News Archive (6192)
El Dorado authorities rescues a snowboarder from a backcounty tree well
Written by Tom
El Dorado County - El Dorado County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Team and other responders rescued a San Francisco man from a dangerous "tree well" March 27 after he got trapped while back-country skiing in South Lake Tahoe.
El Dorado Sheriff's Search and Rescue partnered with Douglas County Nevada Search and Rescue, responding to rescue a lost and stranded snowboarder in the backcountry near Waterhouse Peak, on U.S. Forest Service land near the El Dorado and Alpine county line, just south of Christmas Valley in South Lake Tahoe. At the time of the rescue there was very heavy snow, cold temperatures and falling snow.
Deputy Greg Almos Jr., coordinator of the El Dorado Sheriff's Search & Rescue Team, said "Sean Voss from San Francisco and a friend had been backcountry skiing when the two became separated" on Saturday. Voss carried avalanche equipment including a shovel and avalanche beacon, and "was riding a snowboard when he got trapped in a tree well."
A "tree well" is an area of deep and unconsolidated snow which can quickly immobilize a skier. The more the person struggles, the more entrapped they can become in the snow. Skiers or snowboarders may die very quickly from suffocation, in many cases, as quickly as someone can drown in water.
Almos said "in his efforts to free himself," Voss lost his snowboard, as it was not leashed to him. Due to the heavy snow load he could not walk out. At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Voss called 911 to summon assistance.
Search and Rescue Teams assembled and were able to obtain GPS coordinates of Voss's location from his cellular call to 911. Using ground teams, nordic teams, snowmobiles and snow cats, the teams were able to get to the area where GPS Coordinates placed him.
"In an effort to survive," Almos said Voss "had built a snow cave and was awaiting our arrival." Due to being in a snow cave, Search and Rescue teams located Voss "using their avalanche transceivers."
Despite being very cold and exhausted Voss was in good health and did not require any medical attention. Almos said the incident could have ended in tragedy if Voss did not have his avalanche equipment and the "desire to survive."
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Operation care receives California Emergency Management funding
Written by Tom
Amador County - Operation Care announced Monday that it has received additional state funding for its domestic violence program.
Local Operation Care director Lynn Sheild said "last year, when Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the budget package containing the full restoration of statewide domestic violence shelter funding, California Emergency Management Agency re-distributed their state general fund allocations, in order to justly distribute the money to all of the agencies providing the mandated services."
There are about 96 agencies statewide, and only three of the agencies, including Operation Care, have never received funding from the state, Sheild said, though they did receive some funding through the Cal-EMA for their domestic violence programs.
Linda Zender, Board President of Operation Care said "Cal-EMA went to bat for Operation Care and the other two agencies that have never received these funds. It just didn't seem equitable to leave us out when we have been providing the same services and programs as the other agencies, with substantially less funding. We are very pleased to finally be able to increase our assistance to those most vulnerable."
The re-distribution of funds was applied to Operation Care's 2010-2011 fiscal year, ending June 30. Sheild said: "Because these are non-competitive grants, as long as the state continues to provide domestic violence shelter funding, these funds should be ongoing for Operation Care."
Zender said the "additional funds are allowing us to increase staffing at the safe house, and to focus on day-to-day client assistance when they need it most." It also allows re-allocation of "other budgets to provide essential community education programs, to increase awareness of family violence, and to make people aware of the services available to them."
Zender said: "We are excited about the opportunity to increase our program support at the safe house and at the office. Over the past few years, our team has been stretched very thin, and though we were able to provide basic services to all victims, we are now able to extend the one-on-one assistance so important to an individual in crisis."
She said it was important to note the organization's "recently appointed Executive Director Clara Osborne resigned her position last week, to move out of the area to be closer to her fiancé."
Zender said it "will in no way affect the services provided," and its direct service staff, guided by our Deputy Director Tammie Crabtree, remain devoted to their work and will seamlessly continue providing services to those in need".
Operation Care is at 619 New York Ranch Road in Jackson.
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Jackson cuts ribbon on Aime Field snack shack facility
Written by Tom
Amador County - Jackson City Council members cut a ribbon Saturday as part of the Amador County Little League Opening Day ceremonies.
Vice Mayor Wayne Garibaldi cut the ribbon, as Council members Pat Crew, Keith Sweet and Marilyn Lewis held the held the ribbon, with the help of City Inspector Larry White and Project Manager Paul Accinelli.
City Manager Mike Daly released a statement prepared for the ribbon cutting, detailing the history and costs behind the new snack shack.
Daly said the project was funded by the 2002 Resources Bond Act, part of Proposition 40 approved by California voters in 2002. Daly said "the City used some of this money in 2005 to re-plaster the city pool and resurface the deck. The remaining $181,496 was allocated to this building construction and parking lot paving by the City Council in November and the bid for the snack shack and rest room facility was awarded to James Arthur Construction in December."
