Amador County – Layoff notices went out last week to employees of Preston Youth Correctional Facility, and transfers reportedly already have begun.

Ione City Manager Kim Kerr said notices arrived last week and transfers have begun. She said all Preston corrections officers reportedly will have a chance to transfer to other regional prisons, but support staff may not have the same opportunities.

CDCR agreed to another public meeting, at an undetermined date, at Evalyn Bishop Hall. Kerr hoped to get high level representation from CDCR, which has indicated it may send a public information officer. Kerr said she wanted people who had not attended one of the other two meetings to get the same information given before. Both were attended by Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate.

The Jackson hearing was called by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, who in a Jan. 4 letter to constituents gave a “quick update on what my office knows about the proposed Preston closure and what will be happening in the near future.”

“As discussed at the public hearing in Jackson Dec. 8,” Huber “introduced Assembly Bill 8 to prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities from closing any youth correctional facility during the six-month period following the effective date of the legislation.” The Assembly Rules Committee met Jan. 3 and did not take action on any bills. Huber said: “Once the Rules Committee refers the bill to a policy committee I will let you know how to submit letters of support and the hearing date for those interested in attending.”

As of late December, Huber said she is “no longer the Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee,” so she is “unable to set another public hearing. However, anyone can attend the hearing on AB 8,” and she will let people know as soon as that hearing date is set.

Huber said that last week, her “office was contacted by the Department of Corrections and made aware that layoff notices had been mailed. Most people should have received their notice by this time.”

She said “if impacted staff needs help or has any trouble getting questions answered, please feel free to contact my office for assistance.” She said she “will continue to keep everyone updated as things move forward.”

Kerr said Ione also received a copy of Amador County Supervisors’ Dec. 22 letter questioning the legality of the CDCR’s closure of Preston, calling it a possible violation of the California Environmental Quality Act. Kerr said city staff was not sure about the argument, but the city may contribute to a legal challenge, if asked to do so by the county.

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Amador County – The Amador County Unified School District board of trustees voted 5-0 Wednesday to deny a petition for a charter by the Foothill Charter School, with independent analyses finding dozens of legal insufficiencies.

Superintendent Dick Glock in a report to Trustees requested denial of the application because a “review of the three independent analyses reveals numerous insufficiencies.”

The petition was denied on 53 legal insufficiencies, Glock said, and the Foothill Charter School, led by local parent Ramona Longero must decide its next steps. The Foothill group was given a matrix and results of the analyses, which showed them how to improve and correct the petition.

Glock in the report said three independent reviewers analyzed the Foothill Charter School petition. The agencies were the San Joaquin County Charter School Authorizing Consortium, School Services of California, and the school district’s law firm of Girard Edwards & Hance. He said each agency “regularly reviews charter petitions,” and the San Joaquin Consurtium has reviewed hundreds of petitions over many years.

The Foothill petition was presented Nov. 10 by Longero and six others, and the school board was required to grant or deny the petition within 60 days.

Glock submitted and the board approved a resolution denying the petition. The draft resolution said the “board hereby finds the petition not to be consistent with sound educational practice.”

The resolution said Foothill Charter School’s petition “presents an unsound educational program for the pupils,” and petitioners are “unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth.”

The analyses found legal bases for denying the petition, based on the San Joaquin Consortium’s “standard approval measures,” including that the petition “does not contain the necessary assurances for a successful operation.” It also did “not propose a coherent academic program and student assessment system,” and did not “propose a governance and administrative structure that will support student and organizational success.”

The petition lacked a “a reasonable facilities plan” and a financial information. It also made “enrollment estimates that are likely to be too high,” and “unreasonable assumptions” regarding receipt of state charter program grants. It also failed to “adequately identify the facilities needed for its operations.”

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Amador County – Congressman Dan Lungren announced recently that he has been appointed to be chairman of a Congressional subcommittee on cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and security technologies for the 112th Congress, which opened this week.

Lungren, the representative of California’s Third Congressional District, including Amador County, announced the appointment by e-mail Dec. 20 from Washington, D.C. Lungren was selected by the new Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.

U.S. Representative Peter T. King (R-NY), the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, announced the appointment of Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) as chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies for the 112th Congress, which was to convene Wednesday, Jan. 5.

Lungren released the following statement, with the announcement. He said: “One of the first responsibilities of government, as stated in the preamble of the constitution, is to ‘provide for the common defense’ of our great country.” ¶ He said he is “honored to be selected,” and “Representative King’s steadfast oversight of our nation’s security is commendable and I am pleased to serve with him.”

Lungren said: “The threats our nation faces are ever present and ever changing,” and “it is vital that we continue to identify, assess and confront these threats so those who wish to harm our country and our citizens fail in their attempt.”

Lungren is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, and on his House website states that the United States should “create a homeland security strategy based on rational risk assessment rather than pork barrel politics".

He came back to Congress after the 9-11 attacks on America, and believes that to “prevail in the fight against global terrorism,” the country “must develop and maintain unsurpassed training and equipment for our troops,” and “provide the resources for our intelligence community to adapt to the changing world.”

