Tom
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:00
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alex Lane 4-8-10
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News Broadcast Videos
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 11:16
AM Live - 4-7-10: Wine, Dine and Good Times with Gale
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Wine, Dine, & Good Times
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:00
Plymouth Man is Arrested Sexual Assault on Minor
Amador County – A Plymouth man was arrested April 1 for sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl during her sleep, according to a release from the Amador County Sheriff’s Department. Based on initial interviews of the victim’s parents that morning, a Sheriff’s Deputy determined that the incident occurred in the City of Plymouth on the evening prior. The Sheriff’s Office said “the fourteen year old victim advised Detectives that on the evening of March 31, 2010 Anthony Joseph Garibaldi, 38, of Plymouth orally copulated her as she slept.” The victim reported that she woke up as Garibaldi was performing the act. The release said “the victim reported the crime to her parents who notified the Sheriff’s Office.” The release said “Garibaldi was interviewed by Sheriff’s Detectives and was subsequently arrested and charged with oral copulation of a minor under the age of sixteen.” He is being held in the Amador County Jail with bail set at $50,000. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Law Enforcement
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:00
Sheriff Says He Would not Lower Police Service in Sutter Creek
Amador County – Mayor Gary Wooten gave thanks to Sheriff Martin Ryan and Undersheriff Jim Wegner for a presentation they gave Monday to the Sutter Creek City Council. He said “it’s the city council’s responsibility to protect city residents,” and he is proud of the Sutter Creek Police Department and he supports “them all the way.” He later thanked the sheriff and undersheriff for their work, and said he did not want the presentation, but requested it after being pressured by some residents. Planning Commissioner Mike Kirkley said he had only had asked that the city look into the possibility of a Joint Power Agreement with the city of Jackson. Kirkley said “the only way you’re going to save money is with a lesser level of service,” but most people will not support that. He said the city has been “going in the red before the economic downturn,” and for “3 years in a row, the police department has been over budget by $150,000. Kirkley said the council has been “squandering” its reserves. Wooten said he took offense to that, saying the reserves have been small, but were not squandered, in his 10 years in office. Kirkley said the “city had $500,000 in reserves 10 years ago, and now is about $1 million in the hole.” During public comment, local businessman John Motto-Ros said he likes the city police department, “but the problem is, how do we pay for it?” He said he would give up full-time service if required to save the city money. Kirkley asked Sheriff Ryan if he would “consider a lower level of service.” The sheriff said his proposal was based on what his 35 years’ experience in law enforcement told him was the best thing for the city, which would be to “replicate what you have now,” with a 24-7 “physical presence,” including patrol cars on the streets. He said the “appropriate model for Amador County is to have a strong county sheriff’s office and strong local police departments.” He said it “has worked all across California.” Several people spoke in support of keeping the police department, including Jeanie Pinotti, and Martin Consolo. Consolo said “you have a huge investment, and you want to keep that.” That included equipment and training. He also said that a contracted police force would not handle things like record-keeping in the way that the city police department would handle them. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Law Enforcement
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:00
Supes vote ACTC Lead Agency on signal retrofit Project
Amador County – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved to make the Amador County Transportation Commission the lead agency for a new program that allows emitters on emergency vehicles in order to alter and pass through traffic signals. Officially known as the Amador County Signal Preemption Retrofit Project, the state grant application was made as part of the broader ACTC Highway Safety Improvement Program. ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said his agency applied and was approved for a $465,000 grant last year, and authorization of the funds is expected during the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Approximately $51,000 in local matching funds are required. Field said ACTC’s application was one of 113 accepted out of 475 grants submitted. Specifically, the project will “modify the signalized intersections in Amador County to include emergency vehicle preemption systems and provide ‘emitters’ for participating emergency vehicles.” The infrastructure upgrades would apply to all intersections within the county and all vehicles at participating emergency response agencies. Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner gave an idea of the costs involved to upgrade and retrofit some vehicles in his department. Those costs include $71,000 “to equip hardracks on vehicles,” $33,000 for installation and $500 or less for permitting. Wegner said one of the specifications for this grant was a fallback on individual agencies to come up with a 10 percent match for each vehicle. “If our numbers our correct, and there are no more outside costs, we can do approximately 80 vehicles in the county,” said Wegner. Field said Wegner is proposing GPS technologies not considered in the original application, but these technologies are “superior, quicker to install and far cheaper.” He said “whoever you direct obviously has to work hand in hand with the Sheriff’s Department.” He said an additional $30,000 would be required to pay Dokken Engineering if ACTC were chosen as the lead agency because “ACTC has not been in the business of building things.” There would also been an additional $2,000 to $5000 in administration costs. On a side note, Wegner said vehicle maintenance is not cheap because “we crash into a lot of stuff.” Field said some of the costs will be split according to a shared signals agreement with Caltrans. After a short discussion, the board approved a motion to make ACTC the lead agency on a 5-0 vote. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Transportation
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:00
AFPD Board Discusses History Leading to Paid Fire Personnel
Amador County – The Amador Fire Protection District board of directors discussed work behind Tuesday’s historic decision to approve a hiring plan for the largest locally-based fire department in the county. Supervisor Louis Boitano said the board has discussed paying firefighters for 17 years. Supervisor John Plasse said heated and impassioned rhetoric was a good example of why AFPD board meetings, before this week, were never able to come to fruition on the issue. Plasse said he is “committed to a consolidation effort,” which “is important for the county.” The board voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve a Measure M spending plan offered by AFPD Chief Jim McCart. Plasse and Supervisor Richard Forster voted against the action. The plan was selected over a new proposal drafted by AFPD staff overnight. Critics called McCart’s plan the AFPD/Sutter Creek plan, for its strong support from Sutter Creek Fire District. SCFD board member Harold Gamble said the new proposal given to the board Tuesday was the size of document he would like to get in advance, but in a quick read, he said its plan to have a fire manager and a battalion chief meet once a month, would cause problems for handling daily issues. He said it would be better to hire battalion chiefs. Boitano agreed, saying the “ultimate goal” is to have a county-wide department. Plasse said he thought it “comes down to qualities and capabilities of those involved, and how well they can work toward consolidation.” Former firefighter and Upcountry Community Council co-chair Bob Curral said “if we don’t have a battalion chief, we’ll have a (Cal Fire) chief that is taken away during the California fire season.” Sutter Creek’s Ron Watson said consolidation in the county “should come from positive decisions, not threats.” Sutter Creek Fire Chief Butch Martin said he supports the AFPD plan of using local government, and “whoever you hire has to be in charge of the hired personnel.” Plymouth Mayor Pat Fordyce said she has met with Cal Fire personnel and found them “extremely professional,” but she did not know if Cal Fire was the answer for AFPD. McCart said “until Measure M came along, there was no funding,” and an old contracted with Cal Fire made AFPD’s $70,000 reserve disappear, when the state went to its “2 person per engine rule.” McCart said the money was AFPD’s reserve to hire firefighters. At the time, the AFPD board told him to let the agreement end without renewal, and he did that. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Fire
