Amador County – The Amador County Unified School District board of trustees on Wednesday voted 3-2 against issuing notifications to seven teachers of potential layoffs for next school year, but will be asked in a special meeting today to consider approving notifications for 11 potential teacher layoffs.

Trustees Pat Miller, Rose Oneto and Lynett Lipp voted in the majority to reject the issuance notifications for the potential layoffs of the equivalent of seven certificated teachers, including full time equivalents of one agriculture teaching position, two “opportunity teachers,” two “intervention teachers,” and two elementary teachers.

In public comment, a parent, Noelle Richmond, urged trustees to keep the agriculture program intact. She said the two high schools have more Future Farmers of America involvement than she has seen in 15 years, and the schools have two full-time ag teachers between them. She invited the board to attend an FFA fundraising dinner to support the ag department March 26 at Evalyn Bishop Hall.

School Superintendent Dick Glock said the notices are a “precautionary measure” that must be approved by March 15, in order to be able to make layoffs if needed. Layoffs must be finalized by May 15.

Nina Neville, executive director of personnel, recommended the seven layoffs, saying “unfortunately, this is the route most of California has to go by.”

Glock said the district has 505 employees, of which 260 are classified, and 245 are certificated.

Oneto said: “I’m all for the ag department,” because that is what the high schools are all about. Miller said: “I think it’s a program we need to keep intact for students,” and he was personally opposed to laying off one full-time equivalent ag teacher.

Trustee Mary Walser and Chairman Wally Upper voted for the notifications.

Glock said it was pointed out that the number of notifications was “not nearly as many as last year.” He said “by noticing someone this evening, it does not lay someone off.”

He said last year, they brought back most of the employees who received notices, when there was “one out of 66 that was not brought back.” He said “they could all be here and more” next year, depending on funding and enrolment.

After rejecting the resolution, they approved notifications for potential layoffs for four temporary certificated employees who work 2.83 full time equivalent positions.

The School Board on Thursday announced a special meeting at 2 p.m. today (Friday, March 11) to consider notifications for layoffs for 11 certificated employees. A closed session is at 1 p.m.

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Amador County – Amador County Supervisors discussed and made no change to Animal Control adoption policies Tuesday.

Supervisor Louis Boitano dissented in the 4-1 vote, saying he supported an auction for the sales, primarily due to the value of herding dogs, as people would be willing to pay more for good work dogs.

General Services Director Jon Hopkins said the practice of a random draw to determine animal adoptions has been in place for several years, and is the fairest way to avoid allegations of bias or favoritism when more than one person wants an animal. It became an issue recently when a person offered to make a $1,000 donation in an effort to get a pet.

The donation was made, but none of the other people showed up to go through the random drawing, and the donor got the dog. Hopkins said they “do not take bids for animals, period.”

Supervisor Richard Forster said “just because one person has a few bucks more than the next guy doesn’t make him a better owner.” He supported a first-come, first-served basis.

They also discussed taking names to hold the animal. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said the first person is not always the best either, nor would a random draw always determine the best owner.

Animal Control Officer John Vail said a website has been set up with a camera to show pets before they are actually available for adoption. Behavioral screening of each animal must be done for several days to determine if the animal is suitable for adoption, but people are told the time and date of availability.

Vail said: “My preference is to leave it the way it is,” and have the least impact on staff, reduced by 20 percent through loss and furloughs. He said people can come from some distance when a pet becomes available. One litter of polka-dot poodles included six puppies, and eight families came to the adoption hour. He said two families didn’t get a poodle.

Vail said: “I hate to see a grown man cry because he didn’t get a puppy, but I have seen it.” He said they have been using a random draw for adoption decisions since 2005, and do not have a non-refundable deposit, as suggested during discussion.

Supervisor Brian Oneto asked if first preference could be given to Amador County residents, in adoption questions. Deputy County Counsel Greg Gillott said that would be a violation of the Constitution.

Susan Manning, a pet merchant and principal of APAL, said she studied the issue but “I can’t see why taking bids for an animal companion is OK.”

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors weathered a storm of criticism aimed mostly at District 3 Director and Board President Don Cooper.

