15 minute read
Opportunity as a Substitute Teacher
OPPORTUNITY AS A
SubstituteTeacher
By Sharon Schrage
If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher, you can start here:
https://doe.nv.gov/Educator_Licensure/Online_ Portal/content
If you have any questions, reach out to Sharon Schrage at:
sharons@inclineeducationfund.org Limited application fee reimbursements are available from the Incline Education Fund. LAST WINTER, AFTER HEARING THE STRUGGLES schools faced due to COVID-19, I decided to help by becoming a Nevada Substitute teacher. As the process took some time, when I finally received my license, students were back in the classroom. I promptly forgot about my certification.
Fast forward to “Omicron January”. In a passing remark to Incline Elementary School Principal, Dan Zimmerman, I noted I was a “substitute” and would be happy to help if he was truly desperate. He was.
It is the same across the entire country. On January 20, 2022 EducationWeek article, Evie Blad noted, “Exhausted school leaders are scrambling…to find substitute teachers during the latest COVID-19 surge… forcing some schools to close temporarily due to staffing shortages.”
That same month, in our own backyard, the Washoe County School District announced that due to staffing shortages, schools would once again go remote, on an as-needed basis when 408 staff missed work and 15,145 children missed school in one week.
Even without the pandemic, there is an urgent need for substitutes in Nevada and especially Incline Village. Most Reno substitutes find plenty of work down in the valley and do not want to come ‘up the hill’. Incline Village schools rely our communities’ help, pandemic or not, to be a part of the educational support system keeping classes open. Without a teacher in the classroom, children cannot come to school. With the documented learning loss from the pandemic, it is more important than ever to give our students the best possible chance to succeed.
I have found my experience to be incredibly rewarding. The students at IES were kind and welcoming to an administrative director turned teacher. Incline Village has a cadre of phenomenal teachers and the IES staff culture is one of inclusivity and cooperation. A random Friday teacher conversation is not about weekend plans, but how to support a struggling student. In the office, there is always room for a young student still wrestling with the transition from her remote learning experience to the structure of the classroom.
With a flexible schedule, (substitute teachers choose which teaching assignments to take) you too can make a difference in a student’s life.
JUSTICE COURT
By John Crockett
ON A WEDNESDAY MORNING, the Incline Village-Crystal Bay Township Justice Court has a full slate of cases. The day’s schedule begins with Judge E. Alan Tiras working with clerks, lawyers, and the defendants before him. And today he hears pleas and issues sentences for misdemeanors that occurred within Incline Village and Crystal Bay. However, most of those appearing in court today are not within the township, they are before the court virtually.
An Assistant District Attorney checks in to the hearing by Zoom from the Truckee Meadows. The defendant is in custody in Reno but appears and participates virtually. A defense lawyer joins with a blurred background. Seated on the bench, Judge Tiras conducts this hybrid in-person and online court with the skill of a symphony conductor. As camera focus shifts to those speaking at the time, the judge turns on and off mics confirming that all parties can hear and understand the proceedings. One defendant requires a translator and Tiras calls on a court clerk to join in, adding to the complicated but smooth interaction.
At the end of one case, he wraps up by confirming the defendant understands everything that has transpired. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way but I hope I don’t see you again, at least not in this setting.”
Since 1980, the Incline Justice Court has provided a venue for residents and visitors to settle matters including traffic violations, evictions, and temporary protection orders, amongst others. Tiras, who was elected to this position in 2006 and took office in 2007, explains that Justice Court is considered the people’s court.
“The vast majority of interaction of courts and the public is at our level,” says Tiras. “Generally speaking, we’re dealing with people that haven’t messed up too badly yet. And it gives us an opportunity to help them so they don’t continue down the path to something more severe.”
While the court hears citations and misdemeanors, cases can also involve more serious charges including felonies. “What’s important is how can we help people…so they’re not making those same wrong decisions. Punishment is a tool in the toolbox, but it’s the last one we want to use.”
For Tiras, this position allowed him to continue a life of public service to the community. In addition to his “wonderful relationship” with his wife of 41 years, Tiras credits his uncle as being “a catalyst for my interest in public service.” His philosophy is that if he can work to make the community a better place then he is the beneficiary.”
Following the public service lead of his uncle, Tiras served on the City Council of his hometown of Seminole, Oklahoma and was honored as Citizen of the Year. Serving as an elected judge is “my way of trying to make things better,” says Tiras.
