News Archive (6192)
Assemblywoman Alyson Huber was named a state ‘Legislator of the Year’ by RCRC
Written by Tom
Amador County – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber received a “Legislator of the Year” award from the California Regional Council of Rural Counties for her work in the state Legislature last year in support of the state’s rural counties, and issues that affect them.
Huber, an El Dorado Hills Democrat who represents Amador County in Assembly District 10, was honored as one of two recipients for the annual Patti Mattingly Award for 2010. Assemblywoman Connie Conway, a Tulare Republican, was also selected to receive the 2010 Mattingly Award.
Huber assistant Jennifer Wonnacott announced receipt of the award in a e-mail last week, saying that the award is “given to a policymaker that that has demonstrated leadership on rural issues and an understanding of the unique challenges that rural communities face.”
Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon, first vice chair of the executive committee of the Regional Council of Rural Counties, said “RCRC appreciates the important work” Huber has done “on behalf of her rural constituents.” Dillon said “residents of Amador County and the other rural portions of (Huber’s) district, should know that she served them well in a very difficult 2010 legislative session.”
The award was established in the memory of former Siskiyou County Supervisor Patti Mattingly, “for her tremendous courage, commitment, and ability to promote constructive solutions surrounding rural issues.” Recipients are selected by the RCRC Board of Directors.
Amador County District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster, a member of the RCRC executive committee, said RCRC applauds “Huber’s efforts this past year,” saying “she was instrumental in working with a number of other rural legislators to secure the passage, of an exemption for counties under 50,000 in population from experiencing deferrals in state payments to counties.” Forster said that had the exemption “not happened, small counties like Amador would have faced a severe financial crisis.”
Wonnacott said Huber’s other important actions in the 2010 California Legisature included “securing vital law enforcement money for several years for rural counties” and writing “Assembly Bill 580, which addressed septic tanks regulations being issued by the State Water Resources Control Board.”
RCRC is an association of 31 rural counties that advocates before the Legislature, Congress and state and federal government agencies on behalf of rural issues. The Council has its headquarters in Sacramento, and county supervisors make up its governing board, with a supervisor from each county serving on the RCRC board of directors.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Standoff ends peacefully for the Ione Police and the Sheriff’s SWAT team Monday
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Ione Police Department, and members of the Amador County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team endured a two-hour standoff Monday at a home in Ione that ended peacefully, despite two children reportedly being held hostage.
Ione Police and the Sheriff’s SWAT team arrested Jeffery Phillip Largent, 37, on a felony warrant after the standoff, which reportedly started when he barricaded the entry to the house, after authorities arrived to try to arrest him, at about 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 24.
KCRA 3 TV in Sacramento showed a video of Largent later surrendering to about six camouflage-clad SWAT team members, and a uniformed officer, after the end of the standoff. KCRA reported that Largent held his two children hostage in the home, and said the 37-year-old Largent was wanted on a felony warrant out of Sacramento.
Largent’s children, age 11 and 12, were able to leave the home safely, and then Largent came out on his own. KCRA video broadcast at about 7:45 p.m. Monday, showed Largent walking out of the home at which the standoff occurred, with his hands raised in the air. Largent walked in the driveway of the home, in front of an Ione Police car. Waiting for him were about six SWAT team members, wearing helmets and full assault gear, with guns drawn, and one of them had a K-9. Largent turned around, hands still raised, to face the home, then placed his hands on his head. SWAT team members then advanced on Largent and took him into custody.
Authorities were shown placing Largent into a police car, and Largent was later booked into the Amador County Jail.
A request for more information about the Ione standoff was made to the Ione Police Department, but was unanswered before airtime today.
Also Monday, Jan. 24, KTXL Fox 40 reported the discovery of the body of a 15-year-old boy in West Point, in Calaveras County. KTXL said: “A man hiking on his property on Jurs Road found the body, and the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department said it was that of a 15-year-old boy. Deputies arrived around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, and say the case is being investigated as a homicide. The boy’s body is now at the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.”
