Galena

Each year, as my last article for that year, I present my Annual Don Q Awards for a number of different reasons: Outstanding, good, not so good, bad, serious, funny, dumb, head-scratching, are-you-kidding, etc.
Those annual awards are presented to all kinds of people or places or things for what has occurred throughout the year. It’s an interesting way to end the year, so here are my 2011 winners:

Update 11:53 a.m.: Congressmen Mark Amodei (NV-2) and Joe Heck (NV-3) released the following joint statement regarding the Caughlin Ranch fire:
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this disaster. We are in contact with the Governor’s office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C. to offer guidance and assistance in providing resources to address the emergency. We are coordinating efforts to ensure the Prepositioned Equipment Program (PEP) located in Las Vegas is prepared to deploy and assist with controlling the fire if needed. Anyone wishing to make financial contributions to help the victims of this disaster may do so through the Red Cross."

Update 10 a.m: The State of Nevada, Washoe County and the City of Reno have declared a state of emergency. More than 9,500 people have been evacuated, according to City of Reno spokesman Chris Good. The 400-plus-acre fire is still zero percent contained. As of now, Galena High School is the evacuation point. If that fills up, Damonte Ranch High School will be the next evacuation point. Go here for the latest from UNR's Nevada Sagebrush and here from MyNews4.com.

Update 8:15: Fire now officially named Caughlin Fire.

Update 7:11 a.m.: KRNV is on the air talking with Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez who is saying they have lost about 20 homes so far, and the strong winds are a big problem. He also said the winds are so strong that there is no way to get air attacks on this fire.

An Emergency 211 number is being set up to provide better information for Reno residents.

A wind-driven wildfire has burned more than 400 acres and has consumed at least six homes in the Caughlin Ranch area in southwest Reno this morning. The Pine Haven fire broke out around 12:30 this morning and thousands have been told to evacuate. Residents are being evacuated to Reno High School, the designated area for evacuations. Fire agencies from the Carson City and Carson Valley areas are responding as are from the Lake Tahoe area. Power is out to at least 1,000 homes in the area, according to NV Energy.
Flames are threatening homes near Manzanita Lane and Dant Boulevard, and police officers were going to residences to evacuate residents. An officer went to the house of a panicking Kathy Harrah. The officer told her to take a deep breath and said "you are fairly safe," as she and her two sons, John and Kody, grabbed items and put them into their truck. "I have been watching the fire all night. I didn't know it was going to get this bad," she told the Reno Gazette-Journal before ordering her son to rip a computer out of a wall. The area was thick with smoke that hung over over Manzanita. Flames in the canyon below Manzanita shot up dozens of feet in the air as they hit brush. Go here and here for story.

Videos of the fire

Map of fire area

RENO - He's baaaaaaack.After three weeks of hanging out on the sidelines with a calf injury, Dylan Sawyers returned to Carson High's lineup Thursday night, and it was like he never left.Sawyers sco...

Football: Live updates for Douglas-SpanishSprings, Carson-GalenaCopyright 2011 -. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.-Thursday Night Foo...

After three games on the sidelines with a calf injury, Carson High's Dylan Sawyers is expected to see playing time in tonight's game (7:30 p.m.) at Galena.Sawyers played in the first three games, r...

CARSON (6-1, 6-0) AT GALENA (1-7, 1-6)THURSDAY, 7:30 P.M.OFFENSE: Carson's offense has been clicking quite well with plenty of big plays courtesy of quarterback Matt Nolan, wingbacks Chance Quillin...

CARSON (6-1, 6-0) AT GALENA (1-7, 1-6)THURSDAY, 7:30 P.M.OFFENSE: Carson's offense has been clicking quite well with plenty of big plays courtesy of quarterback Matt Nolan, wingbacks Chance Quillin...

Carson High's girls soccer team concluded its regular season with a 4-2 win over Galena on Monday night.Now, the Senators have several days to prepare for their home playoff opener next Monday at 7...

RENO - Josilyn Daggs scored 12 minutes into the match, and Carson High's girls soccer team held on for a 1-0 victory over Galena in a Sierra League match Saturday afternoon.Carson, 6-2, returns to ...

WASHOE VALLEY - Carson High's girls cross country team swept past Galena 15-40 in a dual cross-country meet at Washoe State Park Tuesday afternoon.On the boys side, Galena won 19-30.The girls were ...

For most of the time crews have been building the I-580 project between Reno and Carson City, the work hasn't really affected the average commuter.And except for the huge Galena Creek Bridge, mo...

