News Archive (6192)
McClintock endorses Rio Oller for Assembly District 5
Written by Tom
Amador County – On Wednesday (Oct. 26), Congressman Tom McClintock announced that he has endorsed Rico Oller for the California State Assembly in District 5, one of the newly created “Mountain Counties” districts that will represent Amador County.
McClintock made the announcement in a release, saying, “I am proud to endorse a true conservative to represent the beautiful Gold Country of California. Rico is a successful business owner who understands all too well the onerous rules and regulations that are stifling California’s economy.”
McClintock said Oller “has a proven record defending our freedom. He has been recognized numerous times for his outstanding leadership and outspoken defense of freedom.”
“The voters of the 5th Assembly District will be served with distinction by Assemblyman Rico Oller,” McClintock said, adding that “he has my complete support.”
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Amador Sheriff's Department plans prescription drug take-back
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Sheriff’s Department plans to take back old prescription drugs as part of the national effort this Saturday at the county General Services Administration parking lot on Sutter Hill.
The Sheriff’s Department announced Monday that “in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration,” the ACSO “will again participate in the nationwide Take-Back Initiative” Saturday, Oct. 29.
“Americans participating in the DEA’s two previous National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events turned in more than 309 tons of pills at more than 5,300 sites manned by more than 3,800 federal, state and local law enforcement partners, including the Amador County Sheriff’s Office.”
“In an effort to prevent increased pill abuse and theft,” the Amador County Sheriff’s Department announced that it “will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at one location within Amador County. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.”
ACSO in a release said the “initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing at alarming rates according to the recently released 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The same study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.”
The Amador County Sheriff’s Office “recognizes the importance of community involvement and urges the citizens of Amador County to take this opportunity to dispose of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.”
ACSO will take back prescriptions drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Amador County General Services parking lot, at 12200 B Airport Road in Martell.
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Amador County – The Jackson Business and Community Association announced some upcoming downtown activities and events planned for the coming months.
Main Street Scarecrows that decorate downtown Jackson, each with their own theme, like an Artist or Gold Miner, will be “hanging around” until at least Nov. 5. They are the work of Chris Molinelli and lots of creative 5th graders.
On Monday Oct. 31, the Jackson Lions Club will sponsor the Halloween Costume Parade, starting at 5 p.m., on Main Street in Jackson. “A great and safe place to take the little monsters to collect all that candy nutrition,” said Jackson Business & Community Association’s Patti Busch. “The merchants really stock up.” Trunk or Treat by Calvary Chapel of Amador follows, at a few locations downtown, for trick-or-treating for the children. The Church is seeking candy donations for the event.
The Jackson Veterans’ Day Parade is 10 a.m. Friday, Nov.11, starting on the north side of Main in front of the TSPN offices. American Legion and Charline Buckley are working on the event, which shows “small town life at it’s best,” Busch said. “It’s indicative of why we want to be here… So come out and show your support to our many proud vets and service people.”
Christmas Delights is Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25 & 26 of Thanksgiving weekend, in downtown Jackson. Anyone who would like to be involved is encouraged to contact Jackson Business & Community Association. Busch said: “We would love to have more super cheerful costumed Christmas characters roving the street, and we are also hoping to find a group of 5 or 6 folks who would like to serenade our visitors with holiday tunes.”
The Association will also be looking for homemade cookies to provide Mrs. Santa at Hein and Company Book Store, and also for all the visitors who find there way to the “warming room” in the old Spinco building.
For more information, or to get involved, call JBCA at (209) 223-1263 or (209) 223-5830.
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Amador County – Ione City Council last week asked staff to stop a three-year pursuit to get a flashing warning light in front of the new Fire Station Number 2, due to excessive cost estimates and red tape.
At the previous meeting, Mayor David Plank asked why the light was not installed, at Ione Fire Department station 2, which was finished in 2008. City Planner Christopher Jordan said Caltrans in February told the city it had not followed design standards, to place lights on a pole next to Preston Avenue, which is also State Highway 104.
A redesign submitted in July, came back in August, saying the plans were still not favorable, Jordan said, and Caltrans wanted installation of wires across Preston, to hang the flashing lights. That design would cost several hundred thousand dollars.