The Third District includes all of Amador, Alpine and Calaveras counties, and portions of Sacramento and Solano counties.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency has requested public water system customers in the Upcountry of Amador County to voluntarily conserve water until further notice, due to heavy rains having filled up storage pond used by the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant in Pine Grove.

Agency General Manager Gene Mancebo said in an e-mail to TSPN Thursday that customers along the Highway 88 corridor from Mace Meadow Golf Course down to Pine Grove are being asked to conserve water until further notice.

Mancebo said “recent heavy rains have filled water treatment plant backwash ponds at Mace Meadow to emergency levels, as determined by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.” To prevent the ponds from spilling over into nearby creeks, the agency “is asking for voluntary water conservation by all public water customers of Mace Meadow Mutual Water Company, Rabb Park Community Services District, Pine Grove Community Services District and AWA’s Central Amador Water Project Retail System.”

Mancebo says he doesn’t know how long the voluntary conservation notice will be in effect. He said: “It all depends on the weather,” and “if we get an extended spell of dry weather, there may be an opportunity to get the pond levels down.”

He said “if it continues to rain like it has the past couple of weeks, we’ll have to keep pressing for conservation. We will let customers know as soon as the situation improves.”

The agency gave some simple steps that could help reduce water consumption. If people suspect a water leak, call the AWA at 223-3018. Also, do not use the dishwasher or washing machine until you have a full load.

Another conservation tip is to limit showers to five minutes and turn off water while brushing teeth. People can also shut off all outdoor landscape watering, if they haven’t already done so. People can also protect their outdoor plumbing from freezing to avoid pipe breaks.

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Amador County – The Jackson Creek Dental Group announced that it will once again open its office for no-cost treatment of children who “fall between the cracks” in healthcare, who would not otherwise receive dental treatment.

The “Smiles for Kids 2011” is set for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 22. Doctors and their staff have provided this service to the community on a volunteer basis for the past 26 years, said Dr. Ron Ask. Patients who meet the criteria will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

To qualify for treatment, children must be 2-18 years of age, qualify for free or reduced fee school lunches, WIC or CHDP, be a resident of Amador or Calaveras County, and they must not be covered by private dental insurance. A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child throughout the appointment.

For more info, call (209) 223-2712 or visit www.JacksonCreekDental.com

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Amador County – About 40 people attended a noon ceremony as six elected officials said their oath of office Monday, led by County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters Sheldon D. Johnson.

Johnson was also one of those who was reelected, among 10 county officials voted back into office in the primary last June.

The 10 elected county officials were invited by Johnson to take their oath of office at noon Monday, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers. Six showed up for the ceremony, and Johnson said they agreed to say their oath simultaneously.

Many uniformed deputies of the Amador County Sheriff’s Department were among those in attendance, as Sheriff and Coroner Martin Ryan took the oath for his second term of office. Ryan was first elected in 2006, and took office in 2007.

Also attending was Assessor Jim Rooney, elected for his third term, who began his first term in 2003.

Auditor Joe Lowe also took his oath, and starts his third term. Lowe first took office in 2003.

Johnson is in his 32nd year in office, and his position also includes the position of Registrar of Voters, and the Commissioner of Civil Marriages.

Also sworn in was District 3 Supervisor Theodore F. “Ted” Novelli, who is starting his second term on the Amador County Board of Supervisors. His first term began in 2007.

Supervisor Chairman Brian Oneto of District 5, who passed the gavel to the new chairman of the board on Tuesday, also took his oath at the ceremony Monday. Oneto is also starting his second term, and took office in 2007.

Treasurer and Tax Collector Mike Ryan also took the oath, and starts his sixth term. He was first elected in 1991. Not attending were the Superintended of Schools, the District Attorney and the Superior Court Judge. Superintendent Richard F. Glock will start his third year as superintendent of the Amador County Unified School District. He took over for former Superintendent Mike Carey in July 2008. District Attorney Todd Riebe will start his fourth elected term, and was first elected in 1998.

Superior Court Judge Susan C. Harlan starts her fourth elected term, and was first appointed in 1991 by Gov. Pete Wilson. She was first elected in 1992.

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Amador County – The Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency announced an upcoming survey of homeless people in Amador County Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting in Jackson.

A-TCAA Housing Resources Director Margaret “Beetle” Barbour told supervisors the survey will be conducted for 48 hours on Jan. 25-27, and flyers were circulating. She said “getting an accurate count of homeless individuals and families” will better enable A-TCAA “to develop a community-wide plan to end homelessness.”

The survey seeks to find out how many people in Amador County don’t have a home, and will be conducted at locations throughout Amador County, including the Interfaith Foodbank, the library and the shelter in Jackson. The surveys are also available at the A-TCAA Service Center in Jackson, at community centers, senior centers, hospitals, Amador Public Health, Behavioral Health and Social Services.

