News Archive (6192)
Amador Planning Commission hears Buena Vista Biomass Power issues
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Planning Commission on Tuesday postponed a decision on final environmental documents and permitting for the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant.
The commission held a public hearing on the certification of the “Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report” and considered “possible project approval for the Buena Vista Biomass Power use permit amendment” before continuing the decision to November 30th.
Buena Vista Biomass is “proposing the repowering and conversion of an existing 18.5-megawatt (lignite-fired) electric generation facility to a renewable wood waste biomass energy facility.”
County Planner Nate Lishman said the Commission directed staff to answer questions raised by the public in the hearing, and also questions brought up by individual commissioners. After the public hearing, the commission had substantial discussions and “directed staff to respond to key areas,” with noise and lighting being the “big ones.”
The commission directed staff to address comments received in seven letters that came during the meeting Tuesday. Letters came from several local Jackson Valley residents and also the Center for Biological Diversity, a national organization with a San Francisco office, which has been commenting on the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant’s attempt to reopen the plant on Coal Mine Road.
Lishman said the center was concerned with the biomass industry in general, with one of the big issues being that it is touted as a “carbon-neutral energy source.” Lishman said “that’s sort of partially true, so long as you are not harvesting timber specifically for fuel.”
He said the Center was concerned that there is not enough fuel to be gotten from the region’s forest management to fuel the Buena Vista plant, and it would be forced to close. The former Co-Gen plant similarly had to close in the early 1990s, he said, when it lost its ample supply of lignite.
The center is also looking at air quality and a state greenhouse gas analysis, which is “all so new,” Lishman said, and may be trying to set a national precedent with the Buena Vista plant. He thought the EIR preparer, Ascent Environmental, did a thorough job with the analyses.
Staff was directed to alleviate concerns and comments of the public, and also of commissioners, from their own review of the EIR. Lishman said: “Everything we have to date we will be able to respond to.”
There was also a letter from the applicant requesting changes to clarify the intent of mitigation in the Final SEIR.
The public hearing was closed during the meeting, and Lishman said it would be at Chairman Ray Ryan’s discretion whether the public hearing is reopened at the next meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 30th.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Argonaut High School football team advanced with a 41-16 win over Hilmar last Friday.
Argonaut led 21-16 and got three touchdown runs by Austin Cramer in the fourth quarter. Cramer scored on runs of 5, 10 and 30 yards, one coming after a pooch kick by Russ Ellyson that was recovered by Argonaut.
Ellyson also led off the second half with a kickoff that nearly stopped at the 1-yard line. A Hilmar player fielded it and was dropped inside the 10-yard line.
Argonaut also got a 49-yard touchdown run by Kyle Richardi in the first quarter, and Hunter Affonso scored twice in the second quarter, on runs of 1 and 13 yards.
Argonaut plays again at 7 p.m. this Friday, at Colfax, which advanced with a 48-33 win over Orestimba.
Calaveras also advanced, with a 28-7 win over Dixon. Amador and Summerville both lost in lopsided games. The Buffs fell to Escalon, and the Bears lost to Central Catholic.
Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Amador County – The Amador County Sheriff’s Office recently announced the release of the new Amador County 2010 Road Atlas. This road atlas was developed by Amador County Information Technology’s GIS Division as part of a larger Emergency Responder Guide project and was paid for with Homeland Security grant funding.
But getting an accurate, up to date road map of the county is difficult at best. “Since we were developing accurate maps for our first responders, we decided that the citizens of the county should also benefit from this project,” said Sheriff Martin Ryan.
Now that the county has good GIS information and is continually developing their capabilities, the new road atlas will be easy to update as changes occur.
To view or download the Amador County 2010 Road Atlas, visit the Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services web page at www.co.amador.ca.us and click on the link located on the left of the page.
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Caltrans announces $5.4 million in Hwy. 49 improvements
Written by Tom
Sacramento - Caltrans announced on Wednesday the completion – 100 days ahead of schedule – of a $5.4 million highway safety improvement project on State Route 49 in El Dorado County. The project was financed entirely by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“My administration will continue to work around the clock to push Recovery Act funding into our economy as quickly as possible to help create jobs and put California on the road to economic recovery,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The project realigned a rural section of SR-49 between Dolomite Drive and China Hill Road in El Dorado County, smoothing out curves on the roadway to make it safer for motorists. New paved highway shoulders were also built further improving safety.
