News Archive (6192)
Amador County – About 42 former local football players will take to the Calaveras High football turf next weekend for an Alumni “Big Game” featuring former players from Amador and Argonaut high schools. With the help of the company California Alumni Football, two teams will face each other, with alumni from Amador, Argonaut and Independence high schools, and they are set to play at 8 p.m. Saturday, September 25th at the Calaveras High School football stadium. Alumni squads from Calaveras and Bret Harte high schools will also compete in an alumni “top rivals” game, in which the company helps to arrange contests between alumni from old, staunch high schools rivalries. Calaveras and Bret Harte will play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, September 25th, before the Amador-Argonaut game. The Alumni Football USA website also listed a Bret Harte-Linden alumni game is set for some time in October, with the date yet to be set. As of Monday, Argonaut had 18 players signed up, with players from the class of 2010 to as far back as 1998. One Independence High player was also signed up, along with 24 alumni from Amador High School, from 2010 classes, to as far back as 1994. The Thundering Herd squad includes four players from the class of 1997. Alumni Football USA supplies the infrastructure for the full contact alumni football game, including pads and helmets, referees, announcers and other personnel, to help the game run smoothly. Teams are limited to 45 players, and the game will have 12-minute quarters, unless there are more than 40 players signed up on both teams, in which case they would play 15-minute quarters. Alumni Football USA is made up of football coaches and past players who “still love the game” and “have found that many young adults miss this game and want the opportunity to play at least one more time.” Founder and president Bob Cazet lives in Santa Rosa. Tracy Cavender, Teams Coordinator said “every game is different, but almost all games are serious, competitive, and hard hitting.” The game is played “at your own risk, and the company recommends getting checked out by a doctor before playing, and also not playing without health insurance. The company provides required liability insurance for schools and their facility, but does not provide health insurance. Players can sign up online, and look at a posting of the list of players who have already signed up for the Amador-Argonaut game. Players can sign up and get information at http://calaverasfootball.eventbrite.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Tuesday, 14 September 2010 06:53
Councilman criticizes Plymouth’s General Plan, as the city writes up its traffic plan
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week approved more work to finalize a traffic improvement plan for the city, based on what Councilman Jon Colburn called a flawed General Plan. Colburn said the “Sphere of Influence” in the general plan was supposed to contain land the city would annex in the future. City Manager Dixon Flynn said maybe the city “did too much future planning,” but they still need the traffic improvement plan. Flynn said: “If we try to develop a perfect plan, we’ll never have one.” Colburn said “we spent $140,000 on a plan based on flawed information.” Amador County Transportation Commission planner Neil Peacock said “they are both living documents” and “in an ideal world, you change this circulation plan every time you change your general plan.” He said they need one in place first. Peacock said he is “really at a disadvantage to comment” on the city general plan, but city consultant Richard Prima found realistic barriers to annexation in the sphere of influence, such as Williamson Act farmland, and 50-year easements given for agricultural land. He said the city first needs to decide where it needs to develop traffic improvements. He said some “traffic calming” turn lanes in the plan may not be needed in 50 years, but big projects need proper access. That included locating the access for Far Horizons trailer village off of Highway 49. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin said Far Horizons owner Chuck Hays was aware of that future need, and he was OK with it. Councilman Mike O’Meara said “the plan helps us move faster to get funding from Caltrans,” and he voted with Baldwin and Mayor Pat Fordyce to approve $5,000 left in the project budget to finalize the nexus and ordinance. Peacock said Caltrans District 10, leading the way on Highway 49 development, said the “level of service” grade Caltrans wants on Highway 49 is typically a “C” or a “D.” Caltrans said as long as the city preserves a right-of-way for the future expansion to four lanes on the roadway, the plan would be allowed to move forward. Peacock said that way, the “locals can be in the driver’s seat” and control the design, like they are doing in Pine Grove. The plan recommended roundabouts (or signal controls) at the Zinfandel development entrance; at 49 & Main; and at Empire Street in Plymouth. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Jackson City Council announced Monday it plans to employ an “android” to take reports of complaints such as graffiti or service problems. City Manager Mike Daly announced that the city will use new “iPhone Android” application technology, which “Jackson residents can use for reporting graffiti, potholes, water leaks or any other service request of the city of Jackson.” Daly announced the idea in an e-mail before the council meeting Monday. Daly said: “For those of us with GoPhones or other cell phone technology, we’ll still have to report these things the old fashioned way, but it does provide a useful tool for those with this technology in hand.” Daly in the release said Mayor Connie Gonsalves planned to unveil the “myJackson” iPhone application at Monday’s city council meeting. Gonsalves in the e-mail said the “application will allow residents with iPhones to point, click and send photos of potholes, graffiti, water leaks, illegal dumping” and other concerns that require city services. The “myJackson” application allows them to send the information directly to city staff. The mayor said the “application will capture all data including photos” and send it “electronically to a database as well as alert the resident of the job’s completion if desired.” iPhone users may download the “myJackson” application for free from the “iPhone App Store” by searching with the keyword “myJackson” or finding the “Google Android” phones at the Android App store. Gonsalves said once installed, users will simply open the application and follow the prompts to take a picture of the problem and then tap “submit.” With a “built-in global positioning system technology, the application will attach a location to the picture and send the complaint to the city.” She said the “program will give many residents a new and more efficient way to tell us about service needs as well as assist our law enforcement in monitoring vandalism.” She said by making the complaint process easier, the city will address neighborhood issues as fast as possible. The “myJackson” application was created by App-Order.com and provided to the city free of charge. App-Order.com specializes in creating innovative custom iPhone and Android applications to make local governments more efficient. App-Order.com general manager Barry Steinhart said that the company has “more than 200,000 applications already available and downloaded every day.” He said smart phones “make life simpler, and that is exactly what the myJackson application will do.” Edited by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Tuesday, 14 September 2010 06:57
Plymouth OKs funding to write up a traffic improvement program
Written by Tom
Amador County – Plymouth City Council last week heard about its Circulation Improvement Program and approved a final $5,000 to finish writing up a program plan. Amador County Transportation Commission planner and program manager Neil Peacock gave a progress report on ACTC’s work with city staff to develop the Circulation Improvement Program, based on the city General Plan and Environmental Impact Report. He said ACTC has spent $40,000 in matching funds and another $90,000 in funding from the California Department of Transportation to make the program study. Peacock said the project has two goals. One is to “plan for improvements that can adequately accommodate the transportation demands of new development anticipated in the Plymouth area in a way that reflects its rural character.” The second goal is “to accurately estimate the likely cost of these improvements and to identify reasonably foreseeable funding sources which can ensure that they are constructed.” The program looked at a 20-year build-out in the general plan of 1,734 residential units; and a final general plan build-out of 3,405 residential units. The program recommended three intersections to have either roundabouts or signal lights. Peacock said they had $5,000 left of the funding, with which the city could either fund further revisions, or fund relevant city implementation documents, which the city will need to draft and adopt. He said city consultant Richard Prima told him creating the documents would take less than $5,000. Councilman Jon Colburn called the study “flawed because the general plan is flawed.” He said “nobody in this room” believes the city will have a build-out to 3,400 homes by 2025. He said there are 415 homes in Plymouth now. Peacock said they are “intended to be living programs that you can change as you go.” Colburn said the program “should have a more realistic idea of what the population will be in 2025. He said if they have half the development, they would have half the money to pay for the road improvements in the new plan. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin said development in Amador County “is not going to slow down.” He said “it is easier to get money form Caltrans if you have a plan,” and “that’s why they gave (the city) a grant.” City Manager Dixon Flynn said they can amend the general plan four times a year. The other council members, Mayor Pat Fordyce, Councilman Mike Omeara and Baldwin voted to approve spending the $5,000 toward writing up the plan. Colburn voted against it. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week approved a fire protection services agreement contract with the Amador Fire Protection District, pending some minor adjustments. The council voted Thursday to authorize City Manager Dixon Flynn to negotiate a few minor details and then sign the contract with AFPD. The contract will be for 10 years, and replaces a three-month contract extension that expires at the end of September. City Clerk Gloria Stoddard said AFPD Chief Jim McCart was told to get a contract over to Plymouth as soon as he can, and Flynn was given the authority to negotiate and sign it. Among the items, Plymouth City Council asked for McCart to find out if the AFPD board of directors would allow Plymouth to have the option whether to be part of a fire Community Facilities District, rather than being required to be a member. Flynn said during a break at Thursday’s meeting that the city needed to get a contract finalized with AFPD, and they had been talking about it for two years. Flynn said he was going to recommend the council ask for a five-year contract term that would be renewable every five years, over a 20-year