News Archive (6192)
Amador County – The Ione City Council held a special workshop on paying city fire department personnel last week, and directed staff to implement an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. paid shift that will give daytime coverage 7 days a week. City Manager Kim Kerr said she received board direction at the meeting Monday (April 12th) to keep moving forward with a salary and benefits package, which she will try to bring to the council for its May 4th meeting. Kerr said effective June 1, Ione will have an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. day shift, Sunday through Saturday, for paid firefighter coverage. Kerr said it will include a stipend for the firefighters, who will be able to work and see if they like the shifts, and it will give the city 8-5 coverage 7 days a week. She said they must work the 8-5 shift, and will be paid for 8-hour days. Staff is also working to finalize a retirement package for the firefighters. For staffing, they will be bringing in fire engineers, so they can operate the machinery. The jobs will be 40 hours a week, and shifts will overlap so that they will have 2 people working on Sundays. The council and staff were not sure about nighttime coverage, and Kerr said they “may institute a sleeper” position. The Ione Fire Department already has nighttime coverage, with captains and above always on duty and always within a 5-mile radius. The Ione department now pays stipends to firefighters ranked captains and above, who are on duty 24 hours within 5 miles of town. Captains and above get paid a monthly stipend. 3 council members attended last Monday’s meeting and in a consensus gave Kerr direction to work on the salary and benefits package. Kerr said she hopes to bring the salaries and benefits to the city council for its May 4th meeting. About 10 people attended the meeting, including board members of the Jackson Valley Fire District, who were looking to see what Ione is doing, as they decide what they will do. Fire Chief Ken Mackey and Kerr presented information to the council. Ione has received more than $210,000 for the past year from the statewide Proposition 172 and the county-wide Measure M, both ½-cent sales taxes. Kerr was “not recommending 100 percent staffing or spending 100 percent of the revenues” due to volatility in sales tax. Ione Fire staff includes a Fire Chief, an Assistant Fire Chief, 7 Captains, and 26 fire fighters/engineers, plus support staff. 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 Amador Regional Transit System board of directors this week will consider a report from its assistant transit manager that ARTS is eligible for a loan of approximately $275,000 from funds set aside for pedestrian and bicycle programs. Assistant transit manager Joyce Jones in a report to the ARTS board last week said “we have received confirmation” that the Amador County Transportation Commission “is allowed to loan or reallocate the pedestrian/bicycle set-aside fund to ARTS.” After the resignation of the ARTS transit manager, Jones met with the ARTS board of directors finance committee and board Chairman Greg Baldwin “to discuss transition issues and prepare a plan to maintain stability in our transit operations.” The letter said “ACTC has agreed to pass all Local Transportation Funds to ARTS for April,” and “will reconsider if this action is needed in May.” Jones said she is working with CPA Hal Weber “to establish a program to track current cash balance and flow, enabling ARTS to more accurately report revenues and expenditures, and give a clearer picture” of the system’s “financial state.” ARTS was also “directed to temporarily cease work on all contracts until further notice,” and 2 trolleys were replaced with “regular style buses,” due to extra costs of the trolleys. Jones will review “cost-saving route adjustments,” with the help of Gordon Shaw, with findings to be given to the board for approval. The budget committee and Baldwin also authorized ACTC Executive Director Charles Field to prepare a “request for qualifications for an ARTS interim transit manager consultant.” The request was circulated to potential consultants Thursday, with replies due April 30th. Jones said the chairman should appoint a selection committee to review replies and conduct interviews the week of May 3rd to 7th, so the board “may decide whether or not to hire an interim transit management consultant and at what cost.” If hired, the consultant would “assist in reviewing budget detail, staff and assignments and recommend cuts and/or adjustments.” Jones said the assistant manager or consultant would “clarify, finalize, and execute all contracts with legal consultation.” The transition and stabilization list included having the ARTS finance committee and the assistant manager “discuss Mobility Management’s role in assisting ARTS staff.” Part of the consultant’s job description was to “conduct a thorough review of ARTS present operations including the staff, their functions, the ARTS budget, transit routes, transit needs, state and federal requirements” and “available grants.” He or she would also “advise the ARTS board regarding changes that can improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase revenues.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 19 April 2010 01:40