Last November, city staff reached out to the regional director. Jordan said options were to keep working with Caltrans administrators and staff in Stockton, or to “just go out and install the darn light.” The latter could have Caltrans say it was in the state right-of-way, and could remove it and bill the city for the costs. Jordan said a third option was to do nothing.
Ione Fire Chief Ken Mackey said “this light was not a requirement by anybody’s standard.” He wanted to do it as a warning for neighbors, because out of a courtesy he promised to have no siren noise as vehicles exit the firehouse, until vehicles were going north or south.
Mackey said they still have the warning light, but cannot mount it, and it has been a waste of time and money. Jordan said he spent a couple of hundred dollars’ time on the project. Mackey said firefighters “did all the work, dug the conduit, and got a free light. It was all free until we got to Caltrans.”
Plank asked if they could put the light on a pole on their own property. Jordan said it would cause “line of sight” issues, and light would go into neighboring houses. He said they also “can’t guarantee Caltrans will not come back and say you’ve done an improvement that caused a risk for public safety.”
Resident Jim Nevin said the city is going broke and should use vehicle flashers as they exit.
Resident Elmer Rhode said the project was his fault and his idea. He told the council to “can it, but remember when you have the first accident.” He said he is an old firefighter, and sometimes when trucks go out in the day time, they don’t get their lights on. He said it can happen, and wrecks will happen.
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Amador County – About 70 people attended the Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday when Supervisors voted 3-1 to deny an appeal for a pet crematorium permit in Pioneer, due to smoke and odor emissions from the project.
Applicant Michael Johnson, owner of Amador Memorial Cemetery, argued that he had a “right to use” the property under county agricultural code, and said not enough evidence was given to make the denial.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Louis Boitano said the cemetery on the property is not an agricultural use. Deputy County Counsel Greg Gillott said the Board of Supervisors had to make a finding of allowance under county use permitting code, not the ag code. Pioneer resident Kirt Dalmau read part of the code, which said the use should not be detrimental to health, safety, peace, morals or the general welfare of the public and should not damage property.
Air Pollution Control Officer Mike Boitano said he did not visit a site of a Burn Easy model cremator in Hanford, as asked by Supervisors, because he could not find it. He did visit a Kings County animal crematorium, though not the same one Johnson proposed. Boitano said “there’s no way to say that there will never be smoke. You notice the smoke and you adjust your controls to mitigate it. It’s the same thing with the odors.”
Air District Engineering Consultant Ray Kupai said there was no universal way to measure odor, as it was too subjective. He said you “cannot have zero odor.” You will have some smoke and odor, but it will be insufficient to violate ordinances or cause a nuisance to the public.
He said the Burn Easy is considered state-of-the-art, and can remove 95-99 percent of odors by reheating exhaust before release. There will still be 1-5 percent of odors and depending on sensitivity, “some people will still smell it.” Kupai said “I really have not looked at the distance versus odors.” He said there is a threshold of 20 percent visible opacity to limit smoke emission.
Forster said 1 percent of the odor comes out of the unit, and “if I lived up there, I wouldn’t want to be subjected to that 1 percent.” He said that statement by Kupai was argument enough for him to vote to deny the appeal. Supervisor Ted Novelli agreed, saying “whatever the amount, we can’t tolerate it in a residential area.”
Supervisors Brian Oneto said it was probably not an optimal location for a crematorium, but it is an agricultural area. Forster, Novelli and Louis Boitano voted to deny the appeal, and Oneto dissented. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse was absent due to illness.
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Pine Grove CSD nears application phase for $400,000 water pipeline
Written by Tom
Amador County – Pine Grove Community Service District this week was planning to wrap up pre-application work with the USDA for a new water pipeline to serve its 360 customers, and raise domestic and fire flows to meet minimum standards or better.
Paul Johnston, president of the Pine Grove CSD said Tuesday the district is close to entering the application phase for an estimated $400,000 water pipeline that would replace existing line, and revitalize water flows for domestic and fire flows, putting them to normal or higher capacity.
Johnston said Pine Grove CSD has 360 accounts and District officials were planning to meet Wednesday (Oct. 26) with representatives of the USDA to discuss a long-term loan, of which 45 percent of the loan could come in the form of an additional grant, and the department offers reasonably cheap interest rates.