“State Route 49 is a convenient connector between U.S. Highway 50 and Amador County. This project improves safety for everyone traveling on this important Gold Country highway,” said Caltrans Director Cindy McKim.
“Thanks to the Recovery Act funding, Veerkamp was able to retain 15 employees who in all probability, would have not worked at all last year. Veerkamp also added five new employees to accelerate the construction schedule,” said Doug Veerkamp, President, Veerkamp General Engineering, Inc. of Placerville, the project’s contractor.
Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s leadership, California has obligated nearly $2.6 billion in Recovery Act funding to 991 highway, local street, and job training transportation projects statewide. For more information on the Recovery Act visit: http://recovery.ca.gov/.
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Jeff Holman Auto donates much-needed vehicle to Operation Care
Written by Tom
Amador County - Jeff Holman Auto Center in Martell recently donated a vehicle to help with transportation for clients of Operation Care, a local non-profit organization providing support services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Over the past year, Operation Care staff and volunteers provided transportation 570 times for individuals to get to safe shelter, appointments, court, or other locations. The organization has a policy of reimbursement for mileage costs, however, a significant increase in residents at the safe house coupled with a reduction in bus service resulted in costs significantly exceeding budget.
According to a news release, Holman and staff fixed up a car free of charge after purchasing a vehicle at auction.
“He had taken a vehicle that he had, and his service department tuned it up, changed all the hoses, fixed anything that was in need of repair, installed four new tires, paid the DMV transfer fees and just handed her the keys,” said Clara Osborne, recently appointed Executive Director of Operation Care. “This wonderful donation will allow us to use the funds from Soroptimist to extend the transportation program considerably. The money that would have gone to the cost of a vehicle can now be used for fuel, insurance, repairs, and maintenance. We are so very grateful to Jeff Holman and his staff for their generosity.”
After handing over the keys, Holman said, “I wanted to do something to help. It is not about me, it is what needs to be done.”
For more information call 209-223-2897 or visit www.operationcare.org.
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Environmental group warns of lead content in certain products
Written by Tom
Amador County - An environmental group earlier this year filed a notice that 124 different products contain lead and 49 companies were violating California toxicity notification law.
The Environmental Law Foundation served notices of violation of the “California Proposition 65 Toxics Right to Know law” alleging that lead was found in apple juices, grape juices, canned pears, peaches, and fruit cocktails.
Environmental Law Foundation notified 49 companies that they were in violation of Proposition 65 by not giving shoppers notice that their products contain lead. The companies that were notified June 9th of this year included 27 companies in California (including Raley’s, Safeway, CVS Market, and Wal-Mart).
The stores were to post notices or face a lawsuit from the Foundation. Raley’s in Jackson posted a “California Proposition 65 Warning,” which said “the apple and grape juices on these shelves contain lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm.”
The Foundation letter said the companies “have violated and continue to violate provisions of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986,” and quoted the law, which said: “No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly and intentionally expose any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual.”
The Foundation tested products that children and expecting mothers normally eat. The notice listed the 124 products that the Foundation found contained more than 1/2 of a microgram of lead per serving. The website said: “It is now widely accepted that there is no safe level of lead for the human body, and that, even at low levels, lead can damage mental and physical development.”
The site said the lead could get into the products in various ways, including from plumbing, or tainted soils, but it was up to the companies to explain the causes.
The Foundation, and the website bebepure.com, listed the products found to contain lead, and a shorter list of those found to not contain more lead that Proposition 65 allows.
In an August article, “Loaded with lead: List of kid’s fruit juices and foods to avoid,” BebePure.com listed 25 apple juice brands, 26 grape juices, 23 packaged pears, 24 different brands of peaches, and 27 brands of fruit cocktail to be avoided. It also listed products that were not found to have lead, including 10 apple juices, one grape juice, two brands of packaged pears, five brands of peaches, and one brand of fruit cocktail.
