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 Amador County American Legion Post 108 held a dedication ceremony Sunday, March 27 to mark the local celebration of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, which nationally was encouraged by a resolution passed earlier this month in the U.S. Senate.

The resolution was passed March 7 declaring March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, marking the date in 1973 that all United States military troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. The resolution “honors and recognizes the contributions of veterans who served in Vietnam during war and peace.” It also “encourages state and local governments to establish Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, and the people of the United States to observe such Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

The ceremony in Sutter Creek at the American Legion Post 108 hall included a dedication of the new library and museum of the Post, and its tribute to the family of George Allen Junior, for whom the library and museum was named with a plaque. Veterans Services Officer Floyd Martin said Allen’s family made the American Legion Hall possible.

The U.S. Senate resolution, by Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) said in part that “more than 58,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 members of the Armed forces were wounded.” It also noted that the “Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue among the people of the United States and a conflict that caused a generation of veterans to wait too long for the United Sates public to acknowledge and honor the efforts and services of such veterans.”

It also said that “U.S. Armed Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam War were often wrongly criticized for the policy decisions made by four presidential administrations.”

Resolution said that a “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day would be an appropriate way to honor those members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in South Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.”

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors at its mid-March meeting approved a change in leadership of the Amador County Health & Human Services department, to be led by the next director of Social Services.

The Board, at its March 22 meeting approved a future permanent director of the Health and Human Services to be director of both Health Services and Social Services departments, which are now led by an acting director.

Supervisors approved the changes on staff recommendation from Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Iley, who in a memo March 14 said that “following the passing of Matt Zanze, the Board placed Joan Meis-Wilson as the Acting Director of Social Services, the Acting Guardian/Conservator and the Acting Public Administrator.”

Iley said “Social Services and Public Health departments were previously combined to create the Health and Human Services Agency, which would allow for more efficient operations and stronger, more unified leadership under one agency head.”

He said “unfortunately, in this financial climate, I cannot recommend filling that top position.” Instead, he recommended the Board of Supervisors “delete the Health and Human Services Director position and replace it with the Social Services Director position.” He said the “Social Services Director and the Health Services Director would then report directly to” Iley. Meis-Wilson is now the Acting Social and Health Services Director.

Iley said: “I am also recommending that the Social Services Director position be advertised internally immediately, with the application review committee consisting of the members of the Administrative Committee, the Human Resources director and the Chief Administrative Officer.”

The board action was to approve the deletion of the Health and Human Services position and to add the position of the Social Services Director. Iley said fiscal impacts would be a “savings from reduced salary” for the new position.

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Amador County – A strong odor of marijuana led an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy to the confiscation more than 3 pounds of marijuana and the arrest of a Stockton man and woman after a car stop Sunday on Sutter Creek Ranchos Road, off Sutter Ione Road.

Amador County Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff Jim Wegner announced the arrest in a release Wednesday. The release said the “vehicle’s two occupants, Leena Cynthia Schultz, 20, of Stockton and Theodore Clarence Salomon Junior, 21, of Stockton were arrested and charged with transportation of marijuana, and conspiracy. Bail for both was set at $30,000.”

At about 7:35 p.m. Sunday, March 27, “an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy detained a maroon 1993 Toyota Camry on Highway 88 at Sutter Creek Ranchos Road for displaying an expired registration.”

The release said that “as the Deputy Sheriff contacted the two occupants of the vehicle, he detected a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.” After being asked about the odor, “both occupants denied the presence of any marijuana within the vehicle.”

The Deputy then “removed the subjects from the vehicle in order to conduct a search based upon probable cause. At that point, one of the occupants admitted that they were transporting 3 pounds of marijuana for a relative. Both denied having a medical recommendation for marijuana or being a designated care provider.”

The release said a “search of the vehicle revealed a plastic five-gallon bucket concealed within the vehicle’s trunk. The bucket contained three separate plastic bags of marijuana weighing over three pounds. No other contraband was located.”

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Amador County – Amador County Treasurer-Tax Collector Michael E. Ryan announced a reminder this week that property owners have until 5 p.m. Monday, April 11, to make the second installment payment of their annual secured property taxes for fiscal year 2010-2011, as April 10 falls on a Sunday this year.