Former past president of the board, Bill Condrashoff, during “matters not on the agenda” told the board he suffered a delay of information after making requests from the agency. He said these were related to a staff meeting with Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

Condrashoff, who lost reelection District 1 in November, said he felt like he was not being treated well, as former board president. He said he made two requests for information in one day. Requests sought an agenda for the meeting, and a participants list.

Condrashoff also provided a copy of the San Joaquin County tax assessment on a property owned by Cooper. Condrashoff asked Cooper if he was a resident of Lodi, because he claimed a homeowners exemption there, stating that it was his primary residence.

Cooper said Condrashoff’s “comments are harassment.” He said he built his home in Mace Meadow in 1991, and when he registered to vote in Amador County, he told them of his home here and the one in Lodi. Cooper said due to medical concerns, he often traveled from one home to the other and stayed there for long periods. He said the elections department was OK with his residency. Cooper said he transferred his residency to Amador County to vote in the county, and felt he met the requirements to be registered to vote.

Jack Georgette of Jackson asked Cooper if he lived in Lodi. Georgette also asked the AWA attorney’s opinion on Cooper’s residency.

AWA attorney Stephen Kronick said the “residence of a director is much more complicated than you might think,” with factors to consider, including voting and residency. Kronick said to give an opinion of the issue, he would have to speak with Cooper about it.

Cooper said the county elections department was accepting of his having two residences, and said it would not be a problem with his voting in Amador County.

General Manager Gene Mancebo said he thought the water agency has a “decent track record in turning around information requested” by the public.

David Evitt said he thought Cooper had “webbed feet and a lot of yellow feathers.” Evitt later said “you are constantly being lied to by this general manager. He’s lying to you and he’s lying to the public.”

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Amador County – CAL-FIRE and the State Fire Marshal this week reminded people to change the batteries in their smoke alarms when they change their clocks this Saturday night for Daylight Saving Time. CDF fire prevention specialist Teri Mizuhara said: “When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead.”

Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover said: “Working smoke alarms greatly reduce the likelihood of residential fire-related deaths.” Alarms are “critical because 85 percent of all fire deaths occur in the home, and the majority occurs at night when most people are sleeping.”

“Smoke alarms unquestionably help save lives, but a smoke alarm is nothing without a working battery,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, acting director of CAL FIRE. “Just a few minutes twice a year to change that battery can truly mean the difference between life and death.”

Helpful tips include testing smoke alarms once a month and replacing batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year. Mizuhara said never “borrow” or remove batteries from smoke alarms even temporarily; regularly vacuum or dust smoke alarms to keep them working properly; replace smoke alarms every 10 years; and don’t paint over smoke alarms. Practice family fire drills so everyone knows what to do if the smoke alarm goes off.

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Amador County – Columbia College of Sonora this week announced its fall 2010 “President’s List,” which included three Amador County residents.

Coni M. Chavez, executive assistant to the president of Columbia College said Monday that Columbia College has named 154 students in its fall 2010 semester President’s List.

Chavez said: “We are pleased to officially recognize their exceptional scholastic achievement. This acknowledgment is reserved for students completing 12 or more units of semester coursework at Columbia College and earning a cumulative grade point average between 3.5 and 4.0, with no grade lower than a C.”

The fall 2010 President’s List included Daniel Fishback of Jackson; and two Pine Grove residents: Karianne Ginnelly and Grant Wells.

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Amador County – The Amador County Planning Department on Tuesday announced that a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors has been set for April to look at the preliminary draft of Amador County’s updated General Plan.

Amador County Planner Heidi Jacobs announced the meeting, set for 1 p.m. Monday, April 4, with the next day set aside for a continuation of the meeting, to April 5, also at 1 p.m., if needed. The meeting will be held in the Supervisors chamber.

Jacobs in a release Tuesday said “as part of Amador County’s ongoing General Plan Update process,” the “preliminary drafts of the general plan, glossary and implementation plan have been prepared for review at a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.”

“The purpose of this meeting will be for the Joint Panel to review these documents to ensure they contain the information and items on which direction was given at the previous joint meetings held in late 2008 through 2009,” the release said. “This review is not for the purpose of taking public comment on the merit of what is contained or proposed in the documents. That discussion will take place during the public hearing process which will be forthcoming when the final version of the Draft General Plan is released for public review along with the Draft EIR for the project, expected to occur later this summer.”