A fire burning near the border of Storey and Washoe counties in the Geiger Grade area has swelled to more than 500 acres, according to the latest report from Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center.
The Bain Street Fire is burning on Nevada Division of Forestry land and has not, at the time, burned any structures, the agency says.

The Maison T Ortiz Youth Outdoor Skills Camp will be held Friday- Sunday at Winnemucca Ranch. The camp is named for and dedicated to Maison T Ortiz, a 15-year-old Galena High School student and a f...

The Bighorns have shown that this year's team is among the best that they have had in their history. Bighorn player Jeff Young told me over the fourth of July weekend that; "this is our best team we have ever had."

RENO - Chance Quilling will remember the sixth inning of Wednesday's game at Galena for a long time. Quilling ripped a two-run single to highlight a six-run inning and then in the bottom of the inn...

The Douglas baseball team fell back early and never got back into it Thursday afternoon, losing 11-1 at Galena.Douglas surrendered four runs in each of the first two innings to the power-hitting Gr...

The thing about tight pitchers' duels is that someone eventually has to come up on the short end of them.On Tuesday it was Kameron Van Winkle and the Douglas Tigers, who fell to regional favorite G...

The NIAA baseball post-season is about a month away, and Reno and Galena high schools have been chosen as the host playoff sites.Personally, I liked the way it was done in the old days when Carson ...

A High Wind Warning remains in effect until 11 tonight for Carson City and much of Northern Nevada as a cold front pushes through the region.

The strongest winds will continue until early this evening before decreasing later as a cold front approaches and widespread rain develops, according to the National Weather Service in Reno and Carsonweather.com. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. Snow is expected to drop to lake level by Wednesday morning.

"The Verdict: We should go...David's company has asked us to fly to Hong Kong...we are leaving later this afternoon."

That is the latest Facebook wall post from a former Northern Nevada resident and her family living in Japan who have made plans to leave the beleagured country in the wake of the earthquakes and tsunami that left the island nation devastated.

Alyson Meidell Jenkins, 33, along with many other Americans, have made plans to leave Japan immediately.

Former Northern Nevada resident Alyson Meidell Jenkins reports that she and her family are safe but shaken after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's eastern coast, causing a devastating tsunami that killed at least 10,000 and widespread damage.

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Follow it Live: Go to our Live Updates page for video feeds and coverage.

A Call to Readers: Let us know if you have friends or family living in Japan, Hawaii, or along the West Coast. E-mail jeff@carsonnow.org or post to our Facebook page.

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Japan's advanced earthquake early-warning system, with more than 1,000 seismographs scattered over the country alerted the public of an imminent earthquake via television, Internet and text-messages. At 2:46 local time, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake arrived, the largest that Japan has seen in one hundred years, just off the eastern coast of Sendai, Honshu.

RENO – When the bottom fell out of the construction industry, some lucky ones kept working.
CC Myers, a California company, has benefited from a portion of a $393 million contract to extend Interstate 580 between Reno and Carson City. They are building the 120-foot-tall bridge spanning Galena Creek.
Work there has continued apace as vehicles zooming through the valley below have increasingly carried unemployed Nevadans.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Freshman Republican state Sen. Michael Roberson got a lot of people’s attention last week when he engaged in a brief but spirited line of questioning at a Judiciary Committee hearing with mining industry lobbyists.

With the playoffs right around the corner, the Carson High boys soccer team took a step toward building some momentum with a 3-0 victory against Bishop Manogue on Saturday, according to www.carsonsports.com. Click here for the story and click here to read about last night's football victory over Galena.

Dave Price at Carsonsports.com provides some great background into the snap, hold and kick virtues of Carson Senator varsity football player Austin Pacheco and the help he gets from kicking specialist coach Jim de Arrieta. The Senators remain unbeaten this season. Tonight's game against Galena begins at 7:30 at the Carson High School football field.

Carsonsports.com reports the Carson High tennis team handily defeated North Tahoe in matches Thursday, while the JV football program cruised past Galena 32-14. Also Logan Philippi and April Shonnard were pace-setters for the Carson High program as both the boys and girls teams swept to victory during a home meet in Washoe Valley. Check out these stories and more at www.carsonsports.com

Reno and Galena will meet to decide the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Tournament championship on Saturday in Minden.

The Reno Huskies advanced to the finals of the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Tournament with a 9-4 victory against Galena on Thursday afternoon in Minden.

MINDEN -- They took different routes on Wednesday, but at the end of the day, the stage was set for a showdown between the Galena Grizzlies and Reno Huskies at the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Tournament.

Top seeds Reno and Galena advanced into the winners bracket during opening round play of the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.