• Jackson City Officials Look to Clean It, Green It for Earth Day in Detert Park Festival
Written by Tom
Amador County – The city of Jackson plans a “Clean It & Green It” event Saturday (April 24th) at Detert Park in downtown Jackson. Jackson City Manager Mike Daly and the city council bring back the annual Earth Day event to encourage citizens to help clean the city park in a fun environment. Daly said last week that the Earth Day Clean It & Green It Celebration “promises to be a fun-filled day at Detert Park for the whole family.” The “Clean It” portion of the event is the city of Jackson’s annual litter clean-up from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Daly said the “litter clean-up day has been an annual event in Jackson and is intended to serve as a spring clean-up for the entire city.” The event, formerly known as the “Clean Our Green”, invites volunteers to participate in the clean-up, although “all the spots in the previously announced Disney Give a Day, Get a Day promotion are full.” Daly said the “Green It” portion of the fair is a celebration of Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He said many community organizations will be participating in the “Green It” fair with demonstrations, special projects, and other activities intended to increase awareness of positive “earth-friendly” habits, recycling and energy use. He said the theme of the entire event is intended to compliment Earth Day activities throughout the world. Also, an “E-waste Collection Event” will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the old Prospect Motors lot directly across the street from Detert Park on Highway 49 and 88. It is billed as a “safe and environmentally friendly way to recycle all of your old electronics with 100 percent of all donations benefiting the Argonaut High School Science Club.” Items that will be accepted include TVs, monitors, computers, computer peripherals, cell phones, printers, copiers, fax machines, audio-video equipment and microwaves. All are invited, and encouraged to “bring a picnic and enjoy a unique and pleasant day at Detert Park celebrating Earth Day.” Music will be provided by a band that has local roots and is on the verge of becoming white hot: Hero’s Last Mission. HLM, as they are known, has been touring the western United States and has a huge following on Myspace. The primary organizers of this first-of-its-kind event include the city of Jackson, Bank of Amador, Amador Mobility Management, Farms of Amador, Amador Community Foundation, Argonaut High School Science Club and the Amador County Waste Management and Recycling Department. TSPN TV News staff. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 19 April 2010 01:42
El Dorado Irrigation District Considers Swap of Parcels at Silver Lake
Written by Tom
Amador County – The El Dorado Irrigation District board of directors will host a public hearing today to consider approval of a land swap with the U.S. Forest Service involving parcels around Silver Lake in Amador County, as well as parcels in El Dorado and Alpine counties. El Dorado Irrigation District announced earlier this month that its board will be considering a “Land Exchange Project” at a regular meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. today (Monday, April 26th) at the EID customer services building, 2890 Mosquito Road, in Placerville. The land exchange involves 7 federal land parcels that would be acquired by EIR and 7 EID land parcels that would be acquired by the U.S. Forest Service. A public notice prepared by Dan Corcoran of EID said that all of the federal parcels are within El Dorado County and the El Dorado National Forest. The non-federal lands owned by EID that would be acquired by the forest service “consist of 7 parcels above 7,000 feet in elevation along the Highway 88 corridor.” Corcoran’s notice said “4 of the parcels are located around Silver Lake within El Dorado County and Amador County and the remaining 3 are situated around Caples Lake within Alpine County.” The involved parcels in El Dorado County include portions of the old Sno-Park parcel and Oyster Creek parcel. The notice said the parcels within Amador County include the remaining portions of the Oyster Creek and Sno-Park parcels, and the Silver Lake Campground East and Silver Shoreline parcels. The Alpine County parcels include Emigrant Cove, Caples Lake and Wood Creek parcels. The