News Archive (6192)
Amador County – Argonaut High School wrapped up the regular season Friday with a 32-0 win over Amador in the Big Game, and will start the Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs in Division 4 on Friday hosting Orestimba High School.
The Mustangs, 9-1 overall, are the fourth seed in the 16-team bracket. The 13th seeded Orestimba Warriors are 5-5 under coach Aaron Souza, and averaged 22 points and 287 total yards a game, led by Seven Machado’s 118 yards a game rushing. Quarterback Dillon Martin passed for 94 yards a game. Nathan Martin is the leading tackler.
Argonaut is averaging 443 total yards and 41 points a game, led by Autin Cramer’s 125 average rushing yards a game. QB Kyle Calais averaged 97 yards passing, and leading tackler is Brock Hayes. Argonaut hosts Orestimba at 7 p.m. Friday, the same time for all Section playoff games.
Two other Mother Lode League teams also play Friday. Tenth ranked Calaveras plays at seventh seeded Liberty Ranch, in Galt. Also Friday, Linden, a 14th seed, plays at third-seeded Hilmar.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Jackson City Council is kicking off new efforts to preserve the Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheel Number 4 and make significant improvements to Kennedy Wheel Park, by reprinting for sale some historic booklets about the wheels.
City Manager Mike Daly released details Friday to let the public know that the effort is under way, and that the reprinted booklets are available for purchase – “just in time for the holidays.” The fundraiser has reprinted the original “Kennedy Wheels” historical booklet, written by Evelyn Garbarini, as told by Emmet Garbarini. It is now for sale at City Hall and other area retail locations.
The “booklet describes the role these massive structures played in keeping the Kennedy Mine operating in the early 20th century and includes many historical photos showing the hard rock mine landscape of Jackson,” Daly said.
Eleven years ago, the City used a $150,000 grant from California Department of Transportation to complete structural repairs and remove decay from Wheel 4, but “the decay continues to occur in its exposed condition at the top of the hill in Kennedy Tailing Wheel Park on Jackson Gate Road.”
The Jackson City Council has formed its “Save the Wheel Number 4 Committee” to raise funds and develop plans to preserve the wheel and refurbish Kennedy Tailing Wheel Park. Vice Mayor Keith Sweet is chairing the Committee.
Kennedy Tailing Wheel booklets are now available and will be sold to help preserve Tailing Wheel Number 4 from the deterioration and decay that led to the demise of Tailing Wheels Number 2 and Number 3.
To begin raising funds, the Committee has reprinted the booklet. This is the eighth edition, and the city is selling them for $7.50 per copy. Booklets are available at City Hall, the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, Kennedy Mine Gift Shop, Hein & Company Bookstore and the Bubble Gum Book Store in Sutter Creek.
All funds generated will go toward this project and serve as matching funds for a $596,000 grant the City is again seeking from Caltrans.
Daly said “when the new project is completed, the park will offer a refurbished kiosk with a panoramic storyboard detailing the wheels’ history.” It will have “new interpretive signage identifying key elements of the park, improved access to each feature of the park.” The drive will also give a “preserved Wheel Number 4, shelter by a sheet metal building similar to the original structure that surrounded it, only with a see-through front showing the whole height of this magnificent structure.”
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Amador County – Plymouth City Council in late October directed staff to look at city pet ownership code and needed changed to align it with Amador County code, so policing problem dogs in the city can be more effective.
City Clerk Gloria Stoddard said the Council already adopted county animal control code, but needs a zoning code change to match county requirements for people to get a kennel use permit when they have four or more dogs. Stoddard said the requirement is described in city code, but needs to be added to zoning code for enforcement. She noted that the county code specifically refers to “dogs and cats,” while municipal code only refers to “animals.”
Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton asked if they should use county code, but acknowledged recent city problems with dogs barking, and meter readers. She said: “Let’s prevent some of these things from happening again.”
