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Wednesday, 08 September 2010 06:42
Plymouth to study fire service offers
Amador County – Plymouth City Council directed staff last month to analyze two proposals for fire fighting coverage in the city, and heard it could get up to $104,000 in funds through Measure M. Jim McCart, chief of the Amador Fire Protection District identified that amount for Plymouth, and City Finance Director Jeff Gardner corrected him, saying that would be the amount the city would get if it collected Measure M taxes and was a member of that fire district. McCart said the county gets $1.8 million and Plymouth’s share would be 40 percent. He said: “If you respond as a city with your own equipment and personnel, you would get Measure M funding for this.” City Manager Dixon Flynn said he spent a lot of time with Ione City Manager Kim Kerr discussing Ione Fire Department’s coverage of its own city, and a presentation to cover Plymouth. Flynn said Ione’s ideas are different and innovative and her presentation is excellent. But he recommended the AFPD as a better option. Kerr said “we’re not here to take over fire or monopolize,” but were “looking to maximize dollars” with Jackson Valley Fire District. She said Ione has discussed a service agreement with Buena Vista Rancheria for its casino, and Jackson Valley Fire District did not want to violate its Calfire contract. Kerr said volunteers, daytime staff and “paid call” firefighters make up Ione fire coverage, and a lot of Ione’s volunteers are trained firefighters. Councilwoman Pat Shackleton asked Kerr “why on earth do you want to do this?” Kerr said it was to help neighbors, and if they could make Plymouth a strong fire service, it would help Ione in mutual aid. Kerr said “from a city perspective, we’re just her to help, and we’re not offended if you don’t want us.” AFPD, currently serving Plymouth, made a more lucrative offer, with subsidies, but the council asked for a breakdown of details of the offers. Councilman Jon Colburn said Worker’s Compensation costs were “one of the reasons we went with AFPD” in 1998. AFPD also offers 24/7 coverage. Ione Fire Chief Ken Mackey said he has fought fires in the trenches with McCart and Willow Springs, and was asked to make a presentation to Plymouth about helping it get back its own fire department. Mackey said: “In no way, shape or form do I ever want to see a division in fire departments. We are a brotherhood, a sisterhood and one family.” The council on Thursday could discuss a fire protection service agreement. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 09 September 2010 06:14
BLM implements fire restrictions on Mother Lode public lands
Amador County - The Bureau of Land Management has implemented fire restrictions on all BLM-managed public lands within the Mother Lode Field Office boundary. This includes BLM-managed public lands in Nevada, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Sacramento, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Sutter and Mariposa counties, a total of about 230,000 acres. The fire restrictions will remain in effect until further notice. These restrictions prohibit all open fires on public lands because of extremely dry conditions, according to Gerald Martinez, fire management officer. “With the recent high temperatures, fuels are extremely dry,” he said. Campers are urged to be familiar with special limitations prior to visiting any public lands in these counties. A valid California campfire permit is required for all fires. Campfire permits are available free of charge at any BLM, Forest Service or Cal Fire office, but campers need to be aware of restrictions in the area they are visiting. The restrictions will include no open fires, campfires or open fire stoves, except lanterns and portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel; no welding or use of any torch with an open flame, except by special permit, no use of explosives, except by special permit, no operating internal-combustion engines, except on maintained roads, no firing tracers or incendiary devices capable of starting a fire, and no fireworks. Violations are punishable by fines up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year in jail. For more information call the Mother Lode Field Office at (916) 941-3101. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 08 September 2010 06:45
AWA workshop to delve conditions to meet, get $5M GSL grant
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors Tuesday tabled a discussion of conditions it would need to get a federal loan for a “Gravity Supply Line.” They sought more detail from staff on conditions it must meet to get a USDA grant $5 million grant and a $7 million loan, and set an October 7th workshop on the USDA conditions list. Engineer Erik Christeson said it would take less than $70,000 in additional work to get the bids in hand and get to the point where the board could decide whether it wanted to move forward with the GSL. Director Don Cooper said he thought all 17 “of these items need to be in sync for us to go out and spend $319,000 to get this loan.” The estimated totals did not include the costs needed after approval by USDA. The AWA in March approved staff work to prepare for the USDA conditions. One item on the March list was to “develop financial information” and share it with Central Amador Water Project service districts for “concurrence.” David Evitt, who led a Proposition 218 protest to stop a recent rate increase in CAWP retail, asked if the financial plan numbers would be the same as that of the rejected plan. Cooper said the defeated rate increase was designed to aggressively take CAWP retail operations out of the red and into the black in two years. He said they “could come back with a different financial plan,” less aggressive, to make it balance in 8 or 10 years. He said “the USDA is asking for proof we can pay that long-term loan.” Director Terence Moore said it was an important project and he would “like to have it noticed properly before we vote on whether to move forward.” He said he was more comfortable postponing it, and would like to go through the list once and “do it right.”