The documents are posted on the “Amador General Plan Update page” website. Documents are also available for viewing at the Jackson branch of the Amador County Library, the Planning Department office and the Board of Supervisors’ office.

A limited number of printed documents are available for purchase.

Text and maps developed to date in the General Plan Update process may be reviewed. The release said the “update process is ongoing,” and urged people to “continue to monitor the website and watch for notices of future public hearings, as changes to the proposed General Plan can, and will, be made up until the last meeting.”

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Amador County – After public persuasion Tuesday, the Amador County Board of Supervisors decided not to change the speed limit on Consolation Street in Volcano.

A traffic study determined the speed limit should be 35 mph on Consolation Street, but could be lowered to 30 mph. County Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said the issue was whether it would be an “enforceable” speed limit for the California Highway Patrol, through use of a radar gun. He said leaving the speed limit at 25 mph would in effect make it unenforceable by CHP using radar.

The board voted to keep the speed limit the same after a “great confirmation among” the public in attendance, who asked that the speed limit be left the same.

Iley said the “speed study showed that the speed should be raised to 30 mph,” and “CHP would not enforce it without a speed study.” Since they kept it at 25 mph, based on radar, CHP cannot write tickets, but they “can write a ticket for traveling too fast for the circumstances.” Iley said Sheriff’s enforcement of the speed limit on Consolation Street was not brought up during the meeting.

Many Volcano residents spoke in support of keeping it the same. They also wanted a larger CHP presence, and thought people were going too fast on the road. Iley said Amador County staff had already decided to place a stop sign at Main and Consolation Streets. Some people in attendance asked for a second stop sign, with requests for a sign at either Consolation and Plug streets, or Consolation and Church Streets.

After discussion, the Board said it would go with just the one stop sign for now.

Stantec Consulting senior project engineer Roger Stuart in a Feb. 18 letter said the traffic study showed that the “current speed limit for Consolation Street is not consistent with the process outlined in California’s Speed Trap legislation, which dictates the procedures the county must follow to set or retain speed limits.”

Stuart said “speed zones unenforceable by radar are difficult to manage,” and “violation of the existing 25 mph zone will continue to be widespread.” He said “a large portion of speeding tickets may be appealed to the court, resulting in time loss from traffic enforcement. In some cases, courts have ordered local agencies to raise speed limits or discontinue all enforcement.”

“Unrealistically low speed zones also have unintended effects by increasing the variation in speeds,” Stuart said, and “it is generally accepted that posting a speed zone in compliance with the state law and nationally accepted procedure will result in the safest speed zone for roadway conditions.”

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Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council received an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions and discussed the meaning of the report, and next steps Monday.

The report said the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 “which requires the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.” A “Scoping Plan was developed to identify strategies for meeting the AB32 goal.” The Act, in part, recommends that local governments reduce their emissions by 15 percent below current levels, by 2020.

Sierra Business Council prepared the report for Sutter Creek, and SBC Program Director Nancy Richards attended the council meeting and took questions.

Mayor Tim Murphy said the study was a long time coming, and he and other council members thanked SBC for the report.

Richards said the inventory establishes the city’s base of emissions, with which emissions requirements for new development can be set. She said SBC can provide software so the city can update its emissions inventory. She said the city could also make a community-wide inventory.

Councilwoman Linda Rianda said the report was good, and very thorough, and asked about requirements the city faces.

Richards said AB32 establishes guidelines to be met by 2020, to reduce to 1990 levels. But she said since data is typically not readily available from 1990, they suggest getting back to 15 percent of emissions levels of 2005. She said “it’s a guideline. The mandate is still in the works.”

The inventory counted emissions for the city hall building, the civic building, and the Monte Verde Store, the former Sutter Creek Brewery. Councilman Jim Swift said he was all in favor of putting in efficient lighting, but he did not like the portion of the inventory that compiled data on employee commuting habits.

Swift said: “Whether they walk to work or drive a one-ton dually, that’s none of my business.” Richards said the survey looked at employee travel habits and practices. City Manager Sean Rabe said the state is ratcheting back the emissions footprints with the questions. Swift said driving to work is not done on company time, because they are not driving company vehicles.

Richards said “there are no laws in place that require” any of the inventory or emissions reductions. Murphy said people will tend to “not get excited about recommendations,” as compared to reactions to requirements.

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