The Calaveras Sheriff’s Department had not returned a call requesting more information on the incident prior to airtime.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County Historical Society plans a dinner fundraiser
Written by Tom
Amador County – A “Let’s Open Our Museum” campaign has been launched by the Amador County Historical Society to raise funds for eventual reopening of the Amador County Museum, and its Mine Model Exhibit, which has now been closed for more than two-and-a-half years.
The date of the fund-raising dinner will be Saturday, Feb. 26 at Thomi’s Banquet Hall in the Mother Lode Plaza in Jackson. The festivities start with a 5:30 p.m. social hour, followed by dinner and the program, including a grand prize drawing and a silent auction.
Rich Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer of the Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel, will be the main speaker. Also on the program will be representatives of other community organizations and governments, who will stress how important the museum is to the city and county’s culture, tourism and education.
The Historical Society now has a five-year agreement with the county to access the museum and grounds, and is close to finalizing plans to make the mine model compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also will soon engage historical preservation engineers to examine and analyze the brick structure of the building, which was built in 1859. The museum, before it opens, will also require changes, to make it compliant with ADA law.
Money raised by the dinner on Feb 26 will go totally to the “Let’s Open Our Museum” fund. Tickets will soon be available from members, and local outlets at $30 each. Attendees can also buy a table for eight for $240 and bring friends. People may contact a member of the fundraising committee about tickets.
The fundraising committee includes new Historical Society President Gary Reinoehl, Rebecca Brown, Mary Heidecker, Georgia Fox, Barbara Long, Phil Giurlani and past president Larry Cenotto. For ticket information, call the Society office at (209) 257-1485; e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or write ACHS at P.O. Box 761, Jackson, CA, 95642.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador Regional Transit board approved two part-time positions
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System board of directors last week approved a new Mobility Manager position, and also added a dispatch position, both part time.
New Transit Manager Carla Meyer said she met Jan. 14 with Caltrans, and “we received tentative approval” to hire a person to fill a 25-hour Mobility Manager.
Meyer told the ACTC board last week that she has been working to rewrite one grant that is “so far out of its original scope” that it is becoming a problem. One option would be to create a fixed route for a vehicle that assists disabled riders, with door-to-door exclusive service, on call. The route would be designated differently.
Supervisor John Plasse said it was similar to a “dial a ride” program. Ione Councilman David Plank asked where the Mobility Manager position would be housed, and Meyer said it would be at the ARTS Transit Center in Sutter Creek.
Plasse said Meyer did a good job working with Caltrans on both the dispatcher and Mobility Manager positions. He said it was hard to imagine that ARTS “are on the last six months of a two-year grant” for the Mobility Management program, which was delayed due to a contract issue and hiring questions.
The Commission unanimously approved the addition of a 25-hour a week Mobility Manager position and also a 35-hour a week dispatch position, and to amend the budget accordingly.
Meyer said Monday that ARTS faces potential budget cuts as the state looks to be planning to continue making a gas tax swap for county road funding. She is looking at bus route funding grants, and rewriting a grant to better fit new plans for existing programs.
She is working on increasing bus routes that go to Sacramento, and also adding to the efficiency, of the ones that go there now. She is looking at a deviated fixed route that will go without stops from Amador County to Sacramento.
“We are looking at streamlining our Sacramento run,” Meyer said. “It would carve a significant amount of time” from the bus ride, and make the mass transit option as fast as driving a car to Sacramento.
It now runs twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, and she said it already connects with a Sacramento bus route that goes to the Sacramento International Airport. Meyer said she is “looking for funding to reestablish some of the midday runs,” because of the good links to the airport.
It would allow commuters to park for free at the ARTS transit center while they are on vacation, or “better yet, leave your car at home in garage,” and “spend the savings on your vacation” instead of parking fees at the airport.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Caltrans announced the appointment of a new director for District 10
Written by Tom
Amador County – The California Department of Transportation this week announced the appointment of a new director for District 10 which covers eight Central Valley counties, including Amador County.
Stockton-based District 10 will now be led by Carrie L. Bowen, who was announced Tuesday as the new District Director. Caltrans public information official Michele Demetras announced the appointment in a release, saying Bowen is the first female director in District 10’s history.