The Foundation said shoppers should “make informed choices” and “demand information before you buy.” Shoppers should be urged to consult the lists on BebePure.com and envirolaw.org. (List follows on this website).
Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
From: BebePure.com: http://bebepure.com/loaded-with-lead-list-of-kids-fruit-juices-and-foods/ Loaded with Lead: List of Kid’s Fruit Juices and Foods to Avoid, published Aug. 26, 2010
Lead Found in Kid’s Fruit Juices and Foods
The Environmental Law Foundation filed Notices of Violation of California Proposition 65 Toxics Right to Know law, alleging the toxic chemical lead was found in a variety of children’s and baby foods.
The specific food categories included apple juice, grape juice, packaged pears and peaches (including baby food), and fruit cocktail. Scientists agree that there is no safe level of exposure to lead. According to Dr. Callahan, “Lead exposure among children is a particular concern because their developing bodies absorb lead at a higher rate and because children are particularly sensitive to lead’s toxic effects, including decreased I.Q.”
Lead has been and continues to be released into the environment from decades of lead-based pesticide application, use of leaded gasoline and lead paint, and burning of coal in power plants. The lead in the environment then can make its way into the food supply. But not every category or even foods within categories contains lead.
People who only buy organic foods need to worry about this, the Foundation said.
The Foundation found lead at levels that violate Proposition 65 (i.e., above the maximum allowable dose level of 0.5 ug/day) for a single serving in some organic products. While an “organic” label conveys a great deal of confidence about certain growing, harvesting and packaging practices, it is not a “lead-free” guarantee.
Here is a comprehensive list of children’s and baby foods with and without lead:
Apple Juice with Lead – For the following products, one or more samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Beech Nut 100% Apple Juice
2. Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice
3. First Street 100% Apple Cider from concentrate
4. First Street Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
5. Full Circle Organic Apple Juice
6. Gerber 100% Juice Apple Juice
7. Great Value 100% No Sugar Added Apple Juice
8. Hansen’s Natural Apple Juice
9. Kroger 100% Juice Apple Juice
10. Langers Apple Juice 100% Juice
11. Minute Maid Juice Apple – 100% Apple Juice
12. Motts 100% Apple Juice
13. Organics Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice Not From Concentrate
14. Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice
15. Parade 100% Juice Apple
16. Raley’s Premium 100% Apple Juice not from Concentrate
17. Safeway 100% Juice Apple Cider
18. Safeway 100% Juice Apple Juice
19. Stater Bros. 100% Juice Apple Juice
20. Sunny Select 100% Apple Juice
21. Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice, pasteurized
22. Tree Top 100% Juice Apple Cider
23. Walgreens Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
24. Walnut Grove Market 100% Apple Juice
Apple Juice without Lead – For the following products, NO samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Great Value 100% Apple Juice not from concentrate
2. Harvest Day 100% Apple Juice from Concentrate
3. Kirkland Fresh Pressed Apple Juice Pasteurized
4. Martinelli’s Gold Medal Apple Juice 100% pure from US grown fresh apples
5. R.W. Knudsen Organic Apple Juice unfiltered
6. Raley’s Everyday 100% Apple Juice
7. Sunny Select 100% Unfiltered Apple Juice
8. Trader Joe’s Fresh Pressed Apple Juice all natural pasteurized, 100% juice
9. Tree Top 100% Apple Juice
10. Tree Top Three Apple Blend 100% Fresh Pressed Juice
Grape Juice with Lead – For the following products, one or more samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. 365 Everyday Value Organic 100% Juice Concord Grapes
2. First Street Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
3. Gerber 100% Juice – White Grape Juice
4. Great Value 100% Grape Juice
5. Kedem Concord Grape Juice 100% pure grape juice
6. Kroger Grape Juice 100% Juice
7. Langers Grape Juice (Concord)
8. Langers Red Grape Juice
9. Organics Organic Grape Juice from concentrate
10. R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice
11. R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Concord
12. Raley’s 100% Grape Juice