This deadline should not be confused with the Income Tax deadline which is several days later. The second installment of secured property taxes was due and payable on Feb. 1 and will become delinquent if not paid by 5 p.m. on April 11. Ryan said “thereafter a 10% delinquent penalty and $20 cost charge will be added.”

Taxes remaining unpaid after June 30 accrue additional statutory penalties at the rate of 1-1/2 percent per month, as well as additional fees. Ryan said payments may be made by mail and must be postmarked by April 11 in order to avoid late penalties. Payments may also be made in person at the Tax Collector's Office, on the second floor of the County Administration Center, 810 Court Street in Jackson, which is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Thursday, holidays excepted. Amador County Offices are closed on Fridays.

For the convenience of taxpayers, a payment drop box is located on the outside wall of the alcove to the immediate left of the main entrance to the Administration Center.

Payments may be made with a credit card in the office, or by telephone at 1-800-609-4599. Credit card and e-check payments may also be made over the Internet by visiting websites shown on the tax bill. Taxpayers should refer to the back of their tax bill for further payment and tax information.

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Amador County – The U.S. Department of the Interior announced recently that it is planning a free California statewide wildfire prevention education and mitigation conference in June in Southern California.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will be hosting the conference, which will be open to all Tribal, Federal, State, and County Agencies, Fire Safe Councils and Fire Wise Communities. The Fire Safe Council organization announced the conference on its website, and said it is tentatively scheduled to be in Southern California, June 6-9. The location for the conference still must be determined.

BIA plans two optional training opportunities to be offered June 6, with Track 1 being the “Community Wildfire Protection Plan,” and Track 2 being the “Juvenile Fire Screening Tool,” also called the “Oregon Model.”

The main conference will be held June 7-9. Several of the prevention topics are Creating Educational Media Clips, Teaching Middle School Youth, Investing in Fire Prevention, a Powerline Fire Case Study, Media Technology and Arson, Photography and Fire Prevention, Developing PowerPoint Presentations, Mapping Decisions, Identifying and Mitigating, and Fire Cause Classes.

Course coordinators are Regional Fire Prevention Officer Jim Nanamkin and Fire Prevention Specialist Soledad Holguin. They informally announced the conference, saying there will be no tuition.

The attendee is responsible for their travel, accommodations and meals. They said BIA is requesting a response of commitment or interest to determine the conference site location. Once the Bureau has determined its location, a formal announcement will go out.

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Amador County – The Upcountry Community Council reviewed a report recently on two transportation stakeholder groups.

Gary Reinoehl represents UCC on the two groups and delivered a “Transportation Report” dated March 2011, which said: “Updated maps with the most recent traffic count information were given to the group. The consultant, Amador County Transportation Commission staff and the stakeholders discussed the forecast deficiencies and the roadway classification.”

Reinoehl said stakeholders “are more familiar with the local roads, intersections and roadway conditions and were asked to provide information about roadway classification,” road or intersection deficiencies, “and identifying priority locations for detailed analysis.” They were also asked to look at “assumptions used in the Regional Transportation Plan and consider how these might be updated or reconsidered.”

UCC Chairwoman Lynn Morgan asked UCC members to read the report and “offer Gary what of the RTP assumptions must either change, or whether there are some different ones to consider since these were created many years ago.”

Reinoehl in the report said: “Please be prepared to share information about roadway and/or intersection deficiencies for the arterials and collector roadways.” He said: “Also, please review the assumptions; and consider what should be in the Regional Transportation Plan for current assumptions.”

Reinoehl said the 2004 Regional Transportation Plan assumes population, land use and fuel costs will continue as estimated and the “automobile will continue to be the primary choice for travel by residents,” with “recreation-oriented” travelers remaining major users of county state highways. It also assumes “transportation financing” will “continue to be disproportionate compared to employment and housing causing further increases in inter-regional commuting.”

Regarding the Highway 88 Pine Grove improvement project, led by ACTC, Reinoehl said the “Stakeholders Working Group was provided detailed maps” of two alternatives, including a “southern two way route following the alignment identified in alternate 9,” and the UCC’s “alternative 14,” for which cost projections are “higher than the expected” for the project.

Reinoehl said the Stakeholders “continued to provide local knowledge of areas that could be problems for both of these alternatives.” He said the “next step in the analysis will require information about the local terrain and facilities that might require additional width of right-of-way or additional expense because of existing environmental conditions and facilities.”