First visiting Incline Village in the mid-1980s, he decided to make it home, moving here in 1990 with his wife, Natalie and two young children. Judge Tiras thinks the community is a great place to raise children. “They had amazing educational opportunities and could participate in extra-curricular opportunities as well,” he says.
“When we first decided to move here, we loved the mountains, trees and, of course the Lake, but what keeps us here is the people,” Tiras says. “We met many of our best friends through the schools and school events.” He continued to follow his passion for public service by taking on leadership roles with Rotary of Tahoe Incline and the Incline Village Chamber of Commerce among others.
Judge Tiras also participates in We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Program of which Incline Village High School’s team is a perennial state and national contender. He finds assisting program advisor Milton Hyams “very rewarding” but also educational.
“Not a week goes by when they don’t teach me something,” he says. “It’s interesting watching the student progress from uncertainty to true constitutional scholars.” With students learning to research, speak, argue, and support their positions with evidence, some former We the People students may soon be representing plaintiffs or defendants before Judge Tiras’s court.
In 2019, Incline Justice Court became the first court in the state to offer virtual options for traffic court defendants. Holding court virtually was initially challenging but the process was gaining momentum before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended court services state-wide. With experience gained from virtual traffic court, Judge Tiras and his team soon took the full court calendar online, becoming the only one in the state for several months.
“The virtual program is an unqualified success,” says Tiras. He questions why defendants should take time away from work or their families to plead not guilty to a parking ticket. “I don’t need to make it inconvenient to them to have access to justice.” Defendants might attend during a lunch break at a job site or when they are physically unable to travel to Incline. If the parties are participating and present wherever they are, the court can adjudicate the matter.
“At this level we have the opportunity to figure out what we can do to help them. It’s a really rewarding position to be in,” says Tiras.
Michael McNulty is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor whose clients have appeared at Incline Justice Court. He says the benefit of having a local court in Incline is “the efficiency of justice being satisfied promptly.” McNulty states that Tiras offers, “kindness but with a firm hand. I often hear him encourage defendants to use all of the resources that the Incline Justice Court affords,” such as attending counseling or participating in victim impact panels.
With the success and benefits of virtual court proceedings will there continue to be a need for the physical location of Incline Justice Court? Due to a lack of technology access, virtual is just not an option for some parties. “We need to be accessible to those people too. There needs to be a physical space for live trials, hearings, and payment windows,” says Tiras.
More changes are in store for the court this year. In February, the Board of County Commissioners voted 3-1 to abolish the office of the Incline Constable through an amendment to Washoe County code. Constables provide court security, pre- and post-trial services such as drug testing, and process serving in addition to other duties. The move by a Commissioner outside of District 1, which includes Incline Village, surprised Tiras. “What bothers me is the process,” says Tiras. He thinks the change to abolish the office of the constable is not good governance. “Let’s talk to the stakeholders, find out what the goals of this change are.”
Some see the elimination of the constable office by the County Commission as a step towards eliminating the Incline Village township and therefore the court. “I don’t think it would be appropriate for a judge not from Incline to adjudicate Incline matters,” says Tiras. “They don’t understand the community, the community standards, the geography. It would be a huge step backward if we didn’t have a local judge.”
The court will also move to a new location at 855 Alder Ave., the former library building and current Incline Village Community Center. Since 1982, the court has held space at the Centerpoint Executive Offices building at 865 Tahoe Blvd. The court will now move into a county-owned building for the first time in its history.
As the Incline Village-Crystal Bay Township Justice Court deals with transitions over the coming year, the court continues to take each opportunity to help its constituents. “Consistency is fair. And justice is that people are treated the same throughout the process,” says Tiras. By using innovations like holding court virtually, Judge Tiras can offer the consistency of access to justice from Incline Village that reaches beyond the community.
Getting Your Home Ready for Spring
By Kayla Anderson
It’s that “spring cleaning” time of the year when the weather is all over the place, and you don’t quite know when to start getting your yard ready for summer. When the weather stays nice for long stretches of time, you may be tempted to start planting your garden or redoing your deck. However, between Incline Village/Crystal Bay’s drastic elevation changes and Mother Nature’s fickle attitude, landscaping experts say that it’s best to be patient. Here is their advice on when to start your spring cleanup projects:
High Sierra Gardens Nursery
With more than three decades of experience in landscape design, High Sierra Gardens owner Dan Yori has learned a thing or two about helping people freshen up their homes, yards, and gardens to impress their friends and neighbors and keep things blooming regularly throughout the summer. He has worked on more than a thousand homes in Incline Village over the years, from Lakeshore Boulevard up to Upper Tyner.