Stoddard said the change “allows us to contract with the county so we don’t have to handle” the incidents ourselves. She said the city would have to decide the number to limit. Mayor Greg Baldwin asked if staff had contacted cities in the valley. Stoddard said she had, and most limited it to 3 or 4 animals, before requiring kennel permits. Some said dogs or cats, but most limited it to “four animals.”
City Manager Jeff Gardner said the limit doesn’t keep people from having more than a certain number of pets, but it does add more restrictions with licensing.
They discussed a vicious dog that was destroyed, with permission from the dog’s owner, after a biting in town. It was also asked about puppies and the limits. Baldwin asked about limiting breeds. City Attorney Laura Hollender said if you have a vicious dog, you can deal with it individually, but “you can’t discriminate by breed.” Shackleton liked that Gardner told the city “we are paying attention to the dog issues.”
Stoddard said pups could be kept without a kennel license until they are 6 months old, then the county requires a kennel license. Shackleton suggested a grandfather clause so it’s OK for people with 6 pets now to keep them, but they cannot add more, and “they must come down to 4.”
Councilwoman Sandy Kyles asked if they really wanted kennels on 6,000 square foot lots. Hollender said they could look at zoning and lot size in county code.
Gardner said Supervisors discussed barking dogs in their ordinance, but couldn’t get majority support. He said the City Planning Commission will be concerned with zoning.
An animal control worker urged inviting Animal Control Director John Vail to a meeting, saying he was very articulate, good with community relations and could explain county code.
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Sutter Creek looks to finish amendment of Gold Rush agreement
Written by Tom
Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council today will consider finalizing an amendment to a development agreement with developers of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort that was initiated in 2010 but tabled while the city awaited the outcome of the Measure N referendum against the development.
The council will host a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. today, that is Monday, Nov. 7, to consider the second reading of an ordinance that would amend the development agreement with Gold Rush to add a 10 percent “golf play and event surcharge” on all activities associated with rounds of golf, and also would apply to special events at Gold Rush.
City Attorney Derek Cole in a memo to the council for the meeting said the Development Agreement was introduced Jan. 4, 2010, and approved Jan. 19, 2010. The amendment was sought in March, approved for first reading and placed on hold, while the referendum against the Gold Rush project was decided.
Cole said: “Because the referendum against the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Project was unsuccessful, it is necessary for the council to take action on the proposed amendment.”
He said the “amendment makes technical and clarifying changes” to the development agreement ordinance. “It would clarify that a 10 percent surcharge would be proposed on all activities associated with rounds of golf on the Project-approved golf course except to the extent sales taxes are already collected. The amendment would clarify that the 10 percent surcharge would apply for all special events, concerts, and shows in the project area.”
Cole said the council will have the option to approve the ordinance as is, make minor grammatical changes and approve it, or deny the ordinance. It could also make other changes, but the ordinance would then require to be heard again at a city council meeting.
The ordinance said the surcharge would apply “to all activities involved in a round of golf on which sales tax is not charged,” and requires the developer to charge and “transmit to the city” a “10 percent surcharge on admission charges to all special events, concerts, shows or similar activities conducted in the project.”
The ordinance said an operating memorandum would approve “specifics of collection, transmission and accounting” of the surcharges.
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Amador County – The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Amador-El Dorado Unit announced Tuesday that it will be transitioning to the winter staffing levels at area CDF stations, beginning Monday, Nov. 7.
CDF spokeswoman Teri Mizuhara said Cal-Fire will transition into their “winter preparedness” level of staffing beginning at 8 a.m. Monday. She said “this will mean most seasonal fire fighting personnel will be laid off and some fire stations will be closed.” Amador County stations will be closed at Dew Drop, River Pines and Sutter Hill, and El Dorado County stations will be closed at Pilot Hill, Garden Valley, Mt. Danaher, and El Dorado.