“Bowen has more than 25 years of diverse experience in planning and delivering transportation projects,” Demetras said. “She began her career with Caltrans in 1991 as an associate environmental planner and worked on Fresno County projects, preparing complex environmental documents for a number of new freeways.”
Demetras said Bowen “rose to the position of deputy district director for the Central Region Environmental Division, overseeing Caltrans’ environmental work in 20 counties and staff in four districts.”
Prior to her current post, Bowen was “on loan” for the past 18 months to the California High Speed Rail Authority and served as its Central California Regional Director. She functioned as the focal point, for regional project issues, including resolving high-speed rail concerns with state, regional and local elected officials, as well as planning organizations and the general public.”
In 2005, Demetras said, “Bowen was appointed to the State Center Community College District Bond Oversight committee, where she served until 2009. She was appointed to the California Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee from 1997 until 2000.” From 1985 to 1991, she served on the staff of then-Assemblyman Jim Costa, advising on a variety of key Central Valley issues, including transportation and high-speed rail.
As District 10 Director, Bowen will oversee “multi-million-dollar capital construction projects within the eight counties comprising the district,” which are Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne Counties. Bowen will also direct maintenance and operations for the district.
Bowen will be responsible for 524 employees and 3,670 miles of State Highway routes in District 10. She will oversee “an annual budget of $74.6 million and $4.5 billion worth of highway construction projects and programs throughout the eight counties.”
Bowen replaces District 10 Interim Director Richard Harmon.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AFSC presents new Pioneer and Volcano Community Conservation and Wildfire Protection Plan
Written by Tom
Amador County – About a year after it began, the Amador Fire Safe Council, on tuesday will present its Pioneer and Volcano Community Conservation and Wildfire Protection Plan, to the Upcountry community.
Cathy Koos-Breazeal and Jim Simmons of the Amador Fire Safe Council will give, a summary of findings and recommendations of the plan to the Upcountry Community Council Fire Protection Committee Tuesday, with a discussion to follow.
Koos-Breazeal said Friday that the plan began with a public “stakeholder” meeting January 2010, at Amador Pines, and the final meeting will be Tuesday, then the plan will be taken to the Amador County Board of Supervisors. She said the plan already has the support of local and regional agencies, so the “signature page is kind of a formality.”
The Pioneer and Volcano population is probably 5,000 to 8,000 people, Koos-Breazeal said, and Fire Safe Council has been doing stakeholder meetings throughout the last year, at various homeowner association and other group meetings. Meetings have been really well attended, and they “received really good feedback.” Another good aspect, she said, is its “real strong conservation element.”
The county-wide fire plan divided the county into nine units, and “Pioneer/volcano was the most at risk of all those areas in the county.” The plan they put together includes 300 pages, plus maps, and shows neighborhood evacuations, fuel reduction, and other plans, and lists priorities of the work.
Koos-Breazeal said most agencies will not give funding if your plan does not include numbered priorities, for the different fire plan projects. In the Pioneer and Volcano plan, fuel reduction and public education are the top priorities.
A map shows fire hydrants in the area, she said, and there are “not that many in the Upcountry.” Most come from Amador Water Agency systems. A map also shows helicopter landing zones, a few of which are formal heli-pads, while other areas are just designated as “you could land here.”
After the Pioneer and Volcano wildfire plan is completed, the Fire Safe Council will start work on the Pine Grove plan, using further funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
Koos-Breazeal said the plans are used for planning by fire agencies and the County Planning Department, and are required by federal agencies.
The Upcountry Community Council Fire Protection Committee meeting is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the Veterans Hall on Buckhorn Ridge Road.
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Child Abuse Prevention Council says nine slots remain for its third annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council plans its third annual “Bowl-A-Thon” March 26, and as of last week about nine spots remain for teams to join.
Program director Robin Valencia said Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council said Friday that 15 teams had signed up and that nine more slots remain open. She said the Child Abuse Prevention Council couldn’t do many of its special services “without the funds raised through our annual Bowl-a-Thon.” The public can join by forming a “five-person team, and collecting a minimum of $250 per team in donations.”
