Thanks.....

As I have done for many years, my last article of the year, each year, is to present the Don Q Awards for a number of different reasons. Those reasons include such assorted things as: Outstanding, memorable, good, not so good, questionable, bad, serious, funny, dumb, head-scratching, are-you-kidding, etc.

These awards are presented to all kinds of people or places or things for what has occurred throughout the year.
It’s a fun way to end the year for yours truly.

So, without further ado, here are the 2014 Don Q Award winners:
Best Birthday Present:

The New Year is all about resolutions for some people. Lose weight. Find love. Make more money. But here’s one we could all use, dry up the pity puddle. Stuff happens in life. It’s how you deal with it that determines if it’s going to be easy or a constant uphill battle. There’s only one way to make it easy, to take responsibility for your own thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Dec. 24-30, 2014.
Looking for a last minute Christmas gift? You may want to get the angler in your family a California fishing license. New licenses are effective as of Jan. 1, 2015. You can purchase that license and any applicable stamps at a number of local outlets or by going here.
Nevada fishing licenses go into effect March 1, 2015.

It is that time of year again for winter sports in the NIAA Northern Region. The beginning of this year's basketball season took place Thursday evening in the Carson High School Gymnasium as the Cougars of Spanish Springs took on the Senators of Carson in a heated varsity boys basketball show down.

It was the opening action of regional play that kicked off Thursday evening on the hard court as the Carson Senators took on the Spanish Springs Cougars in a cross league, girls varsity basketball match up.

Carson took control of the game from the start when they hopped out to an early 8-2 lead thanks to a couple of early steals.

This is the second in a two part Women to Women series with Dr. Kent Gabriel. This is a hands-on program detailing the process of minor plastic skin surgery and a live demonstration with Heidi Nicol, a medical esthetician, of a deep cleansing facial. Go here for the first part of the two-part program. Enjoy the show, and we'll see you on Christmas for our final episode.

When Dejon Smith left home after school on Dec. 11, like any teen facing a snow day the following day, he told his parents he was headed out for the evening. He did not tell them where he was going or with whom he would be.

DeShawn and Taneka Smith, Dejon's parents, were concerned when, at the end of the evening, they hadn't heard from their son.

The 10th annual Holiday with a Hero was held Wednesday at Walmart in Carson City with 190 school children from kindergarten through fifth grade having a Christmas to call their own, thanks to the astounding response from Carson City donors and volunteers.

Nearly 300 volunteers were at the event to help the Carson City area school children shop at Walmart using gift cards paid for by donations from around the community. Each child was given a $100 gift card and paired with a "hero" to spend on clothing, shoes and a toy.

This is a snowy day photograph by Bob Wilkie at Random Nevada. This photo was taken last winter at about 1755 East Fifth Street. The location was at the Lompa Ranch in Carson City.

The Lompa Ranch has a long history in Carson City. It's a large ranch and fine open area for this (now) much more urbanized area, and the ranch extends all the north to the rear of the Gold Dust West on Highway 50.

Carson City Treasurer Al Kramer will be resigning in January to accept a job as the Deputy State Treasurer for Investments working for incoming Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz.

This week Women to Women features the first of a two-part series with Dr. Kent Gabriel. He invited us to shoot in his office to discuss many different aspects of plastic surgery including many non-invasive alternatives. Please enjoy the show and be sure to tune in next week when a Medical Esthetician from Dr. Gabriel's office will walk us through a deep cleansing facial, step-by-step.

On Wednesday, the Senators of Carson High School hosted the Colts of Wooster in the Carson's first home wrestling duel of the season. Carson was the heavy favorite to win from the very beginning thanks to forfeits in five weight classes and tradition has shown that the Senators are almost always favored to win at any duel thanks to Carson's ability produce consistently impressive wrestling teams.

Reno Tahoe Helicopters / Heliminden LLC received its Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Nov. 25, 2014. This certification allows the company to offer charter services for air taxi in the United States, and serving the Northern California/Reno area, including tours to Napa, Calistoga, and Sonoma.

“We are the only operators in the area to have the Air Carrier Certification. We are proud to be able to offer our clients the expanded services of air taxi,” said Claudio Bellotto, Chief Pilot and Owner of Reno Tahoe Helicopters/HeliMinden.

