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Carson City fans of the Green Bay Packers won a challenge against San Francisco 49ers fans Monday as Salvation Army bell ringers rang their bells at a Red Kettle Ring Off.

The Packers fans raised $226.51 and the 49ers fans raised $143.34. The protest kettles for “Any other Team” raised $14.25. The challenge took place at the Wal-Mart on Topsy Lane from 4 to 6 p.m.

The Salvation Army Red Kettles at Walmart on Topsy Lane will have a challenge between the Green Bay Packer’s fans and San Francisco 49ers fans Monday, Dec. 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. The Packers fans will be “bell ringing” at the grocery entrance and the 49er fans will be “bell ringing” at the household entrance.

The Salvation Army is not taking sides on this challenge, but is excited to see some of the local NFL fans come out and help them serve the community.

The average weight of a motor vehicle is around 4000 pounds. The average weight of a human being is about 185 pounds. The math is simple; when the two meet the results can be deadly.

In your travels this holiday season please remember that pedestrians have families too and we would like to see them enjoying this holiday season as much as anyone else. Drive with care and be aware of the traffic and pedestrians around you.

The Winter Solstice in this part of the world is today, Sunday at 3:03 p.m. according to timeanddate.com. The Winter Solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun.

Good vibrations and excitations will be bountiful at Lake Tahoe this spring when legendary endless summer surf rockers the Beach Boys catch a wave at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa for a one-night-only performance March 27, 2015.

Having sold millions of records with songs that are forever associated with sunny California, sandy beaches, long boards and hot rods, Beach Boys classics such as “I Get Around,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” “Little Deuce Coupe” “California Girls” “Barbara Ann,” are among dozens considered timeless pop rock masterpieces.

The Salvation Army has some unique bell ringers out at Smith’s in Gardnerville this Saturday. Dog Scouts of America’s Nevada Chapter will be ringing bells with a little help from some K9 friends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dog Scout Trace, the black lab, from the video below will be bell ringing. Trace is a scout in Dog Scouts of America. DSA is a program similar to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts only for dogs. Dogs can earn badges for different service projects that they are involved in. Trace can earn a badge for his service project as a bell ringer.

The Rotary Club of Carson City adopted 25 families from The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program this past Saturday December 13th. Each year for more than twenty years the Rotary Club of Carson City has been adopting families for Christmas as a mentoring program.

After a long wait with much anticipation, I finally got a chance to take the new fat bike out for its first snow ride. Acting on a tip that there was good snow cover with several miles of snow machine tracks up near Carson Pass, I loaded the bike up in the car and headed up to Red Lake on Highway 88.

If you are still scratching your head about what to get for Christmas for that special person(s) in your life, here are some “Don Q” suggestions for gifts:

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. Weather conditions may be hazardous due arriving winter storm systems. Check local weather reports before heading out. For travel information and road conditions check with Caltrans and NDOT.

The success of the pilot program for fire cameras at Lake Tahoe has prompted the University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory to pursue funding to build out its fire camera network that rings the majestic mile-high lake.

“We’ve seen the system avert potentially large fires this summer at Tahoe, even with its minimal presence,” Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, said of the prototype system with its four cameras. “It makes sense to build this system out now to help protect the basin from devastating fires.”

The Instrumental Music Department, Bands and Orchestra, is having its annual Winter Holiday Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center. Donations are welcome. Meanwhile, Carson High School has had a number of their singing Senators recognized for their vocal talents already this year.

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office along with other law enforcement agencies throughout Nevada are participating in Joining Forces through December with the task of stopping impaired motorists.

Grant money for this event is provided by the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Office of Traffic Safety. These monies are used to pay for additional deputies who will be out looking for impaired drivers, said Sgt. Scott McDaniel of the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

The Salvation Army is in the middle of their Red Kettle Fundraising season and is very thankful for the faithful volunteers of the Kiwanis Club of Carson City who have been standing a kettle for the Army for more years than either organization can remember.

The Kiwanis volunteers will be out at Smith’s at 599 E. Williams St. every Saturday leading up to Christmas this year. In 2013 they raised $1567.46 for the Army with their Bell Ringing.