The architectural design for the project was donated by local architect, Errol Esbit. Construction began just before the end of the year and the building was completed last month.
Daly said "Paul Accinelli was the project manager and ensured that all worksmanship was top notch." The paving contract was awarded to John Hertzig, General Contractor, and completed just in time for the Dandelion Days High School Softball Tournament.
The City also received donations from Ikon Builders, contractor for rehabilitation of the Jackson Hills Apartments on New York Ranch Road. Ikon donated refrigerators, and Mel & Faye's Diner donated a used sink and tables. Jackson Rancheria Casino also donated to the project.
Daly said the "building brings the City into compliance with ADA requirements and greatly improves the dilapidated facilities that were demolished by city crews at the beginning of the project."
The Public Works Department also assisted with bringing upgraded utilities needed for the new building. City Inspector Larry White was on-hand during all phases of the project to keep the city's contractors on task in order to meet the tight deadlines for the project.
Saturday's Little League opening day had been postponed a week due to inclement weather. It also coincided with the opening day of the local girls softball league in Ione.
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Amador Sheriff's Department reports $1.6 million in road damage from the March 16 storm
Written by Tom
Amador County - Amador County roads suffered up to $1.6 million in damage in a mid-March heavy rainstorm, and the Board of Supervisors ratified a declaration of an emergency in a special meeting Tuesday, in the start to seeking federal relief funds.
Undersheriff Jim Wegner, acting as Deputy Director of Emergency Services, declared an emergency on Friday, April 1, and the declaration was pending Supervisors' ratification. That approval was given unanimously, along with a request through the California Emergency Management Association (EMA) and the Governor to make a request for a Presidential declaration.
Wegner said the declaration was the first step toward getting federal funding, should it become available. He said the state threshold is $44 million for the state to be able to get the funding. Wegner made the declaration because of the amount of damage to county roads, and the resulting "conditions of extreme peril."
The storm hit March 16 and dropped several inches of rain in a short period and caused damage in multiple counties. Dana Owens, of the California Emergency Management Agency said there were about 14 counties in the state that were in the same situation due to that storm, including Tuolumne, Mariposa and some Bay Area counties. She said Santa Cruz had the most damage, with about $17 million in estimated costs. She said the state will pass the $44 million threshold.
Wegner said he thought the county should present all of the damage it can find and try to get as much reimbursement as possible. He gave supervisors a list of 26 county roads with damage and repair cost estimates. The County list included an estimated $280,000 in damage to Stony Creek Road, with "clay pumping up through paved surface" and shoulders washed out in various locations.
The full extent of the damage was not uncovered and could increase the repair costs. Wegner also submitted a report from Plymouth City Manager Jeff Gardner, which listed seven roads damaged in the storm, with a repair cost estimated at $51,000. The biggest cost was $25,000 for damage to Old Sacramento Road at the sewer plant, where an "overflowing creek degraded and undermined road base."
Wegner said he requested road damage reports from the five cities. He had not heard from Jackson or Amador City, while Sutter Creek and Ione were still making assessments.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), gave the following statement after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the U.S. Department of Justice will prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the 9-11 co-conspirators in a military commission trial.
“Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the United States Department of Justice will move the trials of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other individuals to military commissions. This represents another reversal of the Administration’s earlier plans to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court located somewhere in the United States after an earlier reversal of the decision to try the 9-11 mastermind in New York City.”
Lungren said: “Ironically, in making the announcement to move the case to the Department of Defense for prosecution, Attorney General Holder blamed the Congress for forcing his hand in the matter.” He said: “As one who opposed trying the case in our civilian court system, I am honored to be associated with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who have all along argued that the Administration should reverse its wrong headed decision.”
Lungren said Holder launched “an ad hominem attack on those who disagree with him” for “settling ideological arguments or scoring political points.” Lungren said: “Although he most likely had something else in mind when he said it, I find myself at least in agreement with his sentiments. Ideology and politics should have nothing to do with the criminal justice system.”
“The trial of this case should have proceeded months ago,” Lungren said. “Were it not for precipitous decisions followed by agonizing delays over where it was politically feasible for this case to be tried, that would have been the case. The victims of 9-11 deserved no less. The time for justice to be done has finally arrived.”
Lungren, the former California Attorney General, represents Amador County. He serves as Chairman on the House Administration Committee in addition to serving on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.
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Supervisors will consider ratifying a declaration of emergency made last week
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors set a special meeting today to consider ratifying a declaration of an emergency in the county made on Friday by the Office of Emergency Services, due to impacts from a winter storm that struck in mid-March.