federal land parcels include the Silver Lake Campground West, Reservoir A, Moose Hall Reservoir, Bullion Bend, Pinecone North, Jenkinson B and Hazel Valley parcels. The notice for the public hearing said that in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the forest service “prepared a finding of no significant impact for the land exchange based on the results of an Environmental Assessment.” The notice also said that the El Dorado Irrigation District believes that the forest service finding meets the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. The public hearing is 10 a.m. today (Monday, April 26th) at the EID customer services building, 2890 Mosquito Road, in Placerville. For information, call (530) 642-0482, or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. TSPN TV News staff This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency on Thursday voted to tack on interest to an existing internal loan to the Central Amador Water Project, looking to fix past board mistakes. President Bill Condrashoff figured loss of funds to be as much as $87,000 in an internal loan of $800,000 to CAWP, from Amador Water System. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said the board “agreed to use an average historic interest rate of earning applied to each of the last 5 years that money was utilized.” For the future, he said the agency would base CAWP’s rates on the LAIF index (or a minimum of 2 percent) over 30 years. Finance Manager Mike Lee showed the board past unpaid balance over the last 5 years, and investment rates then in effect, to estimate a $55,185 loss in potential interest, Mancebo said. The CAWP system “kind of went in the hole for the last few years,” and “in a way, it was using money that was some other district’s” money, he said. The “board recognizes there should be some interest earnings for those systems,” and some “interest might have occurred, had this money been invested someplace.” The board needed to do something that was fair and reasonable, and agreed variable rates were fair and reasonable. Lee said CAWP has had a deficit since 2007-2008. The board voted to approve a variable interest rate on the CAWP loan, based on 4 indexes averaged over the last 5 years. Directors Terence Moore, Don Cooper and Gary Thomas initially were against raising the rate above the current 1 percent. Condrashoff wanted to look at potential losses from investments foregone by AWS because of the loans. Cooper said he was bothered that the board could “go back and slap ratepayers for something the previous board decided.” Vice President Debbie Dunn asked if Cooper meant to set a “precedent” of ignoring past board actions. Cooper said he meant it only “in this particular case.” Moore and Cooper later suggested increasing the loan rate to 3 percent, and Dunn urged a higher percentage. Moore said “we’re taking the heat now because we’re admitting we can’t do this.” He said AWA “has been stealing funds from AWS to subsidize CAWP and other systems.” Jackson Councilman Keith Sweet said the Jackson City Council is “extremely concerned over the situation” and “alarmed you were making loans at zero percent interest.” Moore said: “We’ve already spent the money – it’s gone.” He said the agency needed to find a fair percentage rate and go back and charge the districts, or start now with higher internal loan interest rates. Sweet said raising percentages “will only make it harder to pay,” but Jackson is “strongly supportive of the effort to memorialize loans and recover lost costs.” 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 Kennedy Mine Foundation is looking to improve on last year’s inaugural Pioneer Day for 5th grade student, when more than 200 youths took part in the festivities. The foundation is seeking volunteers to help in the 2010 Pioneer Days, set for Thursday, May 13th. Dennis Price, School Tour Manager, requested Kennedy Mine Volunteers to mark the date for the second Pioneer Day at The Kennedy Gold Mine. Dennis Price said: “We are very hopeful some the community will help us make this year's event a success.” He said they “especially need help assisting presenters as we move 350-400 kids through the activities.” They are “also very interested in those who may want to present or demonstrate activities from our rich historic past.” Those unable to attend the event were asked to help the foundation “connect with the numerous ethnic and religious groups with deep historic roots in our county, as well as mining, logging and ranch families, the Native American community and anyone who would enjoy sharing early California history with Amador County 5th grade students.” The May 2009 Pioneer Day was attended by nearly 250 5th grade students. The students, along with teachers, began the adventure by gathering at the Kennedy Amphitheater for instructions and entertainment. They