. President Bill Condrashoff said an accompanying staff report was “something quite different than what we asked for.” He said he wanted to discuss costs, so that “unless we can do all of them, we don’t want to do any of them.” Cooper said he “wouldn’t mind rescheduling a separate workshop, so people can understand the costs involved here.” Condrashoff said: “If it’s in print, people will understand it.” Agency Attorney Steve Kronick said the 17 USDA conditions were covered in the list of 8 things the board authorized for staff action March 25th. The board in March directed staff to work to put the GSL out to bid “as soon as possible.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 09 September 2010 06:25
Sheriff’s Office investigates possible suicide at Silver Lake
Amador County – The Amador County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible suicide at Silver Lake where the body of a man with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head was discovered. Last Friday, September 3rd at approximately 1:30 pm, the Sheriff’s Office received a report from an El Dorado Hills couple who discovered the body in the El Dorado National Forest east of Silver Lake. The couple told detectives they had been hiking for about two hours when they located the man in a rocky area between Silver and Granite Lake. Due to the remote location, the Sheriff’s Office called in a CHP helicopter to transport Sheriff’s Detectives to the scene to conduct the investigation. According to a release, detectives “found an approximately 60 year old, white male decedent, with grey hair, wearing a blue shirt, grey shorts and hiking boots. The decedent, was still cradling a cut down shotgun and had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.” The initials “DEV” were scratched into the rocks nearby with a knife that was discovered on the body. The release said “Sheriff’s Deputies have conducted checks of area campgrounds, trail heads and parking areas, and have not yet located an associated vehicle or camp.” A statewide message regarding the decedent was sent out to law enforcement agencies via the CLETS system. They have also contacted the California Department of Justice’s Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit and Finger Print Bureau in an effort to identify the decedent. The man’s body has yet to be identified. Anyone with any information regarding this investigation or the possible identity of the decedent is asked to contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office at (209) 223-6500. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 08 September 2010 06:36
Amador Child Care needs assessment says needs unmet locally
Amador County – Amador Child Care Council last week reported its child care needs assessment for the Sutter Creek area, saying the area lacked necessary child care services by 71 percent. Joyce Stone, manager of Amador Child Care Council in a letter to Sutter Creek City Council last week said the assessment is done every five years, and this one is based on 2009 numbers. Stone said residents of Sutter Creek and surrounding areas have 276 children and 80 total licensed care facilities in the Jackson and Martell area, all family child care centers. The report said there is an “Extended Learning Program” at Sutter Creek Elementary School with a capacity of 100 children, but its current enrollment was 58 children, according to the 2009 study. Stone reported that “Trustline” providers numbered six in Sutter Creek, and there “is currently no licensed child care center in this area, nor is there State Preschool or Head Start.” She said Sutter Creek and the area has a “higher proportion of stay-at-home mothers, but there are also many who commute to work in surrounding counties.” In Amador County, the study said “based on estimates of children aged birth to 13 years with all parents in the workforce, we have a total of 3,898 children needing child care in all age groups.” The study estimated that 1,723 of those children in need of licensed child care. The study said “given that there are licensed spaces for 718 children, the unmet demand is 58 percent,” meaning that 1,005 children must go without licensed child care. The report said the “need for infant care continues to be the greatest concern,” with one child care center that specializes in infant care being inactive, although “two family child care homes in the city of Jackson do provide infant care, which helps to fill the need slightly.” Stone was scheduled to make a presentation to the Sutter Creek City Council Tuesday night. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 08 September 2010 06:49
Jackson, St. Sava mark grand opening of Mission Blvd.