People currently without a home are asked to go to one of the survey locations on Jan. 25-27, to be counted. If people cannot come to a survey location, they can call 223-9215 or 223-1485, ext. 263 and A-TCAA will send a volunteer to meet at a convenient place. People are asked to encourage those who are homeless to be counted.

Barbour said a volunteer training session is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12 at the Amador County administration building in Jackson. The classes will train volunteers to become enumerators, to help out with the survey.

Barbour said “sheltered homeless tend to be families, most of them homeless just briefly and most of them pull themselves out of that situation with minimal assistance.” The statistics of unsheltered homeless, or “street” homeless, are what most people would consider the core social issue.

Barbour said overall, Amador County’s homeless numbers increased in 2009, compared to 2007, and “this was likely due to a new plan to use adult homeless shelter residents as enumerators.” She said “shelter residents were effective at locating homeless individuals in Amador County,” and they “also had a higher level of trust with the homeless population,” therefore making it “easier to interview more homeless individuals.”

The 2007 survey showed 51 people, including nine children were homeless in Amador, while in 2009, the total was 95 people, including 22 children. Barbour said “these numbers would have been even higher if (Housing and Urban Development) had not narrowed the definition of who is considered homeless. In a change from 2007, the survey in 2009 said that individuals and families that were considered “couch surfers” were no longer considered homeless.

To volunteer to help with the survey, call (209) 223-9215 or 223-1485, ext. 263.

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors honored out-going Chairman Brian Oneto with a plaque Tuesday, before he passed the gavel to new Chairman John Plasse.

Supervisor Plasse of District 1 was selected as 2011 board chairman, and Supervisor Louis Boitano of District 4 was picked as vice chairman.

Plasse asked to postpone the assignment of committees until the next meeting “so that I can better review some of the requests I’ve seen.”

The board approved a schedule of cancelation of meetings due to holidays for the calendar, and also assigned the administrative committee to look into the reduction of meeting days to two per month, as suggested by Supervisor Richard Forster.

Forster said Yolo County was meeting twice a month for reasons of efficiency, and if a county as big as Yolo could do it, Amador should be able to. He said one-, two- or three-item meetings in the past were wasteful of staff time, and county money and “it’s not very efficient.”

Plasse agreed, saying with one item or 20, the staff time, mailings and postings are still there. He said he would like to streamline things a little bit. Boitano said they can talk to Patrick Blacklock, former Amador chief administrative officer, now in that postition at Yolo.

County Planner Susan Grijalva said Tuolumne County now meets twice a month and “it works.” She said public hearing notices are $200 for the first legal listing, and $20 for each additional hearing. Boitano said it makes sense to line up all the public hearings on one day and meet as long as it takes.

Plasse said “from up here I see one heck of a lot of staff time being eaten up sitting and waiting for their item to come up.”

Chief Administrative Office Chuck Iley said new software to allow audio broadcast of supervisor meetings was nearing activation, and they would eventually move to webcasting.

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors asked about curbing impacts of the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant on Tuesday, and ultimately decided impacts would be worth approving the permit and related documents.

Consultants discussed the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report, approved by the Amador Planning Commission, and answered questions. Supervisor Richard Forster, whose District 2 would house the reopened plant, asked for clarification of “Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction.” He said it appeared in several areas of the SEIR that the main issue of avoiding the Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction system was “because it was much more costly to install and operate.”

Consultant Doug Brown, who wrote the technical portions of the SEIR for his company, Ascent Environmental, said it “wouldn’t be appropriate to use the SNCR.” He said a comparison was made to a coal-burning facility in Illinois, but using SNCR in Amador, would not compare.

Gary Jakobs of Ascent said the system planned to be used at Buena Vista “will meet those very strict standards.” Forster asked if it “would not provide enough benefit” and was that, a reason for it not being used? Jakobs said there would not be a “substantial change in environmental conditions” with use of the more expensive system.

Forster said he found “it really hard to insinuate in an EIR” what the Center for Biological Diversity argued, that burning in a generator would be the same as open-air burning. He said the Power Fire released pollution in three weeks, was equivalent to more emissions in Amador County than had been released “in the last 10 years.”

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse pointed out a section of the EIR that said the Biomass Power plant would burn “residual” trimmings and would not use “merchantable timber.” Plasse said “an economically viable way to thin the forest” is “very appealing.”

Plasse said a reforestation process used after the Angora Fire was the same as proposed by the Buena Vista plant, and criticized by the Center for Biological Diversity. Plasse said “you can’t have it both ways.”

Supervisor Louis Boitano asked about Ascent’s findings on open burning, and reductions expected regionally, with opening the Buena Vista plant. Jakobs said The findings were based on conversations with the U.S. Forest Service.

He said the Forest Service undergrowth is largely burned, and if not burned, but left on the forest floor, you “do have the potential, for a catastrophic fire.”

Jakobs said the EIR did not try to address a new issue of whether biomass power plants are “carbon neutral,” and did not look at the “lifecycle of a tree” and the “sequestered carbon.” Jakobs said “we took a very neutral view to the issue of carbon neutrality.” He said all they wanted to do was “present the facts as best we can.”

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