Amador County – The Bank of Amador will host a reception Thursday to present $15,000 in donations to two Amador County non-profit organizations.

Bank of Amador and its corporate parent company, the American River Bankshares Foundation, will present donations of $10,000 to Hospice of Amador and Calaveras Counties, and another $5,000 to Operation Care. The grants were paid partially by the bank employees and partially by the corporation.

The reception is 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and the presentation follows at 5 p.m., when the bank and parent company will give the $15,000 in the form of grants. Bank President Wayne Garibalidi sent invitations to local dignitaries on behalf of the bank soliciting their attendance, and, wrote that he was “also personally asking for your attendance, if at all possible.”

Garibaldi said: “The funds being donated are partially funded by our employees here at Bank of Amador and partially funded through our corporate parent.” He said: “I’m sure we all recognize the economic difficulties associated with continuing government support for our local charitable organizations, so I think it is noteworthy when employees, citizens and companies make an effort to do the ‘right thing’ with our community.”

The invitation said Hospice and Operation Care are the American River Bankshares Foundation’s 2010-2011 Amador Grant Recipients. It noted that “since 2004, American River Bankshares Foundation has awarded $375,000 in grant money to non-profit organizations based in Sacramento, Sonoma, South Placer and Amador Counties that make a big impact in the lives of the most vulnerable women and children in our communities.”

The reception runs from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Thomi’s Restaurant banquet room in Jackson. Complimentary appetizers and adult beverages will be served.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors last week approved a grant-funded contract of $175,000 to study a regional wastewater recycling program for Amador County that could translate into a project to be emulated around the Foothills.

The study would look for a feasible plan for a regional recycling and reuse wastewater system in Amador County. The board on Thursday authorized awarding a contract to Aegis Engineering Management to complete a regional wastewater reuse planning study. The use of recycled or reclaimed wastewater is expected to extend the county water supply by replacing raw water used by industrial and agricultural companies with reclaimed water.

Amador Water Agency General Manager Gene Mancebo said in a release Monday that “historically, industrial facilities, landscaping and vineyards in the western portion of the county use more than 700 acre-feet of raw water annually.” He said the regional plan will not address recycling wastewater for drinking water or household use.

“The contractor will hold meetings with cities, Amador County, AWA and other stakeholders,” Mancebo said, and the contactor will “identify potential reclaimed water users, create a plan to maximize the use of reclaimed water in Amador County, and create a conceptual plan for financing and building reclaimed water facilities.”

The planning process will be completed by December, 2012. The winning proposal was selected by a review panel that included Ione City Manager Kim Kerr, Sutter Creek City Manager Sean Rabe, Jackson City Manager Mike Daly, and Agency engineers Erik Christeson and John Griffin.

The cost of the $175,000 contract is fully covered by a $270,000 grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Mancebo said. “The remaining funds from the grant will be used to cover AWA staff time to gather data for the study and participate in meetings, contract contingency and other project costs.” The study and planning project was awarded for its possibility to be a regional program that could be copied elsewhere around the state, especially in the Sierra Foothills.

Also Thursday, the board recognized retiring Agency Controller Ann Barre for her 26 years of service to the Agency. Her career began in customer service and moved to bookkeeping. Besides financial management duties in her three decades at AWA, Barre opened mail, read meters, answered phones, and launched AWA’s first computer system. Barre said she was most proud that audits of her books were perfect every year, and “never off by a penny.”

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Amador County – The Jackson City Council last night was to consider a recommendation from its planning commission for the year’s Housing Equivalent Units allocations.

The official action determines the number of housing units “available for subdivision application process in 2011 and establish criteria for reviewing proposals from developers.”

The Jackson Planning Commission in its meeting Feb. 22 reviewed the issues and “recommended a Housing Equivalent Units (HEUs) allocation availability of 150 for 2011,” according to a staff report by Jackson City Manager Mike Daly and City Planner Susan Peters.

The report said “the planning commissioners chose 150 HEUs because it allows for a reasonable sized project to be applied for while still allowing for some reserve in sewer capacity.” The report said the “design evaluation criteria recommended by the Planning Commission is what is listed in the Resource Constraints and Priority Allocation Policy.”

The system was adopted in 2004, Daly and Peters’ report said, and in “2008 the Planning Commission determined that the HEUs should be set at zero. The zero allocation was due to a desire to see the impacts of previously approved allocation projects since none had been built and occupied.”

In December 2010 and January 2011, the City Council extended the Housing Equivalent Units of three residential developments, including 26 for the Shealor Trust Property, which submitted a tentative parcel map application.

