Green power and Dairy Queen stardom

Renewable energy is working in Nevada.

The University of Nevada, Reno, Desert Research Institute and ORMAT Corporation will develop a renewable energy center at the Redfield Campus.

Through the partnership, the Redfield Campus will be the only college campus in the world to be completely powered by geothermal energy. ORMAT will provide the university with up to one megawatt of electricity, as well as hot water for heating and research purposes.

Members of the partnership will receive awards during the national Geothermal Resources Council annual meeting and Geothermal Energy Association Trade Show to be held at the Reno Hilton. For their efforts to promote the use of geothermal energy, ORMAT will receive the Geothermal Industry Excellence Award and the university will receive the Geothermal Community Excellence Award.

Bob Peterson joined Landmark's team as vice president of operations. He is responsible for multiple aspects of planning and engineering for building projects.

Peterson comes to Landmark Communities with 30 years of experience in the building and land development industry.

He has developed more than 15,000 single-family lots and more than 12,000 residential units, as well as a number of restaurants, commercial buildings, townhomes and condominium units.

Landmark's latest projects are: Belsera, a gated community of single-family homes, located in southwest Reno; Capital Village, a community near downtown Carson City; Brookhaven, homes on large open lots in the Dayton area; and Prospect Point, affordable homes in Dayton. Waterford, Sutro Estates and Desert Bloom are coming soon to the Dayton area. For more information about Landmark Communities, visit the company's Web site at www.landmarkhomes.com.

Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials announced special relief intended to support leave-based donation programs to aid victims who have suffered from the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Under these programs, employees donate their vacation, sick or personal leave in exchange for employer cash payments made to qualified tax-exempt organizations providing relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Employees do not have to include the donated leave in their income. Employers will be permitted to deduct the amount of the cash payment.

Dairy Queen, which will appear Oct. 13 on an episode of "The Apprentice," has created a national promotion to find a real-life apprentice.

The company is offering an apprenticeship that comes with a $50,000 cash signing bonus, an appearance in a national television commercial, trips to Hawaii and Los Angeles and a chance to help create new Blizzard flavors.

Just like the television series, contestants for the Blizzard apprentice will vie for the title by completing a variety of tasks in the "Now Hiring! Become DQ's Blizzard Apprentice" contest, which can be found online at www.blizzardfanclub.com.

During round one, contestants must submit a 100-word essay describing their passion for the Blizzard and an accompanying photo of themselves interacting with the Blizzard brand. A panel of judges from Dairy Queen will choose 25 contestants to move on to the second task.

The second task requires contestants to produce a two-to-three minute video message about the Blizzard in the form of a television commercial, speech, rap, song or other performance art. The top five "odes" to the Blizzard, chosen by Dairy Queen, will be posted at www.blizzardfanclub.com, along with each finalist's original essay and photo.

Blizzard Fan Club members, now totaling about 600,000, will then vote for their favorite. The contestant with the most votes will become the first-ever Blizzard apprentice. The winner will be notified by Nov. 4.

All 25 semi-finalists will receive free Blizzards for a year. Each of the Web-posted finalists also will receive a $1,000 cash prize.

Country Insurance & Financial Services Agent Sean Marler, of Carson City, is registered to offer customers expanded financial planning and investment management services.

To obtain the investment adviser representative registration, Marler met state licensing requirements and completed a certification program combining classroom sessions and personal study.

The classroom training was provided by Country Trust Bank, a federally chartered thrift institution and registered investment adviser. He can provide clients with access to Country financial services, including retirement planning, investment management, trust services and estate planning.

Country Trust Bank, which manages more than $9.7 billion in assets, is part of Country Insurance & Financial Services.

Marler's office is at 1664 Highway 395, Suite 104, Minden. The phone number is (775) 782-8363.

- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.