News Archive (6192)
Amador County - The Board of Supervisors last week heard a presentation on what progress has been made towards developing a community college program in Amador County. Amador Community College Foundation Vice-President Richard P. Vinson gave a brief history of development, describing it as “a long and arduous journey.” He said Amador County is only one of two or three counties in California not aligned with a Community College. Efforts to erase that statistic include a generous offer by Sacramento County’s Cosumnes River College, or CRC, to allocate 40 percent of its marketing budget towards advertising and promoting the newly established Amador Learning Center. Vinson called this “quite a generous offer”, considering that Amador County currently has 1 percent of the student population of CRC. That’s roughly 140 students compared to 140,000. Stephen McGloughlin of CRC said “140 students may not seem like an awful lot, but from zero it’s quite an increase.” Officially established last year, the “learning center will establish a formal community college presence in Amador County”, according to the Amador County website. Vinson said the much-needed funding will be used to grow and promote the local community college presence. He said it is essential that they fill classes. Currently, Learning Center classes are being held in temporary classrooms by Independence High and in Sutter Creek. Vinson said the developers behind the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort had made an informal offer to donate 10 to 20 acres for a community college campus. Discussion of that donation is ongoing, as the Gold Rush Resort has not been finalized. Supervisor Richard Forster thanked Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for stepping up with the initial grants to develop a local college, saying “we hadn’t gotten any help or leverage before them.” County Grant Writer and Learning Center Co-developer Renee Chapman said that one of the first questions asked by businesses looking to develop a local presence is whether the County has a community college. The Supervisors took no action but thanked the presenters for their hard work so far. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County - A GMC panel van stolen recently from an Amador County business and used for suspected burglaries was recovered Tuesday. The van was recovered along with a Chevrolet pickup from a Chico air conditioning company on a remote road in the town’s Butte Creek Canyon area. Police suspect that both vehicles were used over the last week to break into an ATM and cart off another in the Chico area. Police said the white panel van was seen at a Shell gas station early Sunday morning, where an automated teller machine was removed from the business after burglars smashed out a plate glass window. Investigators believe the stolen pickup was used by burglars when they smashed their way into Cal Skate on Carmichael Drive in Chico about 11 p.m. on New Year's Day and broke into an ATM there, emptying it of cash. "They used a grinding wheel to get to the money," said police Lieutenant Linda Dye, adding: "It was a very fast job." On Monday, after removing the ATM from the Shell station, police believe the same suspects used the van to haul it up a nearly impassible road known as Old Highway 32, where they used the grinding wheel and other tools to break into the ATM, removing an unknown number of $20 bills. The ATM, the van, the pickup, and several items from the two vehicles were abandoned at the scene. Police said the suspects left the area in a third vehicle, and believe at least four people are involved in the burglaries, based on the effort it took to move and break into the heavy ATM device. Investigators said they have no leads on suspects, but hope to lift fingerprints on some items found in the Butte Creek Canyon area. Similar crimes are suspected of being committed by the stolen vehicle suspect who fled from police Saturday near Plymouth. Staff Report with Alex Lane
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Amador County – Amador is one of 36 counties that are eligible to get part of $10.9 million in funds to improve air quality. The funds, which are about a third of the federal 2008 farm bill, will help farmers and ranchers come into compliance for particulate matter and 8-hour ozone levels. Most of the counties included in the grant are situated along the Central Corridor, a region notorious for heavy smog and consistently low air quality. In a report released last year by the American Lung Association, the organization found that in 32 of 58 counties, residents were being exposed to air pollution at levels considered unhealthy. Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama and Tuolumne counties were some of the places with the unhealthiest air. In March of 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency launched a set of multibillion-dollar smog restrictions it called "the most stringent standards ever." The new, primary eight-hour standard is .075 parts ozone per million and the new secondary standard is set at a form and level identical to the primary standard. The funds will be administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, the USDA agency charged with providing technical and financial conservation assistance to private landowners. Funds will be made available through the popular Environmental Quality Incentives Program that has been operating in California since 1996 and last year provided $54 million in cost share assistance. Ed Burton, State Conservationist of NRCS in California, said that “while we don't know all the details on how the program will be administered, we do hope to augment our strong history of air quality work with new and innovative methods.” Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County – Barely more than two weeks into the 2008/09 season, Kirkwood Mountain Resort is holding true to the resort’s long‐standing “America’s Deepest Snow” moniker. With nearly ten feet of snow in just as many days over last weekend, the resort has seen an incredible transformation in a very short time period. “We have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of winter since those early ‘teaser’ snowfalls of November,” said Tim Cohee, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the resort, “and are incredibly enthusiastic with this recent storm cycle.” This weekend is expected to be clear and sunny, allowing the opportunity for more people to visit the resort, but also meaning slushier snow in the afternoons. Early season storms pummeled the Tahoe Basin, sending snow to several Lake Tahoe resorts. Webcams in various parts around the lake told dramatically different stories over the holidays, as several showed signs of rain while just a handful of others – such as the one at Kirkwood – showed heavy snowfall. “Looking at webcams from around the lake, we don’t have to convince you that what’s happening here is more than just a phenomenon – the difference in the weather Kirkwood receives is reality,” said Cohee. Pass holders and ticket purchasers alike arrived to the mountain in droves to test new equipment and get their bodies ready for the new season. Launching this winter, Kirkwood promises to deliver same day video footage all season. Visitors to the resort’s website, www.kirkwood.com, can view footage recorded each morning by 11:00am to experience the mountain’s conditions. For the latest in snowfall totals, call Kirkwood’s Snowphone at 877.KIRKWOOD. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County – A massive federal infrastructure stimulus package made its way to the Amador Water Agency Thursday morning, at least in discussion. The AWA board and staff discussed fast-tracking a Gravity Supply Pipeline Project to have it ready to qualify for federal stimulus funding in as soon as 3 months. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said that could cost $20,000 to $30,000 to get considered, and $500,000 to $1 Million to qualify. He said the supply line would enhance a pump system that serves customers in the Central Amador Water Project, in upper Amador County. Those members are in Pioneer, Mace Meadow, Rabb Park, Pine Grove, Ranch House and other communities. The system currently pumps water up more than 1,200 feet from the Tiger Creek Afterbay to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. AWA now pays $300,000 annually in electrical costs just to pump water to Buckhorn plant – or about half of the Central Amador Water Project’s annual budget. The gravity supply line could divert water at a higher elevation along the PG&E hydropower system above the Tiger Creek Powerhouse and the pipeline would eliminate pumping costs, which have doubled in the past 15 years. Objectives of the Gravity Supply Pipeline are eliminating dependency on power, improving water quality, providing a renewable raw water supply and reducing operation costs. Abercrombie said the 12-inch pipeline now in use was installed in an emergency during a drought in the 1970s. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said the cost of building the gravity supply line was estimated in-house to cost between $10 Million and $12 Million to build, but the estimated lifetime of the pipeline would be 70 to 100 years. Board Member Don Cooper said he thought the $12 Million cost estimate was questionably low. He also urged more PG&E involvement. Abercrombie said the agency would “sharpen its pencil” on the estimate, which was made with older studies. Chairman Terence Moore said the agency saving all that electricity goes over very well for project support and qualifying for funding. Agency Attorney Steve Kronick said the agency should ask for the entire cost of the project from federal stimulus sources, not just a portion of the cost. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County – State funding freezes have affected several Amador County agencies and projects in the last few weeks, and prompted various political bodies to gather lists of the more fund-able projects. New Amador County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ted Novelli gave a board of supervisors update to the Upcountry Community Council and 15 of its attending board members last Thursday at the Pioneer Veterans Hall on Buckhorn Ridge Road. He said Upcountry’s representation was looking up, with himself and his Planning Commission appointee both taking leadership roles recently in the county government. Denise Tober, Novelli’s appointee in the District 3 was selected by the Planning Commission as its chairwoman. But as talk looms over bailouts and the expected federal infrastructure care package on the horizon, he asked, “Is little Amador County going to get any of this? That is my question to the newly elected administration, President Elect Barack Obama.” Council member Nina Machado, representing Williams Road Tract, asked if any of the money would be earmarked for rural projects. UCC Co-chair Debbie Dunn said the local lobbyist in Washington, D.C., said there is going to be some rural consideration, with the determination yet to be made on the state agencies to distribute funds. Novelli said in the ballpark of $700 Million to $1.5 Billion, “how much does Amador get?” One among 58 counties in the state, Novelli said California is third largest geographically, and Number 2 in forest lands. Dunn said the Fed is “looking for projects ready to go now,” for bridges, pipelines and the like. Novelli said the Amador Water Agency’s Gravity Supply Water Line is one of those projects and something needed in the Upcountry. “We need this water to be gravity-flowed down to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant,” Novelli said. The gravity flow supply line would operate solely on gravity and eliminate the need for electric pumping of water to Buckhorn, erasing half of the annual budget of the Central Amador Water Project. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County - In these tough economic times, organizations that cater to Amador County’s large senior population are feeling the pinch. The Meals on Wheels program, which for the last eight years has served hot meals to seniors with limited or little mobility, has been forced to make some cutbacks. Frozen meals have replaced hot meals on Ione and Pioneer routes. “Frozen meals are not as beneficial because they get harder to prepare as you get older, and there quality is not as good,” said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of Common Ground Senior Services. The non-profit organization has the Meals on Wheels contract for Amador and Calaveras Counties. In addition, “well-being” checks have been cutback to one day a week from there previous five. Thompson said “well-being is an important factor that benefits seniors in these hard economic times.” The reason behind cutting back these routes is a transportation issue. The price of gas is rising, there has been much difficulty in finding drivers and there is no funding available towards buying an additional truck. The trucks used to deliver meals in Jackson, Sutter Creek and Pine Grove are called “hot shot” trucks and have compartments for both hot and cold meals. They run about $40,000 a piece. Despite the cutbacks, Thompson says Amador County’s program is in better shape than neighboring Calaveras County. “Amador County is more of a giving County, as far as people supporting their neighbors,” she said. She said there are reserves in place to help weather the recession, but those funds are dwindling. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County – The Plymouth City Council hired a water and wastewater engineer to help meet state standards Thursday. City Manager Dixon Flynn recommended hiring consultant and engineer Richard C. Prima Jr., and making him Deputy City Manager for Development. The council decided to approve a contract with Prima minus the title of deputy city manager, and made other minor changes. Flynn said Prima was helping the city by training city personnel to handle water and wastewater plant operations on the way to helping the city meet stringent state standards. Flynn said he needed “continued assistance and support” for “complicated engineering and planning issues to come together” – though Flynn said that was not to diminish the work done by the city planner and engineer. Councilman Mike O’Meara asked how the city would pay Prima’s $92 an hour rate. Flynn said the city was due to be reimbursed between $400,000 and $600,000 for work already done on the Plymouth Pipeline Project. He said the USDA was now working on paperwork for the city’s grant funding on the pipeline. Flynn said the city expected a reimbursement check by the end of February, saying “whenever we get the money related to the sewer treatment plant, we will be reimbursed.” Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce said she was against the hiring, calling it fiscally irresponsible, and voted no in a 4-1 passing of the contract to hire Prima. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin asked how much money the city had paid the Amador Water Agency last year and this year in trying to stay up to state standards, but City Finance Director Jeffry Gardner was unable to find the numbers before the vote. Baldwin said he looked “forward to Richard Prima coming on board” and he asked if developers could be asked to help in paying Prima, as they had offered such help in the past. Baldwin asked if developers could be “hard pressed” to help. Flynn said that could be “part of the reimbursement agreement,” used with developers, in bringing the plant up to state standards. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County – One final reminder…residents of Amador County are invited to a rally at noon Saturday to show support for Prospect Motors and to encourage GMAC, the corporation that finances the Jackson dealership, and General Motors to allow the business to continue. Frank Halvorson, owner of the three new car dealerships operated by Prospect Motors, announced in December that he would close because GMAC, formerly known as General Motors Acceptance Corp., decided to halt the lines of credit needed to finance inventory and other parts of the operation. Jamie Lubenko, executive director of Amador Vintners, said in an e-mail that the rally is intended to show support for Prospect Motors in hopes of influencing GM and GMAC and to show support for other businesses in the area affected by the economic downturn. The rally will be in the dealership parking lot, 11361 Prospect Drive, just off Highway 49 near Ridge Road. Staff Report
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