News Archive (6192)
About three dozen peace loving citizens of Amador County
turned out for a candlelight vigil Friday evening in Jackson. This vigil is part of the Iraq Moratorium effort, sponsored by a number
of peace seeking groups. The goal of the nationwide movement is to ask that people break
their normal routine on the third Friday of every month and do something to
promote peace.
The Board of Supervisors heard a letter of public convenience this week from MCD Pine Acres resort, as part of an application to sell beer and wine at the newly established Jellystone Park in Pine Grove. The applicant hopes to build a convenience store on site which will make alcohol available to people at the campsite, as well as members of the general public. At the meeting however, planning director Susan Grijalva noted that there were items in the application that gave her some concern. Namely, she wasn’t sure if the convenience store planned conforms to the limitations of the legal nonconforming section of the park’s conditional use permit. Grijalva expressed that she did not wish to mislead the applicant into thinking that the way was clear, when there may be some stumbling blocks down the road in the application process. Grijalva then said that she would research the situation, and report back to the board in two weeks.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation honored two employees at Mule Creek State Prison on Friday, for distinguished service above and beyond the normal demands of correctional service. The awards were presented by CDCR Secretary James Tilton at a ceremony on the West Steps of the State Capitol. Nearly 100 employees received awards, ranging from the Medal of Valor to Unit Citations. The Distinguished Service Medal is for an employee’s exemplary work conduct with the Department for a period of months or years, or involvement in a specific assignment of unusual benefit to the Department.
In the first event, Distinguished Service Medal recipient Michael E. Doud was honored for his service at Mule Creek State Prison. In January 1985, Michael Doud began his career with CDCR as the Vocational Cabinetmaking Instructor at Mule Creek State Prison. He brought 17 years of cabinetmaking experience, a Contractors License, and Union Membership. Mr. 
Doud believes that learning of the cabinetmaking trade is but one aspect of a successful rehabilitative process. The emotional and social requirements of his students are equally important to their successful reintegration into society. The Mule Creek Vocational Cabinetmaking Program students have designed and built approximately 2,000 projects for the local community. The very desk that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger uses was build by Mr. Doud and the inmates in the vocational program. In the second event, Correctional Supervisor of the Year recipient Rhonda Baker was honored for her six years of service at Mule Creek Prison.
The
Plymouth City Council heard from Matthew Franklin, chairman of the Ione Band of
Miwok Indians,
during the public comment portion of their agenda at Thursday’s meeting. Franklin requested a government to government
meeting between the City Council and Tribal Government, and also invited them
to the Tribe’s General Meeting on Saturday, May 10th at the County Fairgrounds.
Across California,
tribes are entering into compacts with the Governor regarding tribal
gaming. As a result, the income
from the casinos is no longer going to the surrounding city but to the state
and the county. Franklin asked “who then is
going to protect Plymouth?
At the capitol we were met with open arms…in Plymouth the tribe has been pushed away
continually.” Gary Colburn, a resident of Plymouth,
reminded the council that in
his opinion they “were elected to represent and protect the citizens of Plymouth, and, with the current situation underway, Plymouth is left
completely unprotected.” Maria Nunez-Simon also commented, saying that
“people are coming in and offering assistance, and the council keeps denying
it” and asked the council “to give respect to the tribe. If the Governor and
Senators are listening, why aren’t you?” Direction was given to staff to bring
back the item as a regularly scheduled agenda item in a future meeting.
Jackson Police helped make a very happy Chinese
New Years Day for a young Chinese exchange student on Thursday. About a week
ago, Wang Hong, 15, one of 11
foreign exchange students staying in Calaveras
County with host families
– had all of her trip money stolen when she left her purse in a restroom
while shopping in Martell.
Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese Year
of the Rat. According to Chinese astrologists, it will be a year of great
intellectual development and introspection, while sharing the bounties of the
harvest with loved ones. Accordingly, Fiddletown Preservation Society is
already reaping the bounty of
a major grant from the California State Library. The California Cultural and
Historical Endowment awarded the Fiddletown group more than $200,000 in
grant monies to help restore the town’s Gold Rush era Chinese general store and
gambling hall. Competition for the state grant money was stiff, but the
Fiddletown site is unique, says Elaine Zorbas, Fiddletown Preservation Society
historian. Chinese
settlers were instrumental in building California,
yet very little remains of their first settlements in the Sierra foothills.
Mixed Reviews on the Program to Revitalize Downtown Jackson
Written by
Jackson’s Downtown Merchants have
mixed reviews on the “new and improved” program to revitalize downtown Jackson. Some merchants
didn’t want to be interviewed yet, preferring to wait and see if the enthusiasm
behind the current push for change on Main
Street will continue, or if it will fizzle out as
in past attempts. Some believe there’s not a problem with Main Street and that there are some
really good businesses downtown. One merchant said constant negative attention
by the media towards downtown just sends out the message that downtown is in
trouble. This same merchant suggested we take a look at vacancies in other
shopping centers.
General Plan Update Maps and Alternative Available for Review
Written by
The county has made available to the public several draft documents
related to the County’s General Plan Update. The County is now entering into
the Land Use and Alternatives segment of the General Plan update process
-- the updated General Plan will set the policy for land use and development
decisions in the county over the next 20-plus years. The Land Use Working
Paper, the Land Use Classification System and Alternatives Workbook, and Map
Packet are available on the General Plan website. Full-size colored maps are also available for review in the
Planning Department office. The Working Paper provides information on current
land uses and general plan land use designations.