divided into smaller groups to experience, candle dipping, button whizzer making, yarn doll making, rope making, and plowing with youngsters pulling the plow. They saw cowboy skills and learned to throw a lasso. A logging demo showed how to debark a log and handle a two man saw. They saw yarn making with a drop spindle and story telling. They played an Indian game with the help of volunteers from the Indian Grinding Rock State Park. Patty Reid led doll making and there was a blacksmithing demonstration. They visited a working blacksmith shop, watched the Kit Carson Mountain Men organization, where they could throw an axe. They hobnobbed with the Mormon Battalion, and Company “C” Civil War presenters, led by Jim McGuirk Company C later being treated to two very loud cannon shots by that group. There was a chance to visit a traditional store to purchase memorabilia and watched the start of a Pony Express mail ride. The Kennedy Mine Foundation is dedicated to educating youths “in understanding what came before them and what molded the world, as they now know it.” For information, call Dennis Price at 296-3106 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view 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 – A little girl that inspired the community with her courage has passed away. Khylee Monson, age 5, of Pioneer, passed away Wednesday after a 10-month battle with terminal cancer. Friends of the family said there are plans for a Celebration of Life to be held in Khylee’s memory. Details for the Celebration are still pending. Khylee was diagnosed June 11th, 2009, with a terminal brain tumor, and suffered from one of the rarest brain tumors in children. The diagnosis has no survival rate. Khylee was given 9 months to live even with radiation and chemotherapy treatment. She died Wednesday afternoon, April 14th, 2010, at age 5. There will be a Celebration of Life to be announced soon. A Yahoo group, “For Khylee’s Sake,” was formed as a fundraising and support group to raise money for her family to help pay for the treatment. The Khylee Fundraising Group on the website “Just One Dollar” reported recently that it has raised more than $12,000 in donations from canisters around Amador County and online. The dinner last August raised more than $14,500. Coworkers of Khylee’s mother, Jackie, at Volcano Communications “generously donated over $15,000 to her family.” Khylee began to feel sick in the spring of 2009 and was diagnosed in June 2009 with pontine glioma, a rare form of brain tumor. After her diagnosis, Khylee underwent intense medical procedures, including six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. The treatments slowed the tumor but did not stop it. “For Khylee’s Sake” was created by Jennifer Wilson, a Monson family friend, whose daughter is friends with Khylee. Friends at Khylee’s Sake website expressed prayers and thoughts for the family, including big sister, Bailee. Wilson suggested donations to the bank account at Bank of Amador for the family. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 16 April 2010 02:00
Amador Public Health Finds 2 Non-Contagious TB Cases in School
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Public Health announced Wednesday that it had found 2 non-contagious cases of tuberculosis at the school, and will conduct more tests in May. Public Health, in cooperation with Amador County Unified School District administrators, has completed the first round of tuberculosis (TB) screening. As of Wednesday, 2 individuals among the student and staff had a positive TB skin test. Dr. Bob Hartmann, Amador County Health Officer said he wanted “to assure students and staff that these individuals with a positive TB skin test are not contagious. They have the inactive form of the germ and cannot spread the TB germ to anyone else.” Hartmann said: “These two individuals with a positive skin test are in good health and are not a health risk to other students, staff, family members, and friends.” This round of testing found that 2.7 percent of the people tested had a positive TB skin test, indicating that they were infected with the TB germ at some time in their life. Lori Jagoda, Amador County Public Health Communicable Disease Coordinator, said: “We would normally expect about 3 percent of our community to have a positive TB skin test.” Because there is an 8 to 10 week incubation window for TB infection, Public Health will be conducting a follow-up round of testing with each student or staff member that tested negative in this round. The second round of testing will begin during the week of May 17th. This will assure that anyone who may have been infected from the original case will be identified. If a student or staff member is negative during the first and the second round of testing, then they are not infected with the TB germ. If they are