Amador County – Mayor Connie Gonsalves on Friday led a ribbon cutting ceremony on the Mission Boulevard extension project that she says gives a new link between highways and signalizes the end of the long planned, $1.2 million project. About two dozen people including dignitaries of the local and regional Western Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church helped to cut a ceremonial ribbon on the short roadway that Gonsalves said will be a new link between Highway 88 and Highway 49, between Upcountry and Mokelumne Hill. Bishop Maxim Vasiljevic, the Alhambra-based bishop of the Western Diocese, blessed the ceremony by reading and singing a passage from a bible, and by blessing the roadways with holy water. Bishop Maxim then cut the ceremonial red ribbon stretched across Mission Boulevard with the help of Mayor Gonsalves and City Manager Mike Daly. Gonsalves offered thanks to the Amador County Transportation Commission. She also thanked the Saint Sava Mission Foundation, members of which were in attendance at the ceremony. The mayor thanked the Serbian Orthodox Church Western Diocese, Sutter Amador Hospital, Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, and the late Senator Dave Cox, whose assistant Dana Jorgensen was in attendance. Gonsalves said construction began June 7th, and “fulfilled the long range plans set out more than a decade ago to connect the existing Mission Boulevard cul-de-sac near Sutter Amador Hospital to the southern segment of Broadway.” She said the project came in just under $1.2 million, “much less than the original estimates,” and was funded 50 percent by Proposition 1B transportation bonds, and 50 percent by the ACTC’s Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee Program. She said the city acknowledged “the valuable contribution local development has made to the countywide fee program,” and she thanked its partner members, Amador County and the cities around the county. The project “exemplifies the benefit that agency and community cooperation can provide when construction activity is so scarce,” Gonsalves said. The project took under two months to complete, she said, and “provides a critical second access to the hospital, improved circulation in Jackson and relief of congestion at the Highway 49/88 intersection.” The project included sidewalks, and also marked lanes for bicycle and electric vehicle traffic. Bob Devlin made the honorary first trip by an electric vehicle as a red ribbon was extended in front of his vehicle. The city and ACTC led the project, “including design, funding and right-of-way acquisition.” Gonsalves said Saint Sava Mission and Sutter Amador Hospital worked cooperatively with the city to provide the land area needed for the new roadway,” and ACTC helped the city secure funding from Proposition 1B and local fees. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 09 September 2010 06:16
Backpack drive Stuffs the Bus with late assist from American Legion
Amador County – A fundraiser for school supplies received a late boost from American Legion Post 108 last month when the “Backpack to School” program could not “Stuff the Bus” with enough supplies to match the number of needy children in Amador County. Ruthella Turner, Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency “Stuff the Bus” program coordinator, was brought to tears by the generosity of the American Legion. After starting the “Backpack to School” drive in April, culminating in the “Stuff the Bus” event August 2nd at the Jackson Rancheria, she was short of her goal. She scrambled to try to make ends meet, and took in private donations, the most being $250. She made a pitch at a general meeting of the American Legion, and someone motioned to give the program $800, and it quickly passed. Turner said: “I literally cried. We were 300 backpacks short, and I was expecting them to give us $100.” When she sat down, a man gave her another check for $100. The program gives backpacks and school supplies to children entering kindergarten through 12th grade in Amador County. The program gave out 311 backpacks to qualified families last year, while this year they had 516 applications for backpacks. AT-CAA expanded its coverage area the last two years to serve the entire county, and gave backpacks to students at every school in the Amador County School District. Turner said they did it with the help of new partner for the last two years, Generation Life Church. Generation Life Church helped take backpacks to students in Jackson, Sutter Creek, Plymouth, Drytown and Amador City, while AT-CAA helps students from the rest of the county through its community centers in Camanche and Pine Grove. The Backpack to School program started in April and ended with the Stuff the Bus event, sponsored by Jackson Rancheria, whose employees gave a lot of money and supplies. The Rancheria supplied a little yellow school bus to stuff with backpacks on August 2nd. They came up short, but were able to raise $2,500 in four days, with donations, including the big one from American Legion. “It’s awesome,” Turner said. “It’s the way it’s supposed to work. Everyone coming together.” Turner thanked the people who helped stuff supplies into backpacks, and sponsors, including Amador County Soroptimists; Kiwanis Club; Amador Corvette Club; Wal-Mart; Kmart; Save Mart; and TSPN TV. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 09 September 2010 06:20
Jackson Revitalization Committee to review recent “Your Town” workshop
Amador County – The Jackson Revitalization Committee will address a host of issues at its meeting tonight (September 9th), including a review of highlights from the recent Amador Regional Design “Your Town” workshop. Jackson was a partnering agency in a grant obtained by Ione for the workshop, which was held over the course of three days in late August. The grant that funded the event was written by Renee Chapman, a freelance consultant. Chapman’s website says “the workshop highlighted the advantages and methods of preserving community character and how to make our communities more attractive and economically viable.” She said that participants explored and conducted an Amador County SWOT Analysis, which lists community and business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Workshop participants, who included city and county officials and local business representatives, learned about and discussed what makes a community strong and attractive, community development and design, and main street/downtown designs and historic preservation, among other topics. Over 50 local individuals pre-registered for the event. Jackson City Manager Mike Daly described it as a way to “blend design and economic development to boost the local economy.” Group projects included “Amador County in the Context of California,” “Main Street Downtown Design,” “Historic Preservation and Design,” and the “Ione Community Program.” Tonight’s Jackson Revitalization Committee meeting will also include a continued conversation on Jackson’s gateway signs. The committee will look at a graphic design concept for a new city gateway sign that “clearly lists upcoming events while maintaining space for sponsors,” as described by Daly. The proposed sign’s design and concept were created by Merzlak Signs owner Kam Merzlak. The Jackson Revitalization Committee meeting takes place tonight at 6 pm in the Jackson City Hall. Next month’s meeting of the Jackson Revitalization Committee will be postponed due to a conflict with the kick-off event for the new Jackson Business and Community Association being held at Thomi’s Banquet Room on Thursday, October 14th starting at 5:30 pm. The public is encouraged to attend all meetings. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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