Yori bought High Sierra Gardens in 1984 and when asked what his advice is for people to get their homes ready for summer, he replies, “Number one: don’t do anything until the snow melts. Heavy snowstorms this past winter caused a lot of small bushes and shrubbery to break. You want to evaluate what you’ll need to do to fix that but, in the meantime, anticipate more storms.”
His main advice is to just be patient.
“I’ve had the nursery for 39 years and people are coming in asking when we’ll get things in. I learned my lesson by bringing things in too early and having to move all plants inside when temperatures drop, or it snows again. There are so many new people here who come in and want to buy plants now, but they don’t know the mountain climate; what grows when, where, why, and how.”
Ninja Tree Care
In 2016, Kathrine “Sunshine” Rieger started Ninja Tree Care in Incline Village and has been helping residents with their tree removal and yard cleanups in the IV/CB community ever since. Living in Incline for 17 years, she has experience in firefighting, working for other local tree companies, and climbing towers with NV Energy to get more climbing experience before opening her own business.
Sunshine likes showing people how to take care of their own trees and creating defensible space to keep things more affordable for them, stepping in and doing a job only when necessary.
“I explain to people what the fire department is exactly looking for on taking care of those trees and how to remove branches safely without damaging them. You’re looking to create defensible space in the first 30 feet next to your house. Pine needles can be done year-round; keep in mind that the fire department is looking for that fine flammable forest fuel next to your home to be cleared. It’s about protecting your house from the forest and protecting the forest from your house.”
She says it’s ideal to look at the property when the snow is melted out, especially for new homeowners because they may not know what’s underneath. The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District is also a valuable resource for how to create defensible space.
“The more houses we get in compliance then the better it is for all of us. It doesn’t matter if you use us or another tree company, the most important thing is we’re getting defensible space done on every house in the community,” she says.
For more information on Ninja Tree Care, call (775) 6292687 or visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ ninjatreecare.
Village Ace Hardware
Village Ace has long been known as the place to go for all your hardware needs and even though the weather is still sketchy, Village Ace Manager Reggie Tynes says that it’s worth thinking about your spring cleaning projects.
“Due to the lack of snow, it’s hard [getting your house ready for summer] but after the snow melts you can start clearing brush around your home. As it starts heating up, you’ll absolutely want to clear around the home and make defensive space for fire safety,” Tynes says.
A lot of people start bagging up their pine needles, patching up driveways that have been cracked or destroyed due to snow load, and start buying house and deck stain. Then as it gets closer to summer, Village Ace switches over to patio furniture,
planting supplies, barbecues, and floaties for the lake.
“A lot of people start their home projects as the weather gets nice. Garden hoses can sell out, and barbecues sell so fast,” he says.
“You just have to be careful with charcoal because it was banned last year, and it might be banned again this year depending on the fire danger,” he says. That’s why having proper ground cover and keeping things clear within a certain radius helps protect one’s home.
Rockwood Tree Service
In business since 1986, Rockwood is a full-service tree care and removal company specializing in stump grinding, tree trimming/pruning, tree removal, and defensible space compliance. Owner Beth Moxley says that there has been a lot going on lately with wildfire danger which is why collaborating with people on their defensible space is a priority for them.
“The most important thing is to rake all your pine needles once a year in the spring for defensible space and contact the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and have a defensible space inspection done. There’s a $1,000 rebate available, and each year they choose a specific area. Each homeowner is eligible for that $1,000 rebate in that area,” Moxley explains. Inspections through the NLTFPD are free, and the fire department is very helpful and accommodating.
Moxley says it’s also important to clear any dead or diseased trees, as Incline Village has a big bark beetle problem right now.
“The red turpentine bark beetle is aggressive. The top of the pine tree goes first, and if you don’t take care of that, then you’ll lose all your other pines around it.
She adds that there’s a lot to do in the spring, and the best way to get your property ready is to get a jump on those pine needles and consider talking to your neighbors and ordering a 30-cubic-yard dropbox from Empire Contractors. You want to rake your entire property and keep a 30-ft. clearance around your home year-round.
“I believe it’s $565 for a dropbox, and they drop it off in your neighborhood. All your neighbors can rake and load the dropbox and share the cost and they come to pick it up, and they take it to the dump. It’s a very cost-effective way and encourages your neighbors to get compliant with defensible space. The more neighbors that comply the safer your neighborhood will be.
“We want people to take the opportunity to educate themselves about wildfire danger, especially when it comes to bonfires and firepits,” Moxley adds.
