For the Northern Nevada and Sierra sports and outdoors men and women out there, here is the Outdoor Calendar for February:

Feb. 12 – Opening day of the 2011 fishing season at the Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds near Yerington.
This season closes on Sept. 30.
Call the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) in Reno at 688-1500 or go to www.ndow.org"

Feb. 12 – Opening day of the 2011 fishing season at Hinkson Slough on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area near Yerington.
This season closes on Sept. 30.

The Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association (OSA), a local sportsmen’s club for hunters and fishermen will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb. 15.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the public meeting room at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office at 900 East Musser Street. Use the door on the west side of the building.

Anyone who is interested in hunting or fishing is invited to attend all club meetings and functions.

OSA dues are $5 annually for adults and $2.50 for youngsters under the age of 16. There are currently 221 paid-up members.

Story by Grand View Outdoors.com
North Dakota wildlife officials say an annual midwinter survey has found only about 7,300 Canada geese wintering on the Missouri River.

That's down dramatically from 25,400 in last year's survey.

But the state Game and Fish Department says this year's count might be underestimated because of poor lighting conditions the morning of the survey and the tight flocking behavior of roosting geese.

The California Department of Fish and Game has successfully returned two California black bear yearlings to the remote wilderness near Truckee. Both female cubs were orphaned last summer.

One cub was illegally dumped last June on the front porch of Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League. Weighing only 12 pounds, the cub was emaciated and starving.

Here is the greater Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Cascade and Northern California fishing report through Feb. 16, 2011.

BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF:
Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (866) 694-2930 www.woodfordsstation.com reported: The road is closed for the winter.

CAPLES LAKE, CALIF:
John Voss of the Caples Lake Resort (209) 258-8888

This Saturday, Feb. 12, is the opening day of the 2011 fishing seasons for the following waters in Lyon County:

— The Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds, near Wabuska.
— Applicable open waters (Bass Pond, Beaver Slough, Crappie Pond, Hinkson Slough, North Pond and the Walker River), all on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (MVWMA), near Yerington.

All of the waters listed above will close on Sept. 30. If you are interested in fishing at any of those waters on Opening Day, here is some miscellaneous information:

Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds:

Click here for live coverage of the Carson City School District board and click here for the agenda. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center.

A Carson City man face a felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender and was arrested on Monday.

Albert Franklin O'Neal Jr., 35, had been living in a trailer on a ranch in the 7100 block of Schulz Drive for more than three weeks and had not registered in Carson City, according to the arrest report.

The trailer where O'Neal was living in was east of the main residence where he had been recently hired to work doing maintenance as an independent contractor, the report stated.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada state legislators may catch a break under a debt-relief proposal from President Barack Obama.
Obama has proposed deferring interest payments on money the states have borrowed to pay unemployment insurance benefits.

FREE Country Line Dancing Lessons with Cowboy Bob every Tuesday and Wednesday Night @ 7pm. Open to the public and no cover charge. All skill levels and spectators welcome. 100% Smoke FREE. If you're just curious, or you haven't seen our amazing lounge yet, come on down and watch for a while. We don't bite!! See our full events calendar on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/cWZweu

Shakespeare Company and Gold Hill Theater brought their fast-paced, interactive program, Shakespeare In School, to Donna Anderson's 6th grade English class at Dayton Intermediate School recently.

Teaching Artists Michele Crain and Chris Willson involved the students in skits that brought Shakespeare's Kate and Petruchio from Taming of the Shrew to life. They also explained the historical setting of the play, and involved the entire class in a series of theatre games. Crain, a certified Nevada teacher with 10 years experience teaching in Nevada, designed the lessons.

Teams of super heroes, penguins, pirates and other eye-catching characters jumped into Lake Tahoe last winter. On March 19, they’ll do it again, and you’re invited to join them as Special Olympics Nevada co-hosts the “Freezin’ for a Reason” Polar Plunge® 2011 at Zephyr Cove, South Lake Tahoe. The event is open to all and will include entertainment, a costume contest, prizes, and Special Olympics athletes, coaches, and volunteers who will share their experiences with the organization’s inspiring programs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2-jTJb7MAA

Join us this Friday for the Electrik Rodeo Band in our beautiful new Eleventh Frame Winner's Lounge from 8pm-Midnite. This Classic Rock Band covers Artists such as: Aerosmith, The Doors, Bob Seger, Lynard Skynard & ZZ Top. No Cover and Smoke FREE!! See our Events Calendar on Facebook: http://bit.ly/hjUVPo.

CARSON CITY – Mention government transparency and “Twitter” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
A communication technology that gives users 140 characters to share where they just had lunch or “Tweet” trivia about the weather and celebrities doesn’t immediately scream “politics” either.
But Nevada state legislators, lobbyists and journalists are finding more and more use in Twitter because the platform allows information gathering and governing at high speed.

CARSON CITY — Nevada saw 27 percent growth in the number of residents receiving food stamps this past year.
That makes Nevada’s growth the second-highest in the nation with Idaho claiming the largest percent growth at 28 percent.
Between Nov. 2009 and Nov. 2010, 69,000 more Nevadans signed up to receive food stamps, reported the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services.

CARSON CITY – They speak of limbs hacked off, death and guts.
In a war of words, critics of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $5.8 billion budget have lambasted his proposed cuts to K-12, higher education and health and human services.

Carson City paramedics have responded to a traffic accident this afternoon involving a motorcycle and a Jeep at East Nye and Carson streets.

Web Chat 27-Have You Got Effective Calls For Action? from Jonathan Denwood on Vimeo.

About 3.5 miles of frontage that amounts to 419 acres along the Carson River corridor was sealed into protection thanks to the voter-approved Question 1 initiative and Carson City's own Question 18 Quality of Life Initiative.

A partnership for the purchase, appraised at $3.1 million, was created between Carson City, the Nevada Land Conservancy, the Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway and private landowner John Serpa.

Funnyman Kevin Nealon, a “Saturday Night Live” legend and celebrated actor of “Weeds” is set to hit MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa at Stateline, Lake Tahoe on Saturday, Feb. 26, for a special one-night stand.

LAS VEGAS – The presidents of Nevada’s colleges and universities said the governor’s budget cuts would put their institutions on a starvation diet.
They argued that past budget cuts severely slimmed their institutions, meaning additional funding reductions would threaten their core academic mission.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY — The director of Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles had a surprising announcement for Nevada’s motorists yesterday.
Bruce Breslow, the DMV’s new director, said that the department has had no effective way to tell who has insurance and who doesn’t.

Dayton Intermediate School’s newly developing school garden will boast two large sculptures by internationally known sculptor Mischell Riley.

Riley, who is well known for work such as the 3-story high bronze lion at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, has donated two of her pieces to enhance the school’s garden landscape.