Also extended were 100 HEUs for the Fuller Family Partnership, for which the “Planning Department has not yet received an application for a project at this site.”

St. Patrick’s Church also had 86 HEUs extended, for its St. Patrick’s Park subdivision, and an application has been submitted to the planning department, but it awaits preparation of an Environmental Impact Report.

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Amador County – Ione staff will report Today on wastewater plant issues as the city nears an April hearing date on its Draft Cease & Desist Order.

The Central Valley California Regional Water Quality Control Board in April will consider the draft order, and a seepage report submitted by the city Feb. 14, with information for consideration at the hearing. City Manager Kim Kerr in a report for today’s meeting said the full seepage report is available for review at City Hall.

City attorney Kristen Castanos wrote the city’s comment on the Draft Cease and Desist Order in a letter to the Regional Board Assistant Executive Officer Kenneth Landau. Castanos said it included a difference of opinion on seepage report findings. She said the “city believes that the Draft Cease and Desist Order “oversimplifies the issue of the potential need for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.” She asked that the Draft Order be “revised to reflect the current uncertainty associated with the need for a NPDES permit,” because the draft “assumes that the discharge requires” a permit.

Castanos said “there are outstanding technical and legal questions regarding the need for a NPDES permit and the city requests that the Draft Cease and Desist Order acknowledge these outstanding questions.”

Due to the technical and legal questions about the permit, Castanos said the “city requests a slight extension of the deadline to submit a Seepage Discharge Compliance Plan,” as it would not affect the schedule in the order.

The city in Castanos’ letter also requested “modifications to the connection ban.” She said the changes “are critical to facilitating the city’s progress toward implementation of the wastewater improvements.” She said the city has OK’d “hundreds of additional connections and developers continue to move forward with construction in accordance with those prior approvals.” She said “the city is willing to restrict connections to 100 new connections over the next three years. This level has been identified because it will not cause the city to exceed its treatment and disposal capacity” and it “will not measurably change groundwater conditions.”

Kerr said staff is working with Regional Board staff to propose revisions to the Draft Order that could allow for an “uncontested Cease and Desist Order.” She said: “Staff will provide the final language for the order when it is completed.”

Kerr in the letter said “staff will present information at the March 15 meeting regarding the plan to finalize the Report of Waste Discharge for the Wastewater Treatment Project,” and the “additional information needed to accomplish addressing the Draft Cease and Desist Order.”

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Amador County – An Oregon man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia Saturday night after failing to yield at a stop sign on West Marlette Street in Ione.

Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson reported the arrest in a release Monday, saying Jeremiah Crespillo, 34, of Bend, Oregon, “was placed in custody for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of syringes, and possession and transportation of methamphetamine.” Crespillo was booked into the Amador County Jail.

Johnson said the Ione Police Department swing shift officer was traveling behind a pickup truck with Oregon license plates as it traveled west on West Marlette Street late Sunday, Feb. 27 in Ione. He said: “The vehicle failed to yield a stop sign, thus beginning the real troubles” for Crespillo.

An investigation found two hypodermic syringes on Crespillo’s person, and “during a search of his vehicle a hidden compartment was discovered in the steering column.” Johson said “officers recovered three glass pipes commonly used for smoking controlled substances and baggies containing suspected methamphetamine.”

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Amador County – A documentary about revitalizing rural communities in the foothills may have a story to tell that is common to other areas of the region.

A 30 minute TV documentary, “Up From the UnderStory,” will air on KVIE TV March 9 at 7 p.m., after the Blue Mountain Community in West Point “united to face social, economic and environmental challenges,” said Holly Mines, who promoted the film locally in Amador County.

Mines said she believed it “will be of interest to a much broader audience than just West Point of Calaveras County since most of our counties are facing similar challenges and searching for ways to address them.”

Directed by Jesikah Maria Ross, the documentary “shows how an isolated rural community in the Sierra Nevada foothills has come together to overcome social, economic and environmental challenges after a century of mining and logging.

Ross said the film “documents how a diverse group of rural residents – loggers, environmentalists, Native Americans, urban transplants – in the Blue Mountain area of Calaveras County came together to chart a new path for their economically devastated community.

The program traces the history of boom and bust resource extraction cycles in the Sierra, how the Blue Mountain community launched rural revitalization movement to create a more sustainable future, and the recent role UC Davis has played in supporting their efforts.

The documentary was created in collaboration with Blue Mountain community members who helped script and shoot historical sequences, provided archival images, and created short videos profiling current revitalization projects.