13. Safeway 100% Juice Grape Juice
14. Safeway Organic Grape Juice
15. Santa Cruz Organic Concord Grape Juice
16. Stater Bros. 100% Juice Grape Juice
17. Stater Bros. 100% Juice White Grape Juice
18. Sunny Select 100% Grape Juice
19. Trader Joe’s Concord Grape Juice made from fresh pressed organic concord grapes
20. Tree Top 100% Juice, Grape
21. Valu Time Grape Drink from Concentrate
22. Walgreens Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
23. Walnut Acres Organic Concord Grape
24. Walnut Grove Market Grape Juice
25. Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (from Welch’s Concord Grapes)
26. Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice from Concentrate
Grape Juice without Lead- For the following products, NO samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Old Orchard Healthy Balance Grape
Packaged Pears with Lead – For the following products, one or more samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Best Yet Bartlett Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
2. Del Monte Diced Pears in Light Syrup
3. Del Monte Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
4. Del Monte Pear Halves, Bartlett Pears in 100% real fruit juice from concentrate
5. Dole Pear Halves in Juice
6. First Street Diced Pears
7. First Street Sliced Bartlett
8. Full Circle Organic Bartlett Pear Slices
9. Gerber 3rd Foods Pears [Baby Food]
10. Great Value Bartlett Pear Halves in 100% Juice
11. Great Value Bartlett Sliced Pears in Heavy Syrup
12. Market Pantry Diced Pears in Light syrup
13. Maxx Value Pear Pieces in Light Syrup
14. Polar Pear Halves in light syrup
15. S&W Natural Style Pear Slices in Juice
16. S&W Sun Pears Premium
17. Safeway Lite Bartlett Pear Halves in Pear Juice
18. Safeway Pear Halves in Light Juice
19. Sunny Select Pear Halves in Pear Juice
20. Trader Joe’s Pear Halves in white grape juice
21. Truitt Brothers Pacific North West Bartlett Pear Halves, in pear juice from concentrate
22. Valu Time Irregular Bartlett Pear Slices
23. Walnut Grove Market Natural Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
Packaged Pears without Lead – For the following products, NO samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Eating Right Kids Diced Pears Fruit Cups
2. Stater Bros. Diced Pears Snack Bowl
Packaged Peaches with Lead – For the following products, one or more samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Best Yet Yellow Cling Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
2. Del Monte Freestone Peach Slices in 100 % Juice
3. Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100 % Juice
4 Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
5. Dole Diced Peaches, Yellow Cling in light syrup
6. First Street Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
7. Gerber 3rd Foods Peaches [Baby Food]
8. Golden Star Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
9. Great Value Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches
10. Libby’s Yellow Cling Peach Slices No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
11. Market Pantry Diced Peaches in light syrup
12. Polar Peach Slices
13. Raley’s Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in Heavy Syrup
14. S&W Natural Style Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Lightly Sweetened Juice
15. S&W Premium Peach Halves Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
16. Safeway Diced Peaches in Light Syrup
17. Safeway Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Pear Juice
18. Simple Value Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
19. Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Peach Halves
20. Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in heavy syrup
21. Sunny Select Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in Pear Juice
22. Trader Joe’s Yellow Cling Peach Halves in while grape juice
23. Valu Time Yellow Cling Peach Slices
24. Walnut Grove Market Natural Peaches Sliced Yellow Cling in Light Syrup
Packaged Peaches without Lead – For the following products, NO samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Dole Diced Peaches, Cling in Light Syrup
2. Dole Diced Peaches, Freestone in Light Syrup
3. Dole Sliced Peaches
4. Eating Right Kids Diced Peaches in Extra Light Syrup
5. Stater Bros. Diced Peaches Snack Bowl
Fruit Cocktail with Lead – For the following products, one or more samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Best Yet Chunky Mixed Fruit in Pear Juice