positive at second TB skin test read, Amador County Public Health will evaluate further and proceed to the appropriate treatment. Hartmann said: “I sincerely appreciate the cooperation that the school district administration, parents, students, and staff have given Public Health during the TB investigation.” As a reminder, it is important to recognize that there is a difference between TB infection and TB disease. People with TB infection without disease have the TB germ in their body, but are not sick because the germ is inactive. They cannot spread the germ to others. People with TB disease are sick from the germs that are active in their body. They may cough a lot, feel weak, have a fever, lose weight, cough up blood, or sweat a lot at night. Those with TB disease may transmit the infection to others. For information, call Public Health at (209) 223-6407, or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 14 April 2010 18:00
ARTS Grounds Earth Day Event, Trolleys, Looks At budget
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System announced Wednesday that it will operate its business as usual as a committee works to resolve a projected budget deficit. ARTS Board Chairman Greg Baldwin said in a release that an ad hoc committee will be working on the transit system’s budget deficit for fiscal year 2009-2010. Baldwin said Assistant Manager Joyce Jones will be interim ARTS transit manager, until a replacement is found for former Transit Manager James Means, who resigned April 6th. Baldwin said ARTS will maintain normal service while the budget work continues. Communications consultant Terry Grillo said in a release Wednesday that “minor adjustments to essential services have been ordered” by Baldwin, “including a halt to the bicycle raffle and other Earth Day activities planned by Amador Regional Transit’s Mobility Management wing.” Grillo said the newly acquired ARTS “trolleys will be temporarily removed from service while costs to operate them are analyzed.” The trolleys operate on a dual fuel system, with tanks that hold both diesel fuel and compressed natural gas. The transit department must drive the trolleys to Rancho Cordova for compressed natural gas fueling, because it has the closest station. ARTS buses will continue to serve the trolley’s Jackson-Martell-Sutter Creek routes until further notice. Amador Regional Transit’s fiscal year ends on June 30th. The ARTS board of directors on March 17th granted past Transit Manager Means a 1-month extension on a budget update, and assigned a budget committee of board members to work with Means on possible changes to help balance the transit budget. The committee at the time was made up of District 1 Supervisor John Plasse and Sutter Creek City Councilman Pat Crosby. Baldwin said the transit system’s “financial difficulties are not unique to Amador County.” He said “sales tax is the primary method for funding public transit service under state law,” and sales tax is down statewide, and is down more than 25 percent in Amador County over the past 2 years. Baldwin said he was confident that ARTS “will survive this current budgetary setback and will continue to improve service to the public and to transit-dependent riders in the coming months.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 14 April 2010 18:00
Ione Policeman Collars Dune Buggy Driver Off Road, Foot Pursuit
Written by Tom
Amador County – An Ione man was apprehended by authorities while attempting to make an off-road escape in an illegal dune buggy when his vehicle conked out while he was trying to take the vehicle off-road Tuesday night. Ione Police Department Sergeant Rocky Harpham said the incident began at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, when Ione Officer Joshua Long “attempted a traffic stop near Ione Shopping Center on an unregistered dune buggy that was being operated on public streets illegally.” The vehicle is illegal because it was not fully equipped with safety items such as lights and mirrors. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as 39-year-old Timothy Nichols of Ione, refused to stop for the officer, Harpham said. “Nichols attempted to speed away and led police on a pursuit down Main Street” in Ione, “then out Highway 124 to the railroad tracks near Howard Park.” Harpham said “Nichols attempted to lose Officer Long by going off-road in his buggy along the railroad tracks but the buggy’s engine died.” Nichols then “feigned compliance with the police” before he “fled on foot into the woods.” Harpham said Long pursued the fleeing suspect and eventually placed him into custody without incident. Nichols was then booked into jail and his dune buggy impounded. Nichols was booked on charges of evading police and resisting arrest. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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