroid function, cortisone issues, brain health, restorative sleep, and more. There are also plenty of people who look for that episodic care– like treating a UTI or ear infection—who would rather go to her than anyone else in town. 

However, her favorite kind of patient/client is one who takes a proactive approach to their health.

“I like to focus on getting people healthy and then maintaining that longevity,” Allina says. “The earlier you start to investigate your baseline health and optimize it, the better chance you have to prevent chronic, more serious diseases in the future.” She explains that it helps to make sure that: 1) your gut health is good; and 2) your endocrine system/hormonal health is good. 

“Those two systems are upstream of everything else,” she says. “It can seem overwhelming to tackle everything in your body at once, so focusing on those two systems are good to optimize first,” she says. Allina also enjoys practicing health and wellness in Nevada, which is quite different from working in a general hospital ER.

“Here I get to establish a relationship with patients and get to follow through with them. ER is episodic, you treat patients for a specific thing and then they’re gone. You don’t get any kind of closure,” she adds. 

“Here it’s a journey… I get to see if what I’m doing is working and it helps inform the practice,” Allina says. Plus, getting the opportunity to create a more personal relationship with people helps her tailor treatments to their individual needs. 

“I really like the community, and all the patients are great. This really is a wonderful place to live, work, and play,” she says with a wink. “I love helping people who are invested in their health.”

If people are interested in her services but don’t know where to start, the High Sierra Restorative Health website is a good resource. Allina also offers free 20-minute discovery phone calls, available to book online. 

“I want to continue to grow, offer cutting-edge treatments and maybe bring in another provider,” Allina says about her goals. 

“Healthcare is a science and an art. We look at each person individually. We know scientifically what should work but the art is that there’s no one like you. So, you have to pivot, have to adapt sometimes to treatments because each person is unique. Medicine requires a more personalized approach and frequent visits. That’s the benefit of coming here.” 

For more information about High Sierra Restorative Health, visit https://restorativehealthnv.com/

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The Origin of Incline Village Street Names

January 27, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in LIVE.WORK.PLAY Magazine: by Richard Miner, Past President of the Incline Village and Crystal Bay Historical Society

Ever since moving to our gem of a town on the northern shores of Lake Tahoe in 1997 I’ve found myself wondering about the people for whom many of our streets are named. Later, after becoming involved in the Incline Village and Crystal Bay Historical Society, this interest took on a more practical bent, but only recently did I have the opportunity to call in some chips from several folks who said they had lists or knew some of the answers.

If I’d started my investigation 20 years ago I could have tapped into some of the original sources, for Art Wood, Harold Tiller, Bill Anderson and Raymond Smith were still walking among us. Sadly, all are now gone, but as luck would have it, Harold’s son Larry Tiller is still very much with us and Larry agreed to a couple of interviews on the subject.

Arranged below, in alphabetical order, are his recollections regarding the origin of almost thirty of the sources of Incline Village street names. Keep in mind that all these streets were named during the time before the Crystal Bay Development Company sold its Incline holdings and pretty much applies only to property below the Mt. Rose highway except for the Ponderosa Subdivision just to the Northwest of the 431/28 traffic circle. All subsequent development, street naming, etc. was in the hands of the Boise Cascade Corporation.

Anderson Drive: Named for Bill Anderson whose construction company built most of the early roads according to the plan developed in 1961-63 by urban architect Raymond Smith.

Betty Lane: Betty was Art Wood’s housekeeper and was brought in from Oklahoma City by Art.

Campbell Road: Rod Campbell owned a motel on the road to Crystal Bay which burned in the mid-1960’s. The entry road is still visible across SR 28 from the site of Eugene’s Chateau.

Carano Court: Donald L. Carano was a law partner of Robert L. McDonald (see below). Don later owned Reno’s El Dorado Hotel.

Cole Circle: Named for Raymond Smith’s son Cole. Cole married Larry Tiller’s sister Nancy.

Dale Drive: Dale was a son of the owners of the Kindred Family Construction Company which did much work framing early Incline Village housing.

David Way: David Dortort was a Hollywood producer who was instrumental in the creation of the Bonanza TV show. David spoke at an anniversary event hosted by Chuck Greene, Lorne Green’s son, at the Incline Village Library in 2004.

Gary Court: Named for Art Wood’s oldest son. Gary later worked for the McDonald Carano law firm.

Harold Drive: Harold Tiller, co-founder of Incline Village along with Art Wood.

James Lane: One of the Bonanza TV company people whose last name was actually “Lane.” The Tiller’s lived on this street for a while.

Jensen Circle: Dyer Jensen was an attorney for McDonald Carano but baseball player Jackie Jensen, a friend of the Crystal Bay Development Company (CBDC) execs, is also a possibility.