2. Chef’s Review Fruit Cocktail
3. Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail
4. Del Monte Chunky Mixed Fruit in 100 % Juice (peach, pear, grape, etc.)
5. Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peach, pear, grapes)
6. Del Monte Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added
7. Del Monte Lite Fruit Cocktail in Extra Light Syrup
8. Dole Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup
9. Eating Right Fruit Cocktail packed in Sucralose
10. Eating Right No Sugar Fruit Cocktail
11. First Street Fruit Cocktail in heavy syrup
12. Golden Star Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup (peach, pineapple, pears)
13. Great Value No Sugar Added Fruit Cocktail
14. Kroger Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
15. Kroger Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
16. Kroger Value Fruit Mix (Peaches, pears, grapes)
17. Market Pantry Mixed Fruit in light syrup
18. Maxx Value Fruit Mix in Light Syrup (peach, pear, grape)
19. Mrs. Brown’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peaches, pears, grapes)
20. Polar Mixed Fruit
21. Raley’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
22. S&W Natural Style Fruit Cocktail in Lightly Sweetened Juice
23. Safeway Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
24. Safeway Light Sugar Fruit Cocktail
25. Safeway Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
26. Stater Bros. Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
27. Sunny Select Fruit Cocktail in Juice
Fruit Cocktail without Lead – For the following products, NO samples exceeded the Prop 65 limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving:
1. Del Monte Mixed Fruit
What we must not forget is the following:
2. There is no safe level of lead, especially for children.
3. Lead causes problems throughout the body, especially for children.
4. The effects can be subtle but permanent, long after childhood.
5. Lead exposures and effects are cumulative, over time and from multiple sources
6. Three sources of lead continue to contaminate the environment and food supply: decades of pesticide application, leaded gasoline, and airborne lead from coal-fired power plants
Source: BebePure.com
Reeder Sutherland releases Draft EIR of 2 residential developments
Written by Tom
Amador County – Developers of two projects with nearly 500 units in Plymouth released a Draft Environmental Impact Report last week, opening a comment period that closes at the year’s end.
Bob Reeder, president of Reeder Sutherland Incorporated, said the Draft EIR for his Shenandoah Ridge and Zinfandel residential development projects went to the state clearinghouse on Wednesday, November 10th, opening a public comment period.
A public hearing is not necessary and not required by law, Reeder said, but consultants thought it would be a good idea to give people the chance to make verbal comment at a meeting, for those who do not comment in writing. That public comment meeting is set for December 15th at Plymouth City Hall, during a Planning Commission meeting, which normally starts at 7 p.m.
The deadline for comments is Friday, December 31st. Reeder said the normally 30-day comment period was extended because of the holidays.
Over the last couple of years, Reeder Sutherland has made some minor changes to the project. Reeder said: “Once we identified wetlands, we reduced our impacts to almost nothing on wetlands.” They moved some roads and changed some lots to completely avoid wetlands.
Zinfandel has about 8 acres of wetlands, including 2 ponds. Shenandoah Ridge had less than 2 acres of wetlands.
Reeder said they “got the impact down to less than a tenth of an acre (of wetlands) at each project.” He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sees avoidance as the best approach. Reeder estimated they avoided almost 98-99 percent of wetlands in the Zinfandel project, and 95 percent in Shenandoah Ridge.
Dwelling units in the projects are 137 for Shenandoah, and 365 for Zinfandel, where they moved things around, deleted some lots, added others, and moved roads. At Zinfandel, he said “about 6 more lots could go away upon expansion of the sewer reservoir,” making it about 359 equivalent dwelling units in Zinfandel, and 496 total units in both developments.
Reeder said the plan is to tie the projects into the city’s water and sewer system. A copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Report is available at Plymouth City Hall.
Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Ione to consider options for wastewater treatment plant
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Ione City Council today (November 16th) could discuss the next steps in its wastewater treatment plant.
The Regional Water Quality Control Board in a letter November 4th called for a “Wastewater Master Plan” that will prevent “seepage discharges to surface water,” and said the city’s “Report of a Waste Discharge” at the facility remained incomplete, stemming from a 2003 Cease & Desist order at the wastewater treatment plant.
City Manager Kim Kerr said they “don’t necessarily agree,” and city staff is “looking at not building Pond 8 at all.” She said that proposal has not yet been considered by the Ione City Council, but that could be part of discussion tonight.
Kerr said one solution to problems with proposed Pond 8 would be to reduce the size of the project from 800,000 gallons a day to 500,000 gallons a day. That “would reduce the need for Pond 8, so potentially Pond 8 would be eliminated,” she said.