He said the “continuing engineering studies necessary for alternatives 1, 3 and 9 cover the same area that is required for the continued consideration of alternative 14.” Reinoehl said “Alternative 14 was not excluded at this point from consideration.”

Alternative 14, proposed by UCC member, would build one-way bypasses in loops north and south of Pine Grove, and preserve the Main Street atmosphere of Pine Grove.

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors last week received an annual report on the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee program, discussing the local agency shares of cost.

Amador County Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles Field gave an annual report from fiscal year 2009-2010 for the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee program, saying it had about $143,000 in revenues countywide in that time, down from more than $1 million in better years. He said it was due to slight activity in new Amador County housing and development.

Supervisor Ted Novelli asked about the years in which Jackson participated as a member of ACTC but did not charge the full impact fees of $304 per “trip fee,” which it did not approved until 2009. Novelli asked “who paid it for them?”

Field said “nobody paid it for them, it was just short” by that amount. Novelli also asked about ACTC staff pay raises, and Field said one administrator had a 2.5 percent raise, and Neil Peacock received a 5 percent raise. Field said the “increase is in next year’s budget.”

Novelli asked how the staff salaries were funded. Field said staff salaries come from ACTC revenues, and “do not come from Regional Traffic Mitigation Fees, which is the subject of this report.”

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse asked why during 2003 to 2010, there were zero fees collected from ACTC member agencies, the Plymouth City Council and the Amador City City Council. Field said different cities came in at different times, mainly because there was so little building there. He said neither city has had a building permit issued since the beginning of ACTC.

Plymouth is still under a building moratorium, which began three decades ago, but is nearing the point of it being lifted, with two housing developments totaling nearly 500 homes in the works there.

Field said ACTC added the three larger cities on its board first to see how it works, with Sutter Creek, Ione and Jackson. Supervisor Richard Forster said “it took time to get everyone into the program and to build trust.” It also took time to put money into the pot to build it up for the “common good, and it’s done a pretty good job over the last five years.” Forster said it has done a lot of good, though it does not have much funding because of the economy.

The latest project, a realignment of Prospect Drive to Bowers Drive in Sutter Creek is on hold due to a delay in state bond funding, as the economy has delayed bond issuance.

The board the accepted and filed the annual report on a 5-0 vote.

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Amador County – The Jackson Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Monday, April 4, to discuss an application to subdivide the Rollingwood Estates mobile home park, and many of its residents are looking for a chance to have their say.

A majority of the Rollingwood residents reportedly oppose the splitting of the park’s property into smaller lots, including Shirley Dajnowski, who requested Jackson City Council’s support on two pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 444, and Assembly Bill 579 regarding mobile home parks. The council approved its support Monday, seeking to clarify state law regarding the subdividing of mobile home parks into individual lots, which can then be sold to the mobile home unit owners who rent there.

Dajnowski, president of a mobile home owners’ association, said residents “will have their first hearing” on the issue Monday. She said she understands state law to say that park owners need tenant support in order to have their application deemed complete, though the courts have made different rulings around California.

“I’m not an attorney, I’m an 88-year-old woman fighting for the people out here,” Dajnowski said Tuesday. “The ramifications of losing the rent control is what has people so worried out there.” She said “a great deal of people who reside in Rollingwood have severe medical problems” and very little income.

The price range mentioned by the owners to sell the small lots is said to be $85,000 to $100,000, Dajnowski said, and “the elderly can’t go out and get a loan.” And even if they could, she said they would not want to leave the debt to their relatives.

She said: “I’m right in the middle of it as far as finances and age is concerned.”

At the Council meeting Monday, she said that a “Tenant Impact Report” survey conducted at Rollingwood showed 112 people that live there are either widows or widowers. There are 74 couples and 186 homes, and the total of 206 people she assumed made up 7 percent of Jackson registered voters. She said it found that 135 of its respondents were against the individual subdividing of Rollingwood, while 16 responded that they supported it.

Rollingwoood is owned by three partners, with Joe Chirco the primary partner, along with Hing Belila and Richard Farr. The group has offices in Victorville. The application with the city to divide the parcels of Rollingwood was made by C&L Investment Company, represented by Joe Chirco.

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