Driving under the influence in Calaveras County will now cost you more than just an arm and a leg. For DUI repeat offenders, the Calaveras County Office of the District Attorney has just announced it will enforce an existing vehicle code that authorizes the court to forfeit the offender’s ownership rights. Calaveras District Attorney Jeffrey Tuttle intends to file a motion on every case possible under the law, which was added to the California Vehicle Code in 1999. Under the code, the court may “declare the motor vehicle driven by the defendant to be a nuisance if the defendant is the registered owner of the vehicle.” In these cases, the court would order the Sheriff’s office to sell the vehicle, and all net proceeds would be kept by the county. In Calaveras County this year so far, the Sheriff’s department has made 192 arrests for DUI. When asked if Amador County would be following suit, District Attorney Todd Riebe said “it’s not something you can just jump into. There’s a lot of (factors) to consider,” referring to the code’s restrictions on selling the vehicle. Riebe also noted that besides the district attorney’s office, the court has the authority to uphold that law without a motion from the DA. If Amador County did pursue this type of action, it would be for “more serious circumstances,” such as vehicular manslaughter or serious injury as a result of driving under the influence. For more information on this vehicle code section, go to the California’s DMV’s website at www.dmv.ca.gov and search on VC 23596.

During their August 11 meeting, El Dorado Irrigation District Board members heard a staff update on the emergency repairs needed to ensure safe operation of the main dam at Caples Lake reservoir bordering eastern Amador County. Staff reported that the California Department of Fish and Game will conduct a fish rescue consisting of netting the fish and placing them in hatchery trucks for transport to Silver Lake, near Kirkwood resort. “This is good news and the first part of a multi-phase attempt to save as many fish as possible during the critical work we are doing to ensure public health and safety,” said George Osborne, the District’s Board president. “We must replace the slide gates at the dam and fix other problems that were discovered in mid-June during an underwater investigation,” he said. That means drawing down the reservoir so the repair crews are not endangered. Osborne also said that the District has applied to the State Water Resources Control Board for permission to divert some of the water from the drawdown to Jenkinson Lake, the District’s largest water storage reservoir, as a hedge in case 2009 turns out to be another dry year. Due to dry conditions, Jenkinson Lake has not filled completely since 2007. District staff informed the Board that the plan also encompasses construction of a temporary bladder dam behind the main dam to protect the safety of the repair crews, store water for reservoir fish, and provide flows for downstream fisheries during the winter. The third step in the plan is short and long-term restocking efforts following recommendations from the Department of Fish and Game, who successfully implemented a similar plan at Lake Davis in 2006. “We are extremely appreciative of the technical support that Fish and Game has provided in developing a comprehensive plan to rescue the existing fishery and reestablish a trophy fishery at Caples Lake,” said Dan Corcoran, the District’s environmental review manager. “We are working aggressively to ensure that anglers will have a trophy fishery returned immediately after the ice melts and the lake can be accessed next spring,” he said. Staff will bring the plan to the Board for formal consideration and funding approval at the August 25 Board meeting.

The City of Ione made a sweep at this year’s Amador County Fair, winning best City exhibit and taking two Amador Idol first place prizes in the adult and junior singing categories. With a theme of Barnyard Mardi Gras for the fair, each city designed and entered an exhibit to represent their city and the theme. Sponsored by the Ione Business Council Association and the Ione Picnic Association, Ione was honored with a first place award. At another venue, Ione singers in both adult and junior categories sang and won first prize for the title of Amador Idol. Amy Hohn’s rendition of “That’s What I Like About You,” and “At Last” won the adult title. Twelve year old Karly Workman of Ione became Junior Amador Idol, singing “Reflection” from a Disney movie and “I Love You I Do” from the movie Dreamgirls. County winners are invited to move on the State competition. Congratulations to all three winners.

With the Amador County Transportation Commission, or ACTC’s, recent decision to scrap the Pine Grove Bypass project already one month in the past, TSPN found that many upcountry residents were not even aware of the change. When told that ACTC is in instead in favor of widening the highway, residents’ responses were all over the map. Some feel widening the highway will hurt the area’s businesses and prosperity. Local resident Debbie Dunn feels that adding lanes to the highway will wipe out essential parking, especially in busy lots like the Pine Grove Village, which houses the Pine Grove Post Office, and the Pine Cone Drug lot, home to Pioneer Travel, Pine Grove Donuts and Frank A’s Pizza. Thanh Nguyen, owner of Pine Cone Drug, doesn’t like the widening project “if it’s going to affect my parking,” and added “I don’t see where widening the highway is going to decrease traffic congestion.” Pine Grove resident Ted Wilson wants things to stay the same. “I like the way it is now. We don’t want a big boulevard like in Elk Grove, and we don’t want traffic diverted. We get a lot of recreational traffic going up to Kirkwood, and that’s good for business.” Jill Wade, owner of Sierra Homes & Properties in Pine Grove, isn’t really opposed to widening the highway, just as long as “it doesn’t affect businesses in a negative way.” “It’s better than the bypass, because that would be worse,” says Wade, referring to the amount of traffic that would essentially be diverted away from her business. Another option that is still in its infancy is moving Pine Grove Elementary School, the Post Office and several other large businesses to a location just outside of Pine Grove.  Mark Bowman, a local real estate developer, wants to use the tax dollars available to move the school and businesses that cause traffic congestion to a prime spot along the straight-away between Aqueduct-Volcano and Aqueduct-Grove Roads. Bowman said, “Pine Grove is second in the county for the number of cars per day (behind Jackson’s Hwy. 49). Highway 88 through Pine Grove sees over 14,000 cars per day.” And with school starting up again this Wednesday, Bowman noted the growing conflict between school traffic and local businesses. With limited funds and ever increasing traffic congestion putting pressure on the situation, ACTC must now carefully consider all of the elements before it proceeds with a solution. We’ll have more on this project for you in a later news broadcast.