Bowlers get free pizza, soda, and a chance to win prizes. People can also donate a raffle prize or a silent auction item, or become an event sponsor. Valencia said: “One of our council members once commented,” that “we get a lot of bang for our buck,” and “when you look back at our activities for 2010 we hope you will agree.”
She said more than 1,000 community members benefitted from Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council’s free workshops. They hosted eight Child Abuse & Neglect Mandated Reporter Training sessions with 104 attendees. She said more than 200 school faculty and staff were presented information.
The Council held 22 Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention workshops that reached a total of 595 people, including all students in freshmen health classes at Amador and Argonaut high schools. The Council held 11 Digital Safety and Cyber Bullying Prevention workshops, attended by a total of 268 students and parents. And the Council’s 12 Stranger Awareness presentations gave information to 104 children and their parents or guardians since the program was started in July.
Valencia said: “We accomplished all of this with a volunteer Council of community partners, part-time staff, and a whole lot of community support.” Valencia said 120 people participated in the 2010 Bowl-a-Thon, which raised more than $13,000, and donated 194 pounds of “kid-friendly” food to the Inter Faith Food Bank.
Donations have already been received, for prizes and the silent auction, for this year’s Bowl-A-Thon. Prizes gathered so far include a $500 certificate from SunFlower Pro Cleaning, an electric toothbrush from Jackson Creek Dental, two treatments from Amador Acupuncture, a one-night stay at Shenandoah Inn, a case of wine, two sets of books from Volcano Press, and a $25 Raley’s gift card.
To reserve a team lane, call Valencia at 223-5921.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Plymouth reopens bidding for its wastewater system well drilling project
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council at its last meeting decided to reject three bids, and re-advertise a well-drilling job, at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. After finding the bids seemingly incomplete, Interim City Manager Jeff Gardner said council members had some issues with the bids, and they agreed to reject them, and place more ads to get a new round of bids.
Public Works Director Selby Beck had recommended the apparent low bid of $10,642 by Hunt Well Drilling on the project, which said the city would be “providing the trenching, backfill, electrical and water line to the panel and tank.”
Gardner said City Hall received three bids, and he “chose the one that looked the most complete.” The well will be used to supplement the wastewater treatment plant on property on Old Sacramento Road. It would supplement a headwater that feeds the new plant, but was found to have flow insufficient to run the plant.
Part of the issue is filling a new 10,000-gallon water tank. The tank is new to the system, which Gardner said is functioning, and gives the city a little bit more capacity. Expansion of the plant is not complete, as Development Director Richard Prima is working with the Regional Water Quality Control Board on trying to get the city’s discharge permit upgraded. The plant is still a secondary-level treating facility, with land application on 200 acres of land.
Gardner said power costs have gone up, and he is looking into solar power for the sewer plant. He has looked at solar applications, and talked to some people about it.
He said the Amador County Fair runs a 35-megawatt solar application on the fairgrounds, and he was told by Pacific Gas & Electric that the city sewer plant would need a solar power application of about the same power output to operate. He planned to talk to Amador County Fair CEO Troy Bowers about the fair’s facility.
Gardner said if they can produce that kind of power on some of the 200 acres at the plant facility, they can “zero out” the cost of energy, which is about 15 percent of the overall cost for the sewer plant’s operation.
Gardner also reported that a water main has been permanently repaired, after it was temporarily repaired Jan. 7. The break affected about one-third of the town, so the city made an appointment to schedule a more permanent repair, at a time when it would least affect customers. The final repair was made a week later.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Congressman Dan Lungren’s proposed 1099 tax repeal bill could be brought to the floor
Written by Tom
Amador County – California District 3 Congressman Dan Lungren has re-introduced legislation to repeal health care legislation passed last year, looking to restore the “doctor-patient relationship.”
Brian Kaveney of the Congressman’s office in a release Wednesday said Lungren “voted to begin the implementation of commonsense alternatives to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” which was passed last year.
Kaveney said “voting for the repeal of a government-run health care system sets the stage for Lungren’s bill to repeal the onerous 1099 reporting requirement to be brought to the floor for consideration.”
