Amador County – Hundreds of people filled the temporary prayer service area of Amador Catholic Center in Martell Wednesday to hear Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto proclaim the Church’s new name and the patron as Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic Parish in Amador County, and install its Pastor, Father Lawrence Beck.

Hundreds in attendance included parishioners from the six Catholic churches in the county, and many visiting members from the local community, who watched Reverend Soto lead a formal prayer liturgy, during which he let out his decision that the new parish and church would be named after Saint Katharine Drexel, who was the second American-born Catholic to reach Sainthood.

Soto also installed Pastor Lawrence Beck, known to his faithful as Father Larry, and introduced him to the congregation and visitors. He also introduced Parish, and liturgy officials, and the Amador Catholic Pastoral Council. He then instructed Beck to greet his officials.

Church members were polled to find their preference for a name of the church, and the patron saint, and Bishop Soto chose the Saint. Beck, in addressing the gathering, said Holy Cards of Saint Katharine Drexel would be handed out after the liturgy and presentation on Drexel.

Beck thanked members of the county’s six community churches, and Father Liam McCarthy, and noted a quote from Saint Katharine Drexel, which she wrote as she left an Indian School that she had built as a lay person. He said she was overcome with emotion at what to do next. She wrote, upon leaving that school, that what led her was “listening and acting upon a desire God puts into the heart.”

She later entered the church as a nun, and founded Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Black and Native American Peoples,” which built schools for Indians and blacks all around the United States.

Beck said as Saint Katherine Drexel Church starts its revitalization, the next step begins in January, in fund-raising to pay for the facility’s remodel, and building, of the kitchen, nave and other amenities for the church and community center.

Soto said: “May God continue to bless the good work that has been done here.”

Parish Secretary Jeannine Crew said the turnout was great, including from local churches, and members of the Amador County community.

Crew said it was bittersweet, because it was so sad to have Frank Halvorson’s Prospect Motors close, and loss of such a hub of the community. She said: “I was here when they had the big rally.”

She said sales of church lots went to purchase the former dealership. The next step is to raise a fund to build the new Church and Center.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council December newsletter included steps to help adults prevent sexual abuse from happening to more children.

Program Coordinator Robin Valencia said “it may not be the cheeriest of topics, but preventing sexual abuse sure will make the lives of countless children brighter.”

Valencia said “it is the responsibility of all adults to protect all children,” and “if you suspect a child is being abused or has been abused, report it,” because “silence is not an option.”

Valencia said child sexual abuse is preventable with education and awareness, and the newsletter gave “the Seven Steps to Protecting our Children: A Guide for Responsible Adults,” which was created by the nonprofit organization Darkness to Light in efforts to prevent child sexual abuse. More detail of the guides can be found with the organization.

Step one is to learn the facts. Understand the risks. Realities – not trusts – should influence decisions regarding children. In more than 90 percent of sexual abuse cases, the child and the child’s family know and trust the abuser. Experts estimate 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18.

Step two: Minimize opportunity. If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk. Step three: Talk about it. Children often keep abuse secret, but barriers can be broken down by talking openly about it. One survey showed fewer than 30 percent of parents ever discussed sexual abuse with their children.

Step four: Stay alert. Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused. Physical signs of sexual abuse are not common. Emotional or behavioral signs are more common. Step five: Make a plan. Learn where to go, whom to call and how to react, if a child discloses abuse. Don’t overreact or become angry. Offer support and believe the child.

Step six: Act on suspicions. You will save not only one child, but perhaps countless others. Report immediately to Children’s Protective Services: You do not need to have proof. Just report what you’ve been told or your suspicions. Step seven: Get involved. Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.

For help, call the 24 hour Amador Crisis Line at (209)223-2600, or the California Youth Crisis Line at 1(800)853-5200.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Former Ione City Councilman James Ulm, and a local business owner Dale Haney filed last week as the only two candidates who are vying to replace Ione Mayor David Plank, who is being sought for removal from his city council position in a special recall election in February.

The filing period for the replacement candidates ended 5 p.m. Friday. Amador County Elections Supervisor Deborah Smith said that only two packets of filing papers had been taken out from the Amador County Elections Department office in Jackson (as of noon Friday). She said all filing papers were disseminated from the Elections office for this special election, and not from Ione City Hall, because the papers have to be filed at the Elections office.

Smith said all candidates, including Plank and the replacement candidates, had the option to file a statement to be attached to the ballots in the election. The ballot will also include the recall petition statement.

The recall was circulated by a group calling itself “The Voice in Ione,” which announced a notice of the intent to petition the recall on June 21, and needed about 525 signatures to place the recall question on the ballot. It returned the adequate, valid signatures, causing the Ione City Council to place the question of the recall on the ballot, and set the special election.

James Ulm is a former Ione City Council member, elected in 2006. He was unsuccessful in a 2010 bid for one of three seats up for election, among a field of six candidates. Ulm received 514 votes, good for fourth place in the election, finishing behind current Vice Mayor Ron Smylie, and Councilmen Lloyd Oneto and Daniel Epperson.

Smith said Dale Haney is a local business owner, and Ulm is an electrician. She said Ulm and Haney both completed the necessary paperwork to file their nomination papers and will be candidates on the ballot. A candidate must be a registered voter in Ione. The election of a successor will be contingent upon the recall of the officer. If Plank is recalled, the winning replacement candidate would need a simple majority of the votes to take over the position.

Plank was elected to his first term in 2008, and was second in voting to Councilwoman Andrea Bonham, in a three-candidate run for two positions. He currently serves as Chairman of the Amador County Transportation Commission.

Election officials estimated the cost of the election would be $6,000 to $8,000. Ione has 2,100 voters eligible to vote in the Feb. 28 recall election.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A California group formed in April seeks to bring the Winter Olympics to Lake Tahoe in 2022 in partnership with a Nevada group. It would be the first U.S. Winter Olympics since Squaw Valley in 1960.

Amador County Supervisor Louis Boitano in October said “a couple of resorts in Tahoe have combined and are trying to get the winter Olympics up there. That would be a huge boon to the economy.”

The California Winter Games Committee wants to team with Nevada’s Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition in a bid to host the Olympics. In a release announcing the committee in April, Senator Ted Gaines said the “impact of the Winter Oympic Games on my Senate District would be enormous. Millions of dollars would be pumped into the local economy, a legacy of infrastructure improvements would be left behind, and the world’s attention would be focused on our majestic Sierra Nevada region.”

The Committee noted that the Vancouver Organizing Committee release 2010 Winter Olympics financial reports estimating the Vancouver Games “brought an $800 million economic impact to British Columbia,” and a “$603 million venue development program delivered on budget.”

California Winter Games Committee Interim President Michael Faust said: “We believe California needs a strong statewide effort to match up the knowledge and resources from Nevada to create a unique, carefully constructed and economically feasible plan.” Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome took over as chair of the Committee in June.

El Dorado County Supervisor Chairman Ray Nutting wrote in support that “one of the most practical gauges is the outcome of the 2010 Vancouver” Games, “which Price-Waterhouse-Coopers says created 45,500 jobs and $2.5 billion in additional gross domestic product provincially” and “regional tourism enjoyed a boost of $463 million.”

Reuters last November reported that Denver and Tahoe areas both seeking to host the 2022 Winter Games “have been warned that any future United Stated bids are on hold pending a new revenue sharing deal with the International Olympic Committee.” It said Chicago’s failed bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics was indicative that “any future attempts will be doomed unless a solution was found.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.