News Archive (6192)
Amador County - Another successful Dandelion Days event brought visitors from far and wide to downtown Jackson last weekend. The 37th annual event has been a longstanding local tradition and a way for local vendors and artists to show off their handiwork. This year’s event included an outdoor bazaar, a ferris wheel, and flea market featuring antiques, relics and collectibles, arts and crafts, and much more. In addition there was plenty of fun, food, street entertainers and even a 5K run. “I’m proud to say I come every year to support our community and I’ll keep coming every year,” said one resident of Sutter Creek. Her 6-year-old daughter was also eager to show off some jewelry she had been given by a local merchant. Dandelion days is also the Jackson Lions Club's largest fundraising effort and benefits student scholarships and community events. 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 - At Tuesday’s meeting, the Sutter Creek City Council discussed the best approach to filling the vacancy left by Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth after his resignation last week. In a letter, Hepworth said, “My doctor has advised me that my health will no longer permit me to keep my commitment to the city council.” He wrote that “It’s no secret that I haven’t been well, and although I had hoped things would get better, I find I can no longer keep up the standard of work that I prefer to do.” Hepworth has been an active member of the community and a city council member since 1998. “We regret to see this resignation after 10 years of service,” said Mayor Gary Wooten. Councilmember Pat Crosby asked to make the resignation effective immediately so the council had more time to appoint a new councilmember. In fact, a public notice had already been drafted seeking letters of application for Hepworth’s term, which expires in November 2010. The notice explains that applicants must be a resident of Sutter Creek, a citizen no less than 18 years of age, and have an interest in the Sutter Creek community. Wooten said jokingly that he was familiar with the appointment process because “I was appointed after the former Mayor was arrested.” The council unanimously approved a motion to appoint someone to fill Hepworth’s remaining term. Letters of application should be submitted to City Hall, 18 Main Street, Sutter Creek, no later than Firday, April 3. Call Sutter Creek City Hall at 209-267-5647 for more details. 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 – Long-time Sutter Creek City Councilman and Mayor Protempore Bill Hepworth submitted a letter of resignation last week, citing health concerns and doctor’s orders that he take it easy. In a letter dated March 8th, to the mayor and co-councilmembers, Hepworth resigned effective immediately, saying: “My doctor has advised me that my health will no longer permit me to keep my commitment to the city council.” He wrote that “It’s no secret that I haven’t been well, and although I had hoped things would get better, I find I can no longer keep up the standard of work that I prefer to do.” He thanked Mayor Gary Wooten and other council members, with whom he “enjoyed serving the community since 1998,” and he wished them success in their “continued efforts to promote, beautify and preserve the city of Sutter Creek.” The city council last night accepted the resignation letter. We’ll have on the information on what was decided in our afternoon news broadcast. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Calaveras County – Three Mountain Ranch residents were killed and two others were injured in a 2-vehicle crash on Mountain Ranch Road in Calaveras County Sunday. The San Andreas Unit of the California Highway Patrol said Kallie Montgomery, 22, was driving a 2002 Chevrolet east on Mountain Ranch Road, west of Michel Road, in a light rain when the vehicle began to hydroplane, allowing her car to spin out of control. CHP said “Montgomery’s car slid into the opposing lane of traffic, directly” into the path of a 2001 Toyota truck, driven by Shenandoah Roberts, 26, also of Mountain Ranch. The front of Roberts’ truck collided with the passenger side of the Chevy. CHP said “3 of the Chevrolet’s occupants subsequently succumbed to their injuries while at the scene.” Dead at the scene were Montgomery, and her passengers, Jeremy Peters, 34, and Skye Montgomery, 17, all of Mountain Ranch. Another of her passengers, Trenton Montgomery, 16, was taken to Mark Twain Hospital, then by helicopter ambulance to Doctor’s Hospital in Modesto, where he was in critical condition early Monday. Roberts was transported to Mark Twain Hospital and treated for injuries ranging from minor to moderate. CHP said Montgomery’s vehicle speed was undetermined at the time o a Monday afternoon report. Roberts was driving at approximately 40 miles per hour. Both vehicles sustained major damage. 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 Thursday rejected a request for more expenses for its Planning consultant, and sent staff to study its agreement with the city planners. City Planner Darcy Goulart said the amendment to the planning department’s budget for General Plan work, including answering public comments, would total $25,000, instead of the original $32,000 listed in the agenda packet. She said the “comment letters are taking more time to answer” than they thought. Councilman Greg Baldwin asked if the letters were from people who lived out-of-town. City Manager Dixon Flynn said “city staff has expressed a concern to me that this (General Plan) probably could have been scaled down.” But he said “at this point, we can’t back up and start over.” Councilman Mike O’meara asked if it was “going to become a bottomless pit.” Baldwin said “it’s time to fire somebody. This is the people’s money.” Flynn said the Environmental Impact Report of the General Plan would include public comment that must be answered and will cost even more money. The council rejected the request for the $25,000 budget change, and asked Flynn to read the contract with Goulart and Development Impact Incorporated of Elk Grove. They also told Flynn to “talk with the city attorney if needed,” and put the issue on the agenda for the next meeting. O’Meara also asked to see how much money the city has spent with the company. 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 head-on collision in the Pioneer area Thursday morning backed up traffic for miles and injured two. According to preliminary reports, a car and a white van collided after one of the vehicles crossed the center line, although it is unclear who is at fault. The van was headed eastbound and the car was headed westbound. The female driver of the car was seriously injured and transported to Mercy San Juan Hospital by helicopter. The male driver of the van was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The collision was strong enough to rip the entire wheel off the front of the car. Police are still investigating. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County -The election office said Thursday that it still has just over 1,400 ballots that could be counted in Tuesday’s election, which could have an impact on some of the tighter local races in Amador County. Debbie Smith, elections supervisor for the Amador elections office, said that 261 provisional votes came back from polling places Tuesday. The provisional votes were cast when the voter possibly did not have an absentee ballot to surrender at the polls or for other reasons. Smith said that the elections office also received 1,142 ballots by mail before the cutoff time to vote but after the other absentee ballots had been processed. Those ballots had not been processed and added to the total vote counts. Those remaining ballots total 1,403. She said the elections office was in the process of verifying signatures for the remaining absentee ballots left to tally. She said that the tallying might take place sometime today, Friday, November 7th. The 261 provisional ballots must be checked to see if they are valid and whether they will be tallied, to add to vote counts. The tightest finish Tuesday was in the Plymouth City Council race, where three seats were available to six candidates. Incumbent Councilman Greg Baldwin was 2 votes shy of third place, with 179 votes to third-place winner, Maria Nunez, who had 181 votes. Mayor Jon Colburn took the most votes, receiving 240 and Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton was second with 214 votes. In another close 3-seat race, incumbent Jackson City Councilman Alfred A. Nunes was 6 votes behind the third place finisher Marilyn Lewis, who took 730 votes to Nunes’ 724. Keith Sweet was second in vote numbers with 795 votes and Wayne Garibaldi led the count with 1,190 votes. Story by Jim Reece
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Kirkwood Mountain Resort last week announced the tentative schedule for its annual backcountry tours and programs. Daniel Pistoresi of Kirkwood Mountain Resort said in an e-mail last week that Kirkwood offers California’s only resort-based backcountry program, which is “designed to expand the boundaries of mountain exploration.” The offerings include a daily guide service, camps, clinics, backcountry programs and “PowderCat” tours. Classes include beacon training, avalanche awareness courses and the snowcat tours. Pistoris said “Kirkwood’s legendary terrain and reliable snowfall provide the perfect training grounds for skiers and snowboarders looking to take their riding to the next level.” He said visitors can stop by Expedition: Kirkwood Headquarters for daily backcountry forecasts and enlist one of Kirkwood’s knowledgeable guides to show the “secret stashes” of the resort. Few lucky individuals will experience the powder reserves of Red Cliffs and Martin Point as part of Expedition: Kirkwood’s Snowcat Tours, as permitted by conditions. Jon Copeland, Director of Expedition: Kirkwood, said “The industry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people enjoying backcountry skiing and snowboarding over the last decade. Our programs are designed to educate participants while at the same time exposing them to the lesser known powder stashes at Kirkwood.” New for the 2008-09 season, Expedition: Kirkwood will be offering complimentary avalanche beacon demonstrations on select Sundays along with daily guide service available through the Expedition: Kirkwood Headquarters located in the Mountain Village Plaza. Other highlights for the 2008-09 season include the 2nd Annual Telemark Festival to be held March 13th and 14th and the return of the Women’s Specific Three Day Camp scheduled for March 6th though the 8th. For more information on all of Expedition: Kirkwood products, see www.kirkwood.com or call (209) 258-7360. Story by Jim Reece.
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By Jim Reece -
The Award Winning Amador County State Fair Exhibit is on display at Prospect Motors in the Amador Auto Mall in Martell, through early October. Designer and builder of the photographic exhibit, Kam Merzlak said the display was “a great idea for county residents who didn't attend the State Fair to see how we represented the county.” The exhibit will be displayed until the next Amador County Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5 p.m. Wednesday, October 8th. Merzlak is owner and operator of Merzlak Signs in Jackson. Merzlak built the display with the help of Fiddletown chopper fabricator, Doug Wescott.
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By Holly Boitano -
A routine agenda item turned into an episode worthy of the Discovery Channel Tuesday when Amador County Planning Commissioners learned of an early 20th Century mine tailing dam that had been seemingly lost since the 1970s, at Rancheria Creek. Commissioners were set to review an environmental document and possibly vote on a subdivision of 311 acres into 7 parcels, located on both sides of Highway 49 at the Rancheria Creek crossing, 800 feet south of Vaira Ranch Road in Drytown. About 10 area residents sat through 3 hours of agenda items to voice objections to the project’s inclusion of a 14.5-acre dedication to CALTRANS for a right-of-way, consisting of portions of an ancient road that had been abandoned by the County in the 1930s, but which residents still use and maintain as a secondary access to their properties.
But before the discussion reached the subject of the road, area resident Amy Turner dropped a bomb: The environmental document contains a highly inaccurate description of a “small agricultural pond” within Rancheria Creek, which is actually a 30-foot tall, 200-foot long dam that was built in 1910 to impound mine tailings from several of the area’s historic mines. Turner said that according to her research, the dam was last looked at in 1975, when apparently someone decided that it did not meet the qualifications to be placed in the Department of Water Resources Division of Dam Safety’s jurisdiction. Project applicants Steven MacDonald and Jeff Cookson also failed to disclose the existence of the dam in their project application. The written description of the project goes as far as to state, in two places, that “there are no existing structures on the properties.” This information was enough for Commissioners to require additional environmental review, including an engineering study on the stability of the dam and a study on the contents of the impounded soil. Residents were also reassured that the proposed right-of-way is only specific to this project, and that the County has no reason to independently seek easements through their properties.
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