Unit Chief Kelly Keenan said the Amador-El Dorado Unit’s “staffing levels are sufficient to respond to any local emergency and Cal-Fire is always prepared to call back additional resources if fire weather conditions change. We make these decisions based on our current and forecasted weather conditions.”
Keenan said CDF “is acutely aware of these challenging economic times and we believe that down staffing at this time is the best decision in order to manage our resources and responsibly administer our budget.”
Current weather conditions offer an excellent opportunity to work on defensible space, he said, to create the 100-foot barrier around homes and outbuildings as defense against wildfire. Keenan said “right now you can pile and burn the vegetation you generate, the time is now.”
Keenan, said burn restrictions have been lifted and, as of Nov. 7, CDF residential burn permits will no longer be required for four by four foot debris piles, of vegetation only.
Local air quality management districts govern burn day and no-burn day status, and Keenan recommended calling the burn information line immediately prior to burning. Also, local air districts may still require a county permit for burning.
For more info on burning safety, defensible space and other fire and life safety topics, visit the Cal-Fire website.
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Amador County – Amador Water Agency held a workshop last week to look at an ongoing rate study that will look at sharing some costs among all water systems. But the agency consultant warned that it was not an official consolidation of the systems.
Bob Reed of the Reed Group said at a previous meeting that the word “consolidation” might lead to a misunderstanding of the aim of the project. He said the agency general manager and counsel also had concerns that it was misunderstood by the public. Reed said it will be a five-year plan and will pair with the agency’s Capital Improvement Projects plan. It will look at costs that are common to water systems, and will keep certain costs individual to the four water systems, such as improvement costs. The shared costs will be parsed out in a fair way.
Reed said there are also separate studies under way on the potential formation of two different Community Facilities Districts. One of those CFD studies looks at having a fee assessment area to pay for the Gravity Supply Line Project in the Central Amador Water Project service area. The other CFD study will look at assessing fees in the Amador Water System to pay for the Amador Transmission Pipeline. Director Robert Manassero said the ATP assessment would apply to current customers and future customers. The future customers are owners of vacant, undeveloped lots. AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said the CFDs would allow assessment fees for standby customers, to be able to get some early payment.
Reed said the water systems are divided with shared costs in different customer areas. AWS has wholesale customers, including in the cities of Jackson, Plymouth and Drytown, and then untreated and treated water customers.
Camanche stands alone, as does La Mel Heights, the smallest water system, and CAWP has retail customers, and then wholesales to the Pine Grove, Mace Meadow and Rabb Park service districts.
Reed said the CFD studies will look at what overall revenue is needed, as well as a timeline to be able to go into effect for the next fiscal year.
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Amador County – The Federal Emergency Management Association plans a national test of its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System at 11 a.m. Wednesday (local time) on Nov. 9.
Test will last approximately three and a half minutes. The national-level Emergency Alert System leverages the communications support of participating radio, television, cable, satellite, and wireline providers throughout the country.
FEMA administers the Emergency Alert System and conducts training, tests, and exercises as directed by Executive Order. FEMA, the FCC, and NOAA want to improve the Alert System incrementally, and testing the readiness and effectiveness of the system as it currently exists is the first step.
FEMA said a more effective and functional System requires continual testing to identify necessary improvements so the system can deliver critical information that will save lives and protect property. The test will not involve a role for state and local operations.
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Amador County – The California Department of Transportation’s District 10 plans a snow chain installer orientation and permit training class Nov. 16 in Angels Camp.
Public Information Officer Christopher Mayfield said permits are available for State Highways 4, 88, 89, 108, and 207 in Calaveras, Alpine, Amador, and Tuolumne Counties.
All new applicants are required to attend an orientation class, which will be held 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the Caltrans Maintenance Office, 98 South Main Street in Angels Camp. A written and performance exam will be held immediately following the orientation. Successful applicants may purchase their permits immediately thereafter.
Returning chain installers with no violations are not required to attend the orientation and may purchase their 2011-2012 permit from the Caltrans Maintenance Office in Angels Camp.
