Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-1-11

·       Amador veterans, citizens mark “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” with museum dedication to George Allen Jr.

·       A pair of Stockton residents was arrested last week for a Jackson vehicle theft

·       Amador County Health & Human Services is to be led by Social Services Director.

·       A Stockton man and woman were arrested for transporting more than 3 pounds of marijuana on Sutter Creek Ranchos Road.

·       The Amador Tax Collector reminded residents that the second installments of property taxes are due April 11.

·       The U.S. Interior Department plans a free wildfire prevention education and mitigation conference in June.

Amador County – The city of Jackson and its partners last week announced details of its annual Earth Day city-wide volunteer clean-up day, which included music, raffle prizes and free backyard compost units for the first 100 families to sign up as volunteers.

James W. McHargue, Amador County Solid Waste Program Manager announced the annual “Clean It, Green It Celebration” outdoor festival and volunteer clean-up day is set for Saturday, April 16 in Detert Park. The day falls the weekend before Earth Day, but is decidedly a so-called Green social function.

City Manager Mike Daly in the announcement urged people to “come on out and enjoy a ‘Green Day’ at the Park!” He said the “Clean It & Green It Celebration promises to be a fun-filled day at Detert Park for the whole family.” The “Clean It” portion of this event is open to all Amador County residents, and it is the city of Jackson’s annual litter clean-up. It starts at 9 a.m. and goes until noon.

Volunteers will be provided a free barbecue lunch by the friendly staff of the Bank of Amador. Also, the first 100 families or households to pre-register for the Clean-up will receive a free backyard composter after participating.

The “Green It” fair is a celebration of Earth Day, scheduled form 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Daly said many community organizations will be participating in the fair, which will include demonstrations, special projects, and other activities intended to increase awareness of positive “earth-friendly” habits, recycling and energy use.

The theme of the entire event is intended to compliment Earth Day activities throughout the world. He said “music will be provided by the hot local band, Crystal Image.”

An “e-waste Collection Event” will also take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the old Prospect Motors lot directly across the street from Detert Park on Highway 49 and 88. This is a safe and environmentally friendly way to recycle all old electronics with 100 percent of all donations benefiting the Argonaut High School Science Club.

Items accepted at the e-waste drop-off include TV’s, monitors, computers, computer peripherals, cell phones, printers, copiers, fax machines, audio and video equipment, microwaves, and more.

Primary sponsors of the Clean It, Green It Celebration are the city of Jackson, Bank of Amador, ACES Waste Management and Amador County Waste Management Department.

To pre-register, please call the city of Jackson at (209) 223-1646, or send an e-mail to City Hall.

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Amador County – California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week both said that tests of air and milk show trace amounts of radioactivity that would cause no risk to humans.

The EPA announced March 30 that “in response to the ongoing situation in Japan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken steps to increase the level of nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes.”

On March 25, a milk sample from Spokane, Washington showed iodine-131 in a trace amount that was “more than 5,000 times lower than the Derived Intervention Level set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” The EPA said: “These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children.”

The release said “Iodine-131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, and the level detected in milk and milk products is therefore expected to drop relatively quickly.”

Patricia Hansen, an FDA senior scientist said: “Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day.”

The California Department of Public Health last week announced that “according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Japan’s nuclear emergency presents no danger to California.”

California Public Health said “tests from eight environmental monitoring stations in California have found trace levels of radiation that do not present a risk to human health,” and the “amount of radiation identified in the tests was 10,000 times below amounts that would pose human health concerns.”

Public Health said “California routinely screens milk for radioactivity on a quarterly basis,” and “since the Japan nuclear emergency, the California Public Health has increased milk monitoring to once a week in San Luis Obispo County.”

The “results are in-line with” EPA tests of milk in Washington. Public Health said “based on what we now know about Japan’s nuclear accident, radioactive iodine should decrease in the coming weeks. It is estimated that levels will be virtually undetectable soon and dissipate completely in the coming months. The amounts detected are so small they pose no public health risk.”

California Public Health said it only tests milk in one location because “air testing is the best predictor of any public health risk and so far, all testing stations have been reporting only trace amounts of radioactivity that do not pose a threat to human health.” Combined, the EPA and the state have 20 air monitoring stations around California.

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Amador County – The new Mobility Manager for Amador Regional Transit System on Friday announced a renewed promotion offering free mass transit on Earth Day.

Robin Valencia, the newly named Mobility Manager for ARTS in a release Friday said the department plans its Free Fare Day for April 22, to celebrate Earth Day 2011.

ARTS, which now will also call its department Amador Transit, announced that “all Amador Transit local bus rides will be free on Friday, April 22,” but said The Sacramento Express routes are excluded.

Valencia said: “Earth Day is a day dedicated to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. There are many ways that one can show their appreciation for the Earth and one of the best ways is to reduce your carbon footprint. One way to do this is to use public transit.

Amador Transit provides service throughout the county, Monday through Friday beginning as early as 5:30 a.m. and as late as 6 p.m. Schedules are available at the Amador Transit office at 11400 B American Legion Drive in Sutter Creek, or on the Amador Transit website. Staff is also available to help plan bus routes by phone at (209) 267-9395.

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Amador County – This week a group of French firefighters will be touring the facilities of the California Department of Fire Protection and Northern California as part of their graduate training.

Teri Mizuhara, Fire Prevention Specialist with Cal Fire said 37 fire fighters from the French “National School of Superior Fire Officers” will be in California starting Monday, and visit through April 12. The French instructors and graduates are members of the 72nd French Academy for Fire, Rescue and Civil Protection Officers. The instructors and graduates will arrive in San Francisco to tour various Cal Fire locations throughout Northern California and observe their operations.

Each class from the French Fire Academy has the opportunity for further study once they have graduated, Mizuhara said. “This group decided to come to the United States to exchange ideas, information and technology with Cal Fire personnel” regarding “All Hazard” emergency service techniques.

Members of Cal Fire Incident Command Team 5 will greet the group upon their arrival in San Francisco, Mizuhara said. Their visit begins with a tour in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit. They will receive instruction on the department’s Fire Prevention Program, Cooperative Fire Protection Services, and Hand Crew and Dozer operations. Mizuhara said this should “be of special interest to our French guests as they do not utilize these resources during their fire incidents.”

The group will then travel to the Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit, which will escort them on a tour of the State Capitol and the Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial and a meeting with Cal Fire Acting Director Ken Pimlott. Mizuhara said while they are in the Amador Unit area, the French fire fighters will also tour the scene of the Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe where 3,100 acres and 309 homes were destroyed in 2007.

The group will visit McClelland Air Base and be introduced to Cal Fire’s Air Program. Mizuhara said “given that France uses many air resources as a response to their wildland fire incidents, they are sure to have a multitude of questions.” The day will come to an end with a visit to Cal EMA.

The group will also visit the Butte Unit, which will provide a review of a Vegetation Management Plan burn and a hazardous material incident. The Butte Unit will also give a demonstration of a high angle-low angle rescue technique. A trip to Cal Fire’s Northern Operations Center in Redding will conclude the visit.

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