Kerr said the seepage remained an issue of contention. The water has been tested and it was “inconclusive as to whether it comes from a treatment plant or not.” She said city staff will propose an “isotope test” to “see if it is effluent or if it is ground water.”
She said “that will answer the question whether we have a seepage problem or not.” Any studies so far have been inconclusive, because they are not showing that it’s treated effluent from the wastewater treatment plant. She said people are making assumptions, but the city also can’t be 100 percent sure it’s not seepage from the plant.
She said if the city “did nothing on our project, we would still have to deal with the seepage issue.”
The state believes it is seeping effluent, based on visits to the site in 2003 and 2005, when visual dampness was seen at the creek bank, and it was called a seepage of treated effluent. Kerr said since then, after repair, it has not been seen to be damp.
Kerr said studies done on samples from that damp area have proven to be inconclusive to the city, though the Regional Board refers to it as seepage.
Kerr said they need the isotope study to give the state a conclusive answer to the seepage question. The isotope study should be done in about 4-6 weeks, in the time it takes to get the samples take and tested and right the report.
She said if the seepage were proven, the city would have to get a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, which would increase requirements, such as monitoring, and it “opens the city to Clean Water Act violations.”
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Amador County – The Amador County Waste Management Department announced Monday a new free Green Waste Recycling Program to correspond with America Recycles Day.
The new local program begins December 1st, 2010 and continues throughout the next year.
Amador Solid Waste Program Manager Jim McHargue said in an announcement that green waste “consists of yard trimmings, tree pruning, lawn clippings, pine needles, leaves, weeds, brush, limbs” and other similar trimmings.
The program is not open to business or commercially-generated waste products – only private citizens.
McHargue said recycling green waste is a far better alternative than burning, which is unclean and sometimes unsafe. He said participation in this program will reduce smoke from burning and help to reduce landfill space.
A standard “pickup size” load can be brought in any vehicle, but it must not exceed the amount of material that would normally fit in the bed of a pickup truck.
In order to participate, get your “Green Back” recycling voucher to begin recycling by visiting the Waste Management Department in Jackson, the Air District office in Martell, ACES Waste Services in Pine Grove, or Vicini Brothers in Plymouth. For more information, please call the Waste Management Department at (209) 223-6429.
America Recycles Day, which also took place Monday, is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled products.
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Foothill Charter School petitions ACUSD to open in Jackson
Written by Tom
Amador County – Proponents of the Foothill Charter School submitted a petition to form the school last Wednesday to the Amador County Unified School District board of directors, with one potential location being the former Safeway building on Highway 49 and 88 in Jackson.
Ramona Longero, president of Foothill Charter School, said she submitted a petition with more than 70 signatures of parents of children of eligible age to attend the proposed school. She also submitted a support document that was signed by other members of the community who do not have school-aged children, but wanted to support the charter school.
Longero said the petition was placed on an agenda for an open public hearing on December 10, as it was required to be heard within 30 days of the filing of the petition. She said the time of the meeting is yet to be determined, but the school board had initially tried to set it for 9 a.m. Longero said she was worried that it would not allow people interested in attending to be able to make a daytime meeting, and she preferred the hearing be held at night, as are the school board meetings.
Foothill Charter School submitted the petition to the school board Wednesday, November 10th and the public hearing was set for Friday, December 10th at the Jackson Civic Center. The hearing will allow public comments, including concerns or issues.
Longero said they would “take closer look at the budget than anything else,” and the company will have a financial consultant, Delta Services, attend and answer questions.
Locations considered ideal for the school were Upcountry and Ridge Road areas, but the former Safeway seemed like a good central location for people coming from Upcountry, Ione, Mokelumne Hill, or other areas. She said Safeway was really interested in subleasing to the school, and realized there are needs in the community.
The Foothill Charter School petition proposes to have seven grades in its first year, from kindergarten up to sixth grade. Longero said it would have a limit of 20 children per class, and one class per grade, and could serve up to 140 children. She said subsequent years at the school would add another grade annually, until it reached K-12 status.
The school has a goal of opening in Fall of 2011.
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