Supervisors meet at 1 p.m. today to consider proclaiming a state of emergency and making a request for a presidential declaration, in the wake of the winter storm, the effects of which are still being felt, and which had depleted county emergency resources.
The request for the discussion and possible action came from Sheriff Martin Ryan on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department and the Office of Emergency Services. Supervisors will consider a draft resolution “proclaiming the existence of a local emergency and requesting (the) Governor to proclaim a state of emergency and request a presidential declaration.”
The draft resolution said a local ordinance “empowers the Board of Supervisors to proclaim the existence of a local emergency when this county is affected or likely to be affected by a public calamity.”
The resolution noted that Emergency Services “issued a proclamation of a local emergency for conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within this county.” It said the “county sustained considerable damages caused by the 2011 March storm commencing on or about March 16,” and “recovery efforts and damage assessments are still under way.”
Deputy Director of Amador County Emergency Services, Undersheriff James C. Wegner signed a proclamation of a local emergency last Friday, April 1, as allowed since the Board of Supervisors was not in session. The proclamation noted that it was “subject to ratification by the Board of Supervisors within seven days, and reaffirmation every 14 days thereafter, until such local emergency is terminated.”
Wegner’s proclamation noted that “it has now been found that local resources are insufficient and incapable of coping with the effects of said emergency.”
The Supervisors’ draft proclamation, which they will consider passing today, said “although current weather conditions have improved, there is a great likelihood that further damage is yet to be discovered.” That would be “part of an official damage assessment, and the full recovery process from these storms is likely to take months.”
The resolution also would order that a copy of the declaration be sent to the Governor, through the California Emergency Management Agency, with the request that the Governor “proclaim the county of Amador to be in a state of emergency; and further that the Governor request a Presidential declaration.”
The resolution also would order that the local state of emergency would remain in effect until the Board of Supervisors terminated it.
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Sutter Amador Hospital temporarily relocates its pediatric center
Written by Tom
Amador County – Sutter Amador Hospital this week temporarily relocated the Sutter Amador Pediatric Center while the hospital conducts a focused environmental assessment on the building after employees expressed concerns about environmental safety issues.
Registered Nurse Nikki Allen, the hospital’s Patient Care Executive, said “employees have had concerns about the environmental safety of the clinic, and we are taking their concerns seriously.” She said employees are aware that the clinic is situated on the second floor of the building just above the hospital’s radiology department.
On March 30, physicists from both the hospital and the Sutter Health system conducted tests in the first floor radiology department and in the second floor pediatric clinic to test radiation levels. Readings were normal and no findings and concerns were noted. However, to ensure that the workplace environment is completely safe, the hospital also has hired an independent health physicist, who is in the process of conducting a complete risk assessment of the entire building. The hospital expects to know results later in the week.
“Our employees have expressed anxiety over these recent health issues, and we want to alleviate their concerns by conducting testing in the outpatient building,” said Allen. “During this process, we have been very sensitive in maintaining confidentiality of our staff members and taking their feelings into consideration while at the same time providing the facts to assure them that they are in a safe environment.”
It is important to note that nationwide, approximately 30 percent of women have nodules detectable by ultrasound, and in fact, the diagnosis of a thyroid nodule is the most common endocrine problem in the United States.
“The cause of most thyroid nodules is not known, but a lack of iodine in the diet and certain genetic factors can cause the development of nodules,” said Dr. Robert Hartmann, a member of the hospital medical staff and Public Health Officer for Amador County.
Hartmann said exposure to radiation increases the probability that a nodule is cancerous, but “Americans are exposed to radiation every day even if they don’t work in a hospital because of the sun, cell phones and microwaves. It also takes decades for this kind of exposure to develop into a thyroid nodule or thyroid cancer. ”
The Sutter Amador Pediatric Center was built in 2007 to strict state standards as a mixed-use building for diagnostic imaging and other outpatient services. This means strict building codes are followed, including lead walls and concrete ceilings between the two floors to ensure a safe environment for staff, physicians and patients.
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Jackson Planning Commission denies the Rollingwood subdivision application
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Jackson Planning Commission voted 3-0 Monday to deny a request for a subdivision of Rollingwood Estates mobile home park, saying the applicant did not completely follow legal requirements, including filing reports of the impacts on residents and non-residents of the park, if the subdivision were to occur.
More than 100 people attended the public hearing in the Jackson Civic Center, with the majority of public speakers testifying against the project. Proponent and majority owner of Rollingwood, Joe Chirco, spoke, saying: “I don’t know where all this opposition came from.” He said Rollingwood residents, in his proposal, do not have to buy their land, but can sign a lease, and “if someone buys their home, they can take over the lease.”
Chirco said he was “not trying to suck every dime out of people,” but “we’re a business and we have to make money.” He said: “As long as I own the park, we’re going to be sure that nobody is financially hurt or thrown into the street.”