period. The council instead went with AFPD’s request for a 10-year contract term. Flynn also said he would also want AFPD to work with Plymouth toward getting its own fire department. In council member reports, Vice Mayor Greg, chairman of the Amador County Transportation Commission, said he and staff and a selection committee next week will be looking at 15 applications they had received for people seeking to be the new Amador Regional Transportation System manager. Baldwin said once the new ARTS manager is selected and hired, the new manager will help hire a Mobility Management manager. Flynn reported that the Lodge Hill community center had some windows shot out. They were replaced at a cost of $233. Mayor Pat Fordyce led Amador County Recreation Agency board members on a tour of the newly remodeled ground floor of Lodge Hill. She said they were impressed with the project, which used Proposition 40 funds. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 13 September 2010 07:20
AWA seeks $1.2M in Prop 84 funding for Camanche tank repair
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors on Thursday agreed to reduce the number of projects it will seek Proposition 84 funding, but planned to seek the same amount, totaling $1.2 million. Acting on the recommendation of General Manager Gene Mancebo, the board decided to increase the amount of funding sought to expand a leak testing and repair project in the Amador Water System, and a “tank rehabilitation and lateral replacement” project at Lake Camanche Water District. The board unanimously made the change, and removed a grant request for $350,000 for the Gravity Supply Line project. The grants are sought through the regional Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority, whose Executive Officer Rob Alcott told Mancebo that larger projects were preferred because they reduce the amount of application work spent on smaller projects. Alcott suggested reducing the number of projects and keeping funding the same. The board authorized Mancebo to write a letter saying AWA planned to fund the matching grants, seeking $394,000 for leak testing and repair; and $790,000 for a project at Camanche. Mancebo said “for that kind of money you could almost get a brand new tank up there.” He said the leak testing could be done anywhere, not just AWS, and at Camanche, almost every tank in that system leaks because they are made of redwood. The board decided not to seek a grant for the GSL, freeing up $350,000. They divided that, to seek $100,000 for leak testing, and $250,000 for Camanche. Director Gary Thomas said “that is more than generous.” Mancebo said they are conducting an income survey in the Camanche district to try to get the area to qualify as a “disadvantaged community,” requiring no match. President Bill Condrashoff said the “hope on Camanche is that it will be 100 percent funded.” He said the 25 percent match on leak testing funds was too good to pass up, urging they keep the project. Director Terence Moore agreed, saying they started the Upper Moke authority, the “focus was on leak detection.” He said he would like to see it expanded and get even more money, taking funds from the GSL application. Moore said: “I don’t think a $350,000 grant for the GSL is going to make or break it.” The AWA estimates the Gravity Supply Line project would cost $13.9 million, and is working to get a USDA grant of $5.1 million, and a long-term USDA loan for $8.5 million to fund the project. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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California – Property values declined by 1.8 percent statewide for the current fiscal year, marking only the second drop since the state began collecting data in 1933. As announced by Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty T. Yee last week, the total value of state-assessed and county-assessed property declined to $4.371 trillion for 2010-11, a drop of $78.2 billion from the previous year. This also marks the second straight year-to-year decline in the statewide total. County-assessed property fell by $81.1 billion to $4.292 trillion, while state-assessed property consisting mostly of private public utilities equaled $79 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion. In total, 48 of California’s 58 counties posted year-to-year declines, with nine of them declining by five percent or more. Most of the decline centered in the Central Valley. The biggest decrease in the state was 11.9 percent in Calaveras County. Despite the news, Amador County Assessor Jim Rooney says our county is doing well compared to figures from most other counties in the state. “Typically we do quite well and show increases of up to 15 percent, and now when things are really down we are starting to show slight decreases,” he said. Amador County’s property values decreased by 3.75 percent over the current fiscal year. Rooney said his office is committed to assessing property at the lower of either fair market value or Proposition 13, a 1978 referendum that capped property-tax increases. The last time there was a downward adjustment to property values was after Prop 13’s passage. Rooney urges property owners to read their assessments carefully and to call his office if they believe their property is being overassessed. “Some people also have concerns over how this will affect county revenues, but I don’t think there should be huge concerns over this slight decrease,” said Rooney. Only two counties – Kern and San Francisco- saw values increase because of oil production. The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected entity that collects more than $48 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – A 14-year-old