It took its time, but 3 inches of snow fell in Minden overnight on Tuesday, technically returning a white Christmas to Carson Valley after last year's brown spell.Minden weather watcher Stan Kapler reported that since the water year began on Oct. 1, he's received 8 inches of snow, for a total of 4.26 inches of precipitation.The snow total for Tuesday night exceeded that of the snowfall during all of 2011-2012 of 2.35 inches. Minden's total moisture for last year was 4.03 inches, Kapler said.Heavenly Mountain Resort opened all the gates after the storm brought 17 inches of new snow as …