Joyce Lane: Joyce was Bill Anderson’s first wife and still lives seasonally in a home they built near the site of the old Cartwright Ranch house above the Ponderosa theme park.

Juanita Drive: Named for Art Wood’s wife who hated the snowy winter weather and moved back to Oklahoma City when the Woods divorced.

Kelly Drive: Charles Kelly was the maintenance manager for Eugene’s Chalet, a favorite local hangout on the Lake side of the road going up the hill to Crystal Bay.

Lucille Way: Named for an early employee of the CBDC.

Mayhew Circle: Dick Mayhew was in charge of the survey company that did much of the work for the CBCD ownership documents and subsequent development of Incline Village.

Mays Boulevard: Don (?) Mays was an early area real estate agent who worked for Ed Malley in his Crystal Bay office and was involved in early property sales in Incline Village.

McCurry Boulevard: Named for the sales manager of the CBDC who replaced David Heath, the first sales manager for the company.

McDonald Drive: Robert L. McDonald became famous in these parts as the man who “waded through snow drifts with a briefcase full of cash” in 1959 to pay an about to expire purchase option written by millionaire recluse George Whittell for the land that became Incline Village.  At the time Robert was a partner in the Reno law firm of Bible, McDonald and Jensen and had been retained by Art Wood and partners to buy the property come hell or high water because Whittell had decided not to sell the land after all. McDonald later purchased the law firm which still is known as McDonald Carano. He passed away at the age of 88 on November 15, 2008.

North Dyer Circle: Dyer Jensen (see above) gets two street mentions, making the naming odds slightly more in favor of Jackie Jensen for Jensen Circle in this author’s mind.

Pat Court: Pat Woods was Art Wood’s youngest son.

Robert Avenue: Robert L. McDonald deserves two street names.

Selby Drive: Selby Calkins was the head of advertising and promotion for SBDC.

South Dyer Circle: Dyer Jensen (see Jensen Circle) gets a second street name, but maybe the  first was for baseball player Jackie after all? Larry Tiller’s wife of 55 years is Dyer’s daughter Diann.

Spencer Way: Harry Spencer was a journalist friend of CBDC execs who lived on Shoreline Circle. But this part of Incline Village was developed by Boise Cascade so the provenance of the name is still a bit of a mystery.

Tiller Drive: No such confusion on this name—The Tiller family for sure.

Many other street names were given for golfing terms, bird names, and scenic features of area and so require little explanation, and some mysteries still remain. In closing, Larry’s mother, Ann Tiller, kept voluminous archives of names, locations, newspaper clippings, etc. all of which Larry gave to IVGID, the Thunderbird or Parasol Foundations after Ann’s death in 2007. My recent inquiries on the disposition of these documents are still pending but when located could serve for future articles on the history of our community.

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In The News – Tahoe Prosperity Center searches for new Executive Director

January 26, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 1/24/2025, Submitted

The Board of Directors of the Tahoe Prosperity Center announced it is searching for a new executive director. Heidi Hill Drum has served as the executive director of the organization for ten years and is looking forward to new and different adventures. The board thanks Hill Drum for her service over these past ten years and is appreciative of her flexibility during the search for a new leader. 

While under Hill Drum’s tenure, the Tahoe Prosperity Center has grown and accomplished much in the region and we look forward to a new leader continuing to expand and grow the following programs.

  • Envision Tahoe and Tahoe, Inc – supporting economic resiliency in the Tahoe region and connecting entrepreneurs to support their growth in our unique mountain environment.
  • Alert Tahoe – supporting the early detection wildfire camera network in our communities that have already helped spot more than 100 fires, allowing our local fire agencies to stop them before they reached 1 acre in size. These cameras provide critical information to our local fire crews and protect our communities from the devastation of wildfires. During Heidi’s ten years as executive director, more than 15 cameras in the Lake Tahoe region have been installed.
  • Connected Tahoe – expanding high speed internet to underserved areas of the Tahoe Basin with new technology, improvements in fiber and connectivity and supporting local jurisdictions with projects and funding to ensure quality of broadband for everyone.

READ MORE >

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In The News – Incline High School named State Finalist in STEM Competition

January 25, 2025 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 1/23/2025, Written by Leah Carter

Incline High School has been selected as one of five State Finalist schools in the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.

The competition encourages students to use their STEM skills to develop devices and other projects that can resolve challenges within their communities. Students in Adam Shoda’s 11th grade class spoke with the Incline Village Community Hospital to determine their efforts.  

“We went to the hospital and we asked them to come up with problems that any of their employees or departments had,” said Shoda. “They gave us a list of about four.”