The cost for the permit and identification bib is $200. Calaveras County requires a business license for all applicants interested in working on Highway 4. The Calaveras County Tax Collector’s Office is located in the Government Center in San Andreas.
To schedule an appointment for renewal, or for individuals interested in becoming chain installers on California State Highways in the Sierra Nevada, call the Caltrans Maintenance Office at (209) 736-0187.
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Amador County – Sutter Gold Mining announced recently that it plans core drilling in an effort to expand its “Lincoln Mine” base and the project’s life.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Sutter Gold Mining Incorporated announced Oct. 13 that its Board of Directors approved an exploration drilling program of 10,255 feet at the Lincoln Mine Project located in Sutter Creek.
Robert Hutmacher, Chief Financial Officer released details of the plan, which intends to “meaningfully expand mine-able resources from filling gaps in the current resource model.” It will test “known mineralized zones and structures which could extend the initial mine life significantly beyond the five years indicated in the Project Preliminary Economic Assessment.”
Hutmacher said plans are to drill 30 “well-placed, large-diameter” and “angle core holes covering a strike length of 3,000 feet,” to “mine two distinct segments of the known gold mineralization, the northern Comet segment and the southern Lincoln segment, both of which are open at their northern and upper known limits as defined by previous core drilling and sublevel exploration workings.” The holes will be relatively shallow, averaging slightly less than 350 feet in length.
The drilling program is expected to “significantly increase the resource base that can be mined from the current mine plan” in the “central 4,000-feet-long portion of the 3.6-mile-long property held by the company. Exploration on the remainder of Sutter’s properties will be conducted in the future after results obtained from this program are fully evaluated.”
Steve Zahony, Vice President of Exploration said it will be the first core drilling on the property since 2007 and is targeted at obvious regions in the resource model.
Zahony said: “While this exploration will take place in the area of the current mine plan we also have some big picture thinking to do on exploring targets on the main Mother Lode structure to the Melones Fault to the east” and “regional structures to the west are also being considered as exploration targets.”
He said “application of modern, systematic exploration offers the potential of making new discoveries that would be significantly enhanced with an operating mine in the immediate vicinity.”
Hutmacher said “surface construction of the site infrastructure has begun with the removal of the existing temporary multifunction building and relocation of all tools and supplies. The contract for tree removal has been issued to Amador Mechanical Incorporated, which also did the recent building demolition.
“Doug Veerkamp General Engineering Incorporated has been selected via bid process for the site grading, including the construction of the Waste Rock Pile, Tailings Processing Area, Entrance Facilities and the road to the Surface Fill Unit,” Hutmacher said.
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Plymouth hardware closes, Vice Mayor works on new branch
Written by Tom
Amador County – Plymouth City Council last week voted to approve documents that could lead to the annexation of two projects where up to 500 homes are planned. But as the Reeder Sutherland residential projects move on to the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission, the city also discussed the closing of Plymouth Hardware & Feed Store on Highway 49.
During Council member reports, Vice Mayor Jon Colburn said he has been working to get another hardware store to move to town, and has been helping the prospective new branch owner, who is “dealing with the bank” to try to buy the stuff there at the closed store. He is “looking at three properties around town.”
Colburn said he is working with Chris, the owner of True Value Hardware Store in Jackson, who said it was OK for Colburn to tell people his name and plan. Chris Fragapane owns the True Value in Jackson.
Colburn said he runs a proven store there, and has survived while competing against “big box” chain stores. Colburn said: “I’ve been working very diligently” and “he believes he will have a store here in 30 days.”
Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton said they city should write a letter to the Plymouth Hardware Store owners, to “give them our best wishes” and to say they are sad to hear the news. City Manager Jeff Gardner suggested, and the council agreed, to instead present a Certificate of Appreciation to Plymouth Hardware owners, in appreciation of the 18 years that they have served the city. Gardner said they could present the certificate, hopefully at the council’s next meeting.
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