The film “emerged from an innovative university-community engagement project designed to support the Blue Mountain community’s rural development efforts,” Mines said. Coordinated by media artist Jesikah Maria Ross, the project brought university students and scholars together with rural youth and community leaders to create videos that provided a previously undocumented local history and profiled the diverse change efforts happening in the community. These videos could then be used to raise awareness of important projects underway and galvanize public support to help sustain the revitalization movement.

The film project launched the UC Davis Art of Regional Change program, a joint initiative of the Davis Humanities Institute and the Center for Regional Change, of which Ross is director.

The film was made with a grant from the California Council of Humanities and by funding from the UC Davis University Outreach and International Programs.

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Amador County – An Ione resident reportedly was fooled by a scammer and sent $4,800 to a person claiming to be a grandson needing money to get out of jail.

The Ione Police Department took the report of a telephone scam from a senior citizen, who said it occurred Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said: “In this instance, a subject claiming to be the grandson of the victim called and stated he had been arrested” for “having alcohol on his breath” after involvement in a collision in Kansas City, Missouri.

“The victim was convinced to send over $4,800 via Western Union” for “bail and court costs,” Johnson said. “Later in the day, the victim discovered their grandson had actually been at work and was never arrested, nor in the state of Missouri.”

Scams are becoming more commonplace, especially in the current state of the economy, Johnson said. Scams may take place via the Internet and e-mail, through the postal service, or by telephone.

Some of the more common scams being perpetrated include someone posing as a “wealthy foreigner who needs help in moving millions of dollars from his homeland.” He “promises a large portion of the fortune as a reward for helping him.” Another scam includes announcements that “inform a person that they have won a large sum of money from a foreign lottery.”

Another scam has an “e-mail that appears to be from a bank that claim the ATM/Debit and PIN numbers must be updated” due to numerous “identity theft attempts” or to “update records.”

Johnson said if people find themselves as victims, it is important for them to report the incident to the local law enforcement agency. He said: “A lot of victims do not want to report these incidents,” because “they feel embarrassed that they fell for the scam.”

He said citizens should understand that “this type of criminal behavior is the perpetrator’s ‘job’ that they do every day. The criminals get very good at it and are very convincing.”

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Amador County – Amador County Little League East is looking for umpires for its upcoming baseball season. Steve Oneto, umpire chief said high school students who are looking for a way to earn community service or to earn a little extra money may be interested in umpiring for Amador County Little League East baseball.

Oneto said they are also looking for adults to umpire the games, and reimbursement is available. Amador Little League East is part of Little League International. Umpiring experience is not required, and the league will be holding an umpire clinic. For any questions, call Umpire Chief Steve Oneto at (209) 419-3369, or go online to ACLLE.Com.

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Amador County – The Amador County Regional Planning Committee announced last week that it is planning a forum that will help build Amador County’s future around its unique characters.

Committee Chairman Keith Sweet of the Jackson City Council announced plans for the forum to be held March 29, which is entitled: “Building a Prosperous Future On Amador’s Unique Character: Coordinating Tourism, Growth, and Economic Development.”

Sweet said the forum, hosted by the Amador Regional Planning Committee, should be attended by people “interested in positive economic development … that enhances the character of our county,” and who would “like to know how other communities have used vision, planning and asset-based economic development to build a positive future.

The forum will be presented by Ed McMahon, a “nationally renowned authority on sustainable economic development, environmentally sensitive land development, urban design and historic preservation.” McMahon “will discuss how heritage and cultural tourism, growth, and economic development can exist and thrive together through regional planning that preserves Amador’s picturesque beauty, a major economic driver.”

McMahon said the two “presentations are expected to generate practical ideas, implementation strategies and possible future projects for city and county planners and elected officials. Future speakers and presentations will continue the dialogues generated by this event.”

He said: “Good city and county planning is the result of hard work by elected officials, appointed planners and paid staff, concerned citizens and planning consultants. It also involves a constant updating of skills, implementation of proven strategies and the willingness to be open to new ideas.”

This public forum is hosted by the Amador Regional Planning Committee, which is made up of elected officials and members of regional county organizations. The committee invited McMahon to speak at two public presentations on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011.

Sweet said a free luncheon is offered, as space is available. The two public presentations will take place in the Supervisors Chambers, at the county admin building, 810 Court Street, Jackson, CA.

At 9-11 a.m. is “The Dollars and Sense of Preserving Community Character.” From 7-9 p.m. is “Tourism and Economic Development: What’s the Link?”

The free, “space available” luncheon and “focused discussion for all city and county elected officials, planning department personnel, appointed planners, sponsors and members of the public” will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at Thomi’s Banquet Room, in Jackson. As seating is limited seating, attendees are asked to RSVP by contacting Keith Sweet at 419-3770.

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