READ MORE >

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PINE NUTS – Revisiting Virginia City

January 24, 2025 | McAvoy Lane

This past summer, Reno advertising guru Michael Lucido invited me to help him publicize a few of Virginia City’s family attractions with a TV commercial. So I hauled a white suit out of the closet, grabbed a cigar, and headed for my old stomping grounds, the Comstock Lode. It was like coming home again, for in the halcyon summer of ’88 I presented 200 shows in Piper’s Opera House to launch a 36-year career as an impressionist of Mark Twain, who, as you know, got his start in Virginia City. The Comstock Lode was one lucky stop for Twain, and one sunny stop for Layne…

We started the shoot at the V&T train station. The V&T was so slow in Twain’s day that 

they once transported a prisoner from Virginia City to Carson, and by the time they got him there he had aged so, they could no longer identify him; they had to let him go. It was so slow, they took the cowcatcher off the front and moved it around to the backside.  Well, they knew they weren’t going to catch any cows, but they were afraid one might try to climb on from behind and bite the passengers.”

Michael issued a casting call for extras to meet Mark Twain at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, where ‘Samuel’ would be sharing some tales. Well, you never saw such a heartwarming bunch of fun lovers in your life, and Mr. Twain got to hear more stories than he told. 

One gentleman in a stovepipe hat told Samuel that he was glad to get out of the house, because his wife was so mad at him that he had to take the batteries out of the cattle prodder. I wondered what it was he had done to make her so mad, but handed him a drink and let it slide. 

Interestingly, the extras never left. They joined us from the Ponderosa Mine to Fourth Ward School, skipping and singing and hollering to beat the band. You’d have thought it was Nevada Day!

As I walked out of Grandma’s Fudge with a humongous ice cream cone in my hand a beautiful lady asked me if she could have a taste. I handed her my coveted cone, she gave me a wink, and walked away with it. Some things never change up there on the Loveable Lode.

In the final scene we were back at the V&T, and I invited folks to revisit Virginia City, where, “Who knows, you might even see a ghost!” Whereupon I snap my fingers and magically disappear. 

I hope the Comstock gets as much custom from Michael’s TV commercial as I received from its viewing. One wag was quick to attest, “McAvoy, I haven’t seen you disappear like that since the waitress at the Café Del Rio brought us the check!” 

Thank you, Virginia City, and Michael Lucido, for reminding me of just how delightful an adventure the Comstock Lode can be in 2025… 

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO

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Washoe County Launches “Lease to Locals” Pilot Program in Incline Village/Crystal Bay to Incentivize Year-Round Rentals

January 22, 2025 | Member Submitted

Submitted by Placemate, Chase Janvrin, 01/22/2025

Thanks to funding provided by Washoe County, Placemate, Inc. is pleased to launch the Lease to Locals pilot program, an innovative initiative aimed at addressing the lack of long-term housing options in the Incline Village / Crystal Bay area for local workers. 

IVCBA is helping to spread the word of this new program in the area, and build on the efforts already implemented by Placemate in neighboring communities of East Placer County, The Town of Truckee, and South Lake Tahoe. IVCBA is hosting an event on Thursday, January 23rd to highlight the program. 

This new program will provide up to $18,000 in incentive payments to property owners who convert their housing units from short-term rentals or from sitting largely vacant, into year-round or seasonal rentals for the local workforce. 

“Our community has struggled with housing for our workforce. Unlocking housing stock through Lease to Locals offers some relief to landlords willing to provide new rentals and some relief to workers who struggle with the lack of available rentals.” commented Linda Offerdahl, IVCBA Community and Business Association Executive Director.

Placemate brings a proven track record and operational capacity to Incline Village / Crystal Bay. They have run similar Lease to Locals incentive programs not just in the Tahoe area, but across the country in resort communities in Ketchum, Idaho; Eagle and Summit Counties, Colorado; and Nantucket and Provincetown, Massachusetts. The programs incentivize long term rentals to full time workers, as an alternative to short term renting or sitting vacant. Across the various markets Placemate operates, they’ve unlocked 688 units and housed 1,561 locals, as of January, 2025.

Program Details: 

To qualify, properties must be located in Incline Village / Crystal Bay, and not have been rented full-time in the past 12 months, and are subject to a maximum rental rate of $4,500/mo. 

Property owners who rent their property to “qualified tenants” for a minimum five month period are eligible for a one-time financial incentive ranging from $2,000 to $18,000, based on the number of qualified tenants they rent to, and the length and type of lease. 

Local workers searching for a property can create a Renter Profile on the Placemate website. Creating a renter profile is fast, free, and easy, and allows Placemate to match renters to potential homes that fit their criteria.

Tenants and property owners can learn more about the program, and get started by creating their tenant or property owner profiles, by visiting https://placemate.com, calling Placemate at (775) 415-9172, or emailing lori@placemate.com

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