With the holiday season now in full swing, it’s only appropriate that the Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) brings Jazz for the Holidays to northern Nevada for all to enjoy on December 20, 2014 at The Nightingale Hall - University of Nevada. Accompanying the 17 piece band of the RJO is award-winning jazz vocalist Madeline Eastman, international tap and ballet stars, the Reno Youth Jazz Orchestra, and other special guests who will all perform their holiday magic on Saturday night beginning at 7:30 pm.

It's safe to say that we are now ready for winter, here at our home in Carson City and at the Quilici Cabin near Davis Lake in Plumas County, Calif. Forecasters are calling for a winter storm to blow in Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It takes quite a bit of time and effort, but each year a whole host of activities take place at both locations in anticipation of Old Man Winter's arrival.
Here's what I mean:

Delicious, odiferous garlic is a staple in many a cook’s kitchen. This cousin of the onion, shallot and leek has been in use for over 7,000 years for both culinary and medicinal purposes. If you are a fan of garlic, you may want to plant a crop now through the end of November for early summer harvest. Fall-planted garlic produces bigger, better bulbs than garlic planted in late winter or spring.

When Carson City throws a Thanksgiving dinner, the Carson Nugget has always delivered. With 60 years now under its belt, the downtown capital city casino again outdid itself with community service, treating nearly 1,000 residents to a free Thanksgiving meal.

Teaming up with Friends in Service Helping, also known as FISH, guests were stuffed with turkey and all the trimmings, dished up by dozens of volunteers.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Nov. 26, 2014 and beyond.

It didn't look good earlier this year for a 39 pound bear cub after being caught in a 400 square-mile forest fire this summer in Washington State. But thanks to the efforts of wildlife rehabilitation caregivers at Lake Tahoe, the bear has since made a sweeping recovery and will return to the wild this spring.

This is my annual reminder that November 18 was a significant date in the lives of some 4,212 hardy Alaskans (as of the 2010 census). Those folks live in a unique location known as Barrow, Alaska, which is the northernmost community in the United States.

It is located on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, about 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and roughly about 1,300 miles south of the North Pole. On November 18, the sun set below the horizon at Barrow and it will not peek back up over the horizon until January 23 (weather permitting).

The $15 million Kingsbury Grade project driven by the Nevada Department of Transportation, which closed State Route 207 for a few weeks at a time twice this year for construction, is a year ahead of schedule, with major work to be finished by the end of this week, officials said Thursday.

Initial Nevada jobless claims in October are down 1.9 percent from October 2013 figures, according to figures released Thursday from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. There were 14,124 initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in Nevada for the month.

While claims now appear to be at a stable level, initial claims have fallen compared to the previous year in 54 of the past 59 months, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Nov. 19, 2014.

Feed Nevada Day is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19 at Mike’s Pharmacy in Carson City. Mike’s Pharmacy and News Talk 780 KOH will be collecting frozen turkeys to fill Salvation Army holiday food baskets for families in need in the Carson City, Douglas County, Tahoe area. News Talk KOH will be live at Mike's located at 1007 North Curry Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Never before has such a grand combination of iconic ranch, lakefront and forestland been offered for sale at once in Lake Tahoe’s rich history. This rare offering includes: historic Shakespeare Ranch with 133 acres of lakefront ranchland; Squaw Valley Homestead, arguably the most coveted landholding in Squaw Valley; and High Canyon Ranch, encompassing 321 acres of one of the last remaining privately owned large acreage parcels in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Washoe County Commissioners approved Wednesday a Federal Lands Access Program Memorandum of Agreement providing $12.5 million in federal funding for the design and construction of improvements along the state Route 28 corridor from Incline Village to the U.S. Highway 50 junction.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Nov. 12 through Nov. 18, 2014.

The Salvation Army will host a job fair Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 10 to noon in Carson City. The service agency will be hiring seasonal workers to help with their holiday programs such as Thanksgiving food drives, Christmas food drives and Angel Tree Christmas Toy distribution.

Two drivers, and several kettle workers are needed. Bring a resume, identification and references (current DMV print out for drivers) Tuesday and be prepared to be interviewed on the spot. The job fair will be held at the Carson City Salvation Army, 661 Colorado St.

A well-traveled, 72-year-old World War II veteran is set to make a triumphant return Tuesday at the annual Veterans Day parade in Reno. A remodeled 1942 Dodge WC-54 3/4-Ton Army Ambulance, owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs and refurbished by the Nevada Army Guard, is set to make its first public appearance in years at the parade that begins at 11 a.m. on Virginia Street.