The project was estimated to cost $400,000, which is pretty large for a small district with an annual budget that is about $300,000, Johnston said. The Pine Grove CSD buys water wholesale from the Central Amador Water Project, operated by the Amador Water Agency. The water is then sold retail to its customers, north of Highway 88 and west of Ridge Road.
The project, engineered by Doug Ketron, will replace 3,700 feet of pipeline from the tank yard, behind the fire station to the existing line behind the former Claypool’s market. It will also add 1,800 feet of new pipeline to the tank. They are increasing the size of the pipeline to deliver more water and higher pressure for fire fighting, Johnston said. It will get the pressures to a minimum legal requirement of 20 pounds per square inch of pressure or higher.
The old line is 6-inch diameter, and the replacement pipeline will be 12 inches, increasing its size by double. Johnson said it should triple the water capacity. He said the project could replace some lines that are 30 years old, in areas along Ridge Road, such as Sunset Heights and Druid Lane.
Johnston said Wednesday’s meeting will wind up the pre-application phase with USDA. The District will work to file the application, and hopefully have some money to break ground by next April.
He spoke at the recent Amador County Transportation Commission meeting, last week, and later said the project’s focus change to pursue a preferred three-lane, through-town hybrid project, would have minimal affect on the Pine Grove CSD’s new pipeline project.
The ACTC dismissed the southern bypass, due to cost. He said the alignment would have taken out the Pine Grove Market, and would have affected all of the pipeline’s location.
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Crematorium applicant says economy makes Pioneer the best location
Written by Tom
Amador County – Supervisors discussed possible conditions of approval of a pet crematorium in Pioneer on Tuesday, but ultimately voted to deny an appeal for the project’s permit.
Supervisor Richard Forster asked why two Planning Commissioners from the Upcountry area voted for the permit approval, which was denied by the Commission. Planner Nathan Lishman said he could not speak for Commissioners, but thought they put their trust in staff reports. Novelli said nothing was found to be a detriment to air or odors, or in violation of state environmental law.
Supervisors Brian Oneto said it was probably not an optimal location for a cremator, but it is an agricultural area. He said he watched two cremations at Sunset View Cemetery, and saw no smoke and smelled little odor.
Forster said that would probably be a good place for an animal crematorium as well. He said: “You do not want to burn animals next to human remains, but on the other hand, some people love their pets more than they love their spouse.”
Lishman suggested operating hours of Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and preventing operation of the pet crematorium when “prevailing winds blow toward the Buckhorn Ridge area.” Forster asked how they would enforce that.
Lishman said the air board may have some ideas, and he noted that it would cut into operating hours. Air Pollution Officer Mike Boitano said penalties could be fines up to $25,000, and a revoked permit. He said “gross negligence would be if the operator walked away from the unit and things went bad.”
Applicant Michael Johnson said hour and day limitations were a little restrictive, and there was a “lack of evidential support.” He said “when you are operating a business, especially in the death care industry, you work when you need to work.” He is not going to use the cremator to “keep warm in winter. It is only going to be used when necessary.”
Novelli said in all of the handout materials, he had not seen any with the proposed cremator model used in residential areas. He asked Johnson if he had looked at placing the business at other areas. Johnson said to be frank, with the business he has Upcountry, he was looking for additional sources of revenue due to the economy. He said the Pioneer location is property he already uses, insures and licenses, and the new business would not support another area for years.
Johnson said: “I’m not in a position to do anything but find revenue streams that don’t cost a lot of money.”
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Amador County – About 50 people attended the McDonald’s remodel appeal hearing Tuesday, with a vast majority testifying against it.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Louis Boitano presided over the meeting in Chair John Plasse’s absence due to illness, and the Amador County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to continue the appeal hearing to Jan. 10, so the appellant group and McDonald’s can discuss a compromise design.
Construction manager Margaret Trujillo said Craig Schrader and family bought the Martell restaurant about three years ago, hired a contractor and “with winter approaching would like to go with this (new compromise) design and start tomorrow.” She said it is a $580,000 remodel project. She said unfortunately, at the last moment, Condition 19 was brought to their attention. She also said the appellants’ suggested “changes to the building structure are not in the budget.”
Supervisor Richard Forster said now that they know the conditions, why would they keep bright yellow on the building exterior, as the big arches are staying. Trujillo said it would not change because “the golden awning is important to the corporate branding.”