In the release following the vote, Lungren said: “Last year the American people and small business spoke and I listened. The bill that was pushed through Congress last year includes a number of provisions that are of concern to the American people.”
He said: “Not only does it require every American to purchase health insurance, but it dictates the type of policy they must buy and where they must buy it.” Lungren said the “health care law hinders the creation of jobs, when constituents in my district still face unemployment rates that exceed 12 percent.”
Lungren said the “law does not address rising health care costs, and it places the massive federal bureaucracy between patients and their doctors. Personal health care decisions should be made by patients, families and doctors, not by bureaucrats or politicians in Washington.”
“We all agree that health care can and should be improved,” Lungren said, “but last year’s bill was not well thought out. In spite of two years of debate on health care, the bill that was ultimately passed reads like an afterthought, with many provisions that simply don’t make sense.”
He said: “We need to focus on increasing patient choice for all Americans without losing the quality to which people are accustomed.”
The bill was initially introduced after last year’s approval of the Affordable Care Act, but it fell short of the 218 signatures needed to force a vote.
Lungren’s bill would repeal a 1099 tax reporting requirement from the law, that would require businesses to report to the IRS any purchases of goods or services from one company that total more than $600 in one year.
The Republican Party last September issued a “Pledge to America” to “repeal this job-killing small business mandate.” The pledge said: “This 1099 reporting mandate is so overbearing that the IRS ombudsman has determined that the agency is ill-equipped to handle all the resulting paperwork.”
Last week, Lungren announced that 245 signatures supported the bill, including 12 Democrats. The bill is called “The Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act.”
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Ribbon cutting Sunday marked the opening of the Mollie Joyce Park disc golf course in Pioneer
Written by Tom
Amador County – About 30 people attended a ribbon cutting ceremony Sunday at Mollie Joyce Park to mark the opening of a new flying disc golf course in Pioneer.
Amador County Recreation Agency executive board president and Sutter Creek Vice Mayor Linda Rianda cut the ribbon as a line of sponsors and volunteers lined the ridge above hole number one’s fairway.
ACRA Executive Director Tracy Towner-Yepp introduced Rianda and opened the ceremony by asking for a moment of silence for Fred Joyce, whom she said passed away last week. Fred Joyce was the donor who made the park possible, deeding the use of the park to the Recreation Agency. The park is named after his late wife, Mollie Joyce.
ACRA received the deed of the 76-acre park from Fred Joyce on Feb. 5, 2008, on condition the park be maintained for public recreation use. The park was long used by a Sacramento school district for a science camp, but for several years had been in disrepair.
Immediately after taking over Mollie Joyce Park, ACRA began to refurbish the two overgrown Little League Baseball fields. The fields have been revitalized, with installation of donated underground irrigation pipes, and regular ballgames have returned.
Sunday the disc golf course, which has 9 permanent holes, and a goal to get 9 more, held its first tournament, with about 25 players. Towner-Yep, program director Matt Nestor and others at ACRA have worked with local disc golfers, who volunteered to help design the course around Mollie Joyce Park’s hilly and wooded terrain.
Jackson Rancheria Casino made a big donation to purchase 8 of the baskets used for holes, and Brandon Wedge, co-owner of Play It Again Sports in Jackson, sponsored the purchase of another basket. Four other baskets have been sponsored, but not yet purchased and installed.
Local and regional golfers, including Paul Dalmau of Pioneer, Ray Birch of Ione and Wedge of Sutter Creek have volunteered on the project.
Sunday also marked the first official tournament at the course, the Martin Luther King Tournament, organized by Nestor for ACRA. Ray Birch won the professional division with a two-round score of one-over par. Brandon Wedge was second.
Kyhber Easton took first place in the amateur men’s division, while Peter Hertzog II took second place, Taj Easton was third, and Justin Agustin was fourth. Tara Easton took first place in the women’s amateur division.
Former ACRA program manager, Adam Lindsey, who also worked on the course, took first place in the recreational division. Second was Robert Moncada, and third was Jaysin Cabrol.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