Chirco’s attorney, C. William Dahlin, said a number of speakers asked the Commission to deny the application because of the survey that showed a majority did not support the project, with 135 “no” votes, 16 “yes” votes. Dahlin said “the law does not say homeowners have veto power.”
Mike Kirkley, the Sutter Creek Planning Commission chairman, whose mother lives in Rollingwood, said that surveys have been used by other jurisdictions to reject mobile home park subdivision applications, including in Capitola, Carson, Santa Rosa and Sonoma.
Dahlin said the cities of Sonoma and Carson did reject park splits on surveys, but were also “busily lobbying for Senate Bill 444,” which succinctly states that the surveys can be used by city councils and land planners to make their decisions on mobile home park subdivision applications.
Kirkley said the mobile homes were assessed at a lower rate than their purchase price, and the loss was due to the “in-place value” of the land.
Dahlin said “they don’t own the in-place value,” and the “assessor’s handbook says: Don’t assess for this in-place value because the home owner does not own it. That is, however, what is offered for sale.”
After public input, Planning Commissioner Dave Butow said he found the application did not meet several Government Code requirements, including that the applicant “shall obtain a survey of support.” Another was a lack of a report on the impact from the park’s conversion on residents, and third was an insufficient report of projected financial impacts on non-residents.
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U.S. Interior Department plans a free wildfire prevention education and mitigation conference
Written by Tom
Amador County – The U.S. Department of the Interior announced recently that it is planning a free California statewide wildfire prevention education and mitigation conference in June in Southern California.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs will be hosting the conference, which will be open to all Tribal, Federal, State, and County Agencies, Fire Safe Councils and Fire Wise Communities. The Fire Safe Council organization announced the conference on its website, and said it is tentatively scheduled to be in Southern California, June 6-9. The location for the conference still must be determined.
BIA plans two optional training opportunities to be offered June 6, with Track 1 being the “Community Wildfire Protection Plan,” and Track 2 being the “Juvenile Fire Screening Tool,” also called the “Oregon Model.”
The main conference will be held June 7-9. Several of the prevention topics are Creating Educational Media Clips, Teaching Middle School Youth, Investing in Fire Prevention, a Powerline Fire Case Study, Media Technology and Arson, Photography and Fire Prevention, Developing PowerPoint Presentations, Mapping Decisions, Identifying and Mitigating, and Fire Cause Classes.
Course coordinators are Regional Fire Prevention Officer Jim Nanamkin and Fire Prevention Specialist Soledad Holguin. They informally announced the conference, saying there will be no tuition.
The attendee is responsible for their travel, accommodations and meals. They said BIA is requesting a response of commitment or interest to determine the conference site location. Once the Bureau has determined its location, a formal announcement will go out.
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French fire academy officers, instructors will tour California Fire Protection facilities
Written by Tom
Amador County – This week a group of French firefighters will be touring the facilities of the California Department of Fire Protection and Northern California as part of their graduate training.
Teri Mizuhara, Fire Prevention Specialist with Cal Fire said 37 fire fighters from the French “National School of Superior Fire Officers” will be in California starting Monday, and visit through April 12. The French instructors and graduates are members of the 72nd French Academy for Fire, Rescue and Civil Protection Officers. The instructors and graduates will arrive in San Francisco to tour various Cal Fire locations throughout Northern California and observe their operations.
Each class from the French Fire Academy has the opportunity for further study once they have graduated, Mizuhara said. “This group decided to come to the United States to exchange ideas, information and technology with Cal Fire personnel” regarding “All Hazard” emergency service techniques.
Members of Cal Fire Incident Command Team 5 will greet the group upon their arrival in San Francisco, Mizuhara said. Their visit begins with a tour in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit. They will receive instruction on the department’s Fire Prevention Program, Cooperative Fire Protection Services, and Hand Crew and Dozer operations. Mizuhara said this should “be of special interest to our French guests as they do not utilize these resources during their fire incidents.”
The group will then travel to the Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit, which will escort them on a tour of the State Capitol and the Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial and a meeting with Cal Fire Acting Director Ken Pimlott. Mizuhara said while they are in the Amador Unit area, the French fire fighters will also tour the scene of the Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe where 3,100 acres and 309 homes were destroyed in 2007.
The group will visit McClelland Air Base and be introduced to Cal Fire’s Air Program. Mizuhara said “given that France uses many air resources as a response to their wildland fire incidents, they are sure to have a multitude of questions.” The day will come to an end with a visit to Cal EMA.
The group will also visit the Butte Unit, which will provide a review of a Vegetation Management Plan burn and a hazardous material incident. The Butte Unit will also give a demonstration of a high angle-low angle rescue technique. A trip to Cal Fire’s Northern Operations Center in Redding will conclude the visit.
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