Ione boy is facing charges for multiple felony infractions for setting off improvised explosive devices on Main Street in Ione last week. He admitted to learning how to make the bombs from the popular website, YouTube. The Ione Policed Department investigated the detonation of home-made bombs on August 31st, after getting a report the next day. Chief Michael Johnson reported the incident, investigation, and arrest in a news release Thursday ( September 9th). Johnson said on Tuesday (August 31st) “the city of Ione was rocked by explosions at the intersection of East Main and South Ione Streets.” The Ione Police Officer on duty at the time was dealing with an unrelated case. The officer was booking a suspect into the Amador County Jail in Jackson, when the reported explosions occurred. Johnson said the “blasts were heard and even partially witnessed by various citizens” at about 5:15 p.m., but the incident was not reported to the police or fire departments until about 10:15 a.m. the following day. Upon responding to the scene on September 1st, IPD “located evidence of homemade bomb materials,” Johnson said. Some of the materials at the scene were classified as hazardous materials, and the scene was secured and contained. Cal Fire was summoned to the scene to assist with evidence collection and handling of the dangerous materials. The investigation soon identified a 14-year-old male juvenile suspect. The suspect admitted that he learned of the bomb-making procedure from the website “YouTube.com.” Johnson said: “It appears that the incident was not an act intending harm, destruction, or intimidation to anyone, but more an exhibition to impress another teenager.” He said the “homemade bombs are characteristic of a recent trend in explosive devices utilizing basic, easy to obtain ingredients: cleaning agent liquids, aluminum foil, and plastic bottles.” Ione Police Department was able to identify the materials at the scene with the help of recent officer training and shared law enforcement intelligence. Johnson said the juvenile is facing three felony charges of California penal code violations. Johnson said the Ione Police Department intends to distribute more information on the trend as a public safety and awareness effort in the upcoming city news letter later this month. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 13 September 2010 07:23
Man arrested for taking pot, weapons onto Mule Creek property
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Ione Police Department reported teaming with the Mule Creek State Prison personnel to arrest a man for taking drugs and weapons onto state prison property Sunday in Ione. Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said the Ione Police Department in cooperation with Mule Creek State Prison “identified, investigated, and arrested 48-year-old Richard Bezemer for bringing drugs and weapons onto state grounds” Sunday, September 5th. Johnson said Mule Creek officers were first alerted to Bezemer as he attempted to enter the visitor facility. Marijuana was subsequently discovered in Bezemer’s possession. Further investigation led officers to Bezemer’s vehicle which was parked on the state grounds. Johnson said “additional containers of marijuana, several knives, and other suspicious prescription medications were removed from (Bezemer’s) vehicle.” Bezemer was placed in custody and booked into the Amador County Jail on felony drug and weapon possession charges. Bezemer’s vehicle was towed and stored after his arrest. Johnson said the incident is an “example of mutual aid enforcement techniques used to combat crime within the city of Ione.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 13 September 2010 07:25
2 arrested at Bottle Shop in Jackson on marijuana charges
Written by Tom
Amador County – Two employees of the Bottle Shop in downtown Jackson were arrested Thursday for sales and possession of marijuana. The arrests were the result of a two-month joint investigation between the Amador County Combined Narcotic Enforcement Team (ACCNET), Jackson Police Department and California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). According to a release from ABC, these three agencies “initiated the investigation due to heightened concern about this location in the community.” John Carr, ABC’s Public Information Officer, says ABC investigators from the Sacramento District and ABC's Grant Assistance Program “went undercover multiple times and were able to purchase marijuana from an employee of the Bottle Shop.” Marijuana purchases were successfully completed on several occasions. As a result, authorities arrested Mandpreet Singh Ghuane and Geoffrey Scott
Maciel for sales of a controlled substance. Both individuals are currently being held at the Amador County Jail. The Bottle Shop will also face an accusation from ABC which will result in a penalty ranging from a fine to a revocation of the license. “There is a license offense and a criminal offense,” says Carr. “We are still determining what penalty will be assessed, and the business owners have the right to challenge those findings.” This is not the first time that the Bottle Shop, located at 45 Main Street, or its owners have been the subject of controversy. Ghuane, along with co-owners of the business, was denied a permit in March that would have allowed the Bottle Shop to move from its current location to the former location of the Biggest Little Kitchen Store at the three-way intersection on North Main Street. The Jackson Planning Commission determined the proposed new location as incompatible with the neighborhood and public safety. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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