It’s that time of year again to arrange a visit by Santa on Christmas Eve. Good cheer and the handing out of presents will be the order of this special evening, thanks to the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Organization. It has been a Carson City tradition for nearly 30 years.

This is a panorama photograph of the Carson City Capitol Grounds. The Nevada Law Enforcement Memorial is at the far left. Straight ahead, across the large open area, is the the Nevada Supreme Court Building. A fine statue of Carson City founder Abe Curry is on a tall pedestal in the center.

On the right side of the photo is the Nevada Legislative Building,and a large statue of Kit Carson. The finely detailed statue with Kit Carson riding on his horse was created by famed Carson City Artist Buckeye Blake.

This week's edition of Women to Women features Donna Elliott and Irma Wilson. They operate a support group and clinic for people with depression. The women discuss how the group came about and why they started the program here in the Carson City region.

You can follow Women to Women Nevada on its Facebook page by going here.

Thanks to big hearts and the spirit of giving, the fifth annual Cookies with Santa, a benefit for Ron Wood Family Resource Center’s holiday fund, takes place Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Café at Adele’s.
Children of all ages are invited to enjoy complimentary hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee and cookies, visit with and have their picture taken with Santa, while helping provide Christmas for children in need.

Tonight Bobby Parks Band, with special opening guest Stig and Nick, kicks off a month of giving with a free weekday concert at The Blue Bull, located at 107 East Telegraph Street in downtown Carson City. The show kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m., enough time to party, sleep, and get to work in the morning.

Carson High School seniors recently volunteered for the 2014 General elections in Carson City. Emely Lopez, Claudia Vazquez, Kimberly Torres, Karina Munoz, Maria Pacheco, Deanna Earwicker, and Amber Seifert spent the day at the polls welcoming and assisting voters. Each year, CHS government teachers work in conjunction with the Carson City Clerk-Recorder’s office to provide student volunteers for the elections. We’d like to wish out-going Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover the best of luck in his retirement and we look forward to continuing our relationship with that office as Ms.

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.

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 panorama photograph by randomnevada.blogspot.com is of the home that Orion Clemens had built when he became Territorial Secretary to Governor Nye, before Nevada was even a state. Orion Clemens was the older brother of (soon to be famous) Samuel Clemens — who we all know today as Mark Twain.

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.

Carson High’s 20th annual Holiday Craft Fair is Friday, Nov. 21 from 5 to 8p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be the best one yet with lots of new vendors as well as all your favorites. Come spend some time – great food, entertainment, a raffle, Santa, book sale, and of course, amazing and unique gifts for everyone. Admission for adults on Friday evening is only $2 and includes a raffle ticket as well as re-entry privileges on Saturday.

Thursday night’s 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards was the largest yet with over 300 guests in attendance as individuals and businesses were recognized for their exemplary services, products and programs in the South Shore community. Produced by the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, also known as TahoeChamber, this prestigious awards program solicited nominations for six categories and eight total awards.

Over 175 nominations were received and 95 of those nominated joined their peers at the Nov. 13 awards ceremony at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

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 Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees accepted a $5 million donation Tuesday from longtime Tahoe resident Lisa Maloff, in memory of her husband, Robert Maloff, according to the South Lake Tahoe community college website and LTCC officials.

The donation will be used to construct a University Center that will make four-year degrees a reality on the South Shore. This is the largest single donation ever given to LTCC, rivaling those that have been given to much larger colleges in California and around the country.

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.

November is a month when giving thanks is at the forefront of our consciousness. Gratitude is an essential component of abundance. This morning, I made a conscious decision to be grateful for all I have. No matter how smooth flowing or choppy the river of life is there is always something to be grateful for — even if it is, as a friend of mine said this weekend, “two-ply quilted toilet paper.” Hey, it is good stuff.

The CHS Marching Band competed last weekend in the Nevada Day Battle of the Bands held at Spanish Springs High School. The band finished first in their division beating out rivals Douglas High School.

They received the caption for "Outstanding Music." This award marks the first time in nine years that the marching band took home a first place trophy in a field show competition. Way to Go Big Blue Thunder!

Academic Award