Yet another accident at an intersection in Pine Grove is raising concerns amongst citizens opposed to what one resident referred to as, “the world’s most idiotic traffic signal.” The project, funded by Caltrans, has directly resulted in at least six accidents since the light was installed in mid-2005 at the intersection of Ridge Road and Highway 88. Most resident’s specific concerns center on an unsignaled left hand turn lane that seems to be the cause of every accident so far. TSPN’s contributing photographer Bill Lavallie has been following these accidents since their inception. Monday morning, a driver proceeding up the hill east bound failed to notice the small sign that states “yield to oncoming traffic.” The driver turned left at the light, and was broadsided by a pickup hauling a flatbed trailer loaded with scrap car parts. “This intersection has brought repeated accidents of this nature due to the fact that CALTRANS refuses to put a real turn signal on the left hand turn lane. It is only a matter of time before we have another fatality at this intersection,” said Lavallie. Moderate injuries were reported as a result of this latest accident. TSPN will have a more in-depth story later this week as we gather more information.

Consistent with previous years, the Amador Fire Protections District’s response numbers are increasing steadily over the course of the summer. The latest statistics reveal that the AFPD responded to a total of 176 incidents during the month of July. 98 of these were medical aid related, while 29 responses were to vehicle accidents. Combined, these two numbers equaled 72 percent of the total incident responses. Of the total responses, only 6 were fire related. There was one structure fire, 1 vehicle fire, and 4 wild land fires. 50 percent of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Students across Amador County are savoring their last hours of freedom today. A new school year begins tomorrow, August 13th, and schools across Amador County are frantically readying for the big day. For the majority of schools, enrollment numbers are remaining the same as last year, although last minute signups and part time students will cause those numbers to fluctuate. Amador High School Secretary Julie Riffle said their preliminary enrollment number is 837 students, compared to roughly 854 students at this time last year. “It’s hard to say if these numbers will stay the same,” said Riffle. 23 of the students who have enrolled so far are splitting classes between the two high schools, depending on what is being offered. Preliminary reports from Argonaut High School show that enrollment this year will also remain at roughly the same number as last year. Elsewhere in the county, schools have made changes based on new budget restraints and as a way to improve and update schedules. Pine Grove School has changed its hours to begin 15 minutes later at 8am. Many teachers will oversee a large number of students due to staff cutbacks. All in all, this school year will prove to be challenging for everyone involved in local education.

By 2020 California is projected to see a population increase of approximately 10 million people, according to a study by the California Budget Project, and the number of residents that are 65 or older will jump by 75.4 percent. True to its national image, California is younger than the nation overall. In 2006, the state’s median age was 34.4, compared with 36.4 in the country as a whole. Californians age 65 or older comprised 10.8 percent of the 2006 population, compared with 12.7 percent in the rest of the country. However, older Californians are the state’s fastest growing age group. In 2020, California is projected to be home to 2.7 million more older residents than in 2000. More than half (56.1 percent) of these older Californians are expected to be white, although whites’ share of the total population is expected to fall to 37.4 percent. California’s prime working-age population -- those age 25 to 64 -- is projected to grow at a healthy rate between 2000 and 2020, only slightly more slowly than the overall population, 27.4 percent compared with 29.4 percent. California’s school-age population -- those age 5 to 19 -- is expected to increase much more slowly than in the recent past and at less than half the rate of the population overall, 13.5 percent for school-age children compared with 29.4 percent for the population overall. At the same time, the study said, while the number of white residents is expected to shrink to 37.4 percent, Hispanics’ share is projected to rise to 41.4 percent and Asians’ share is expected to increase to 12.5 percent. In 2006, California’s white population alone was larger than the population of Illinois, its Latino population was larger than the population of Pennsylvania, and its Asian population was larger than the population of Oregon, the Sacramento-based organization said. The study also showed that California’s population is far more ethnically diverse than that of the rest of the country. In 2000, California was already a “majority minority” state. In 2006, whites accounted for 42.8 percent of the population, compared to 69.4 percent in the rest of the country. Latinos constituted 35.9 percent of the population, compared to 11.9 percent in the rest of the country, and Asians constituted 12.1 percent of the population, compared to 3.2 percent in the rest of the country.

The Ione City Council meeting Tuesday evening began with a presentation by Tracy Towner-Yep, Executive Director of the Amador County Recreation Agency, or ACRA, on the history of the organization in relation to the city. According to Towner-Yep, ACRA is a joint powers authority created to determine present and future recreation needs, and made up of all the municipalities and the school district. The organization has been growing rapidly since 2004. In that time, ACRA has acquired two parks with approximately 100 acres of land between them, created and executed more than 100 programs and classes, and generated nearly 55 full and part time jobs. However, physical growth necessitates fiscal growth. Membership contributions make up 43 percent of the agencies budget. Towner-Yep proposed a membership contribution of 5 dollars per capita for the city of Ione, equaling a total of approximately 17,600 dollars. The membership contribution is consistent with Towner-Yep’s requests to other local cities. Towner-Yep asked the council to look at the 5 dollar per capita membership contribution as “an investment, versus an expenditure.” The Council is currently considering her proposition.