Forster said “if you keep the arches, why not take out the yellow to fit in with the Amador brand.” He said “if it is important to the Schrader family, they should have talked to the appellant group.” Boitano asked if any member of the Schrader family in attendance wanted to address the board and none came forward.
In public comment, Thornton Consolo said Martell is the county’s “cash cow” and they should not “junk it up.” Louise Munn urged Supervisors to “preserve the looks of the old-time town.”
Ray Brusatori of Sutter Creek said “it is important to have design guideline standards in downtown historic areas, but Martell isn’t one of them.” He said “we should encourage businesses to come to this area, and this man wants to spend half a million dollars. We should welcome that.”
John Otto said “design of a community communicates who it is,” it is not more costly to have good design, and they “should improve Martell and Amador County one step at a time.”
Boitano said some specific statutory guidelines need to be met, regardless of the compromise. Trujillo and appellant Keith Sweet agreed to discuss more changes.
County Counsel Greg Gillott said “if the decision is not made within a certain timeline, then the Planning Commission’s decision stands.” He said they need something in writing from the applicant to extend the timeline.
Trujillo agreed to that and Sweet said he also agreed, “as long as she signs before she leaves the building.” The hearing was continued to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10.
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Amador County – Amador County Board of Supervisors heard predominant opposition to the McDonald’s remodel project, during a citizen appeal hearing Tuesday, and ultimately continued the hearing to Jan. 10, while a local group of citizens negotiates changes.
Most people speaking did not like the remodel design, which the County Planning Commission approved on a 3-2 vote, giving relief from “Condition 19” of the original 1992 conditions of approval, which require earth tone colors, and natural textures.
Jackson Vice Mayor Keith Sweet, one of 12 appellants, read a four-page statement to start testimony and asked Supervisors to require McDonald’s to comply with the county’s Draft Design Guidelines for the proposed remodel of their restaurant in unincorporated Martell. He also asked that they reinstate Condition 19. Sweet said the corporation offered a changed rendering that was “as far as they will go.”
McDonald’s area construction manager Margaret Trujillo said she drew the new design, and the “compromised rendering has cultured stone everywhere the other design would have white paint on the exterior.”
Sweet said McDonald’s is re-branding franchises globally with a $2.5 billion investment, including $1.5 billion for makeovers of 13,000 U.S. locations. Sweet said the new rendering was “too modern” and stucco was not allowed in Condition 19.
Trujillo said there are 1,300 McDonald’s restaurants being remodeled across the country, not 13,000. She asked Supervisors to uphold the Planning Commission decision. She said they would “like to have the courtesy that other businesses across the street have had” in their remodel.
Supervisor Brian Oneto said your business model is yours, but “in this area, people have a long memory.” They find grandma and grandpa won’t go to a particular business, then “you find out that 150 years ago, somebody kicked somebody’s dog.” Mimi Arata and others said they had not been in McDonald’s in Martell since historic Amador County pictures were removed from the walls inside.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Louis Boitano said “tourism is the one major thing we still have,” and in these hard economic times, county design review guidelines are not going to be approved. Boitano said the county lost the Gold Mine Tours, and it is really important that businesses stay in the character of the Mother Lode and Gold Rush.
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Amador County – Area fire agencies planned some controlled burns to tentatively start this week.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection last week announced prescribed burning could begin this week on Tiger Creek Road and Salt Springs Road.
Patrick McDaniel, Cal-Fire Forester of the Vegetation Management Program for CDF’s Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit, said the burning would run through the month of November.
McDaniel said the unit “plans to conduct a prescribed broadcast burn on Sierra Pacific Industries and Pacific Gas and Electric properties located along Salt Springs Road and Tiger Creek Road in unincorporated portions of Amador County.”
CDF Public Information Officer Teri Mizuhara said the burn was weather permitting and the goal “is to maintain a fuel break” on lands owned by SPI and PG&E in the area of Doaks Ridge, on the north side of the north fork of the Mokelumne River in Amador County.
She said the “burn will reduce ground fuels such as brush, conifer litter and bear clover from the understory of the mixed conifer forest in order to help protect communities along the Highway 88 corridor from fires originating in the wildland.” Major roads running through the project area are Salt Springs Road and Tiger Creek Road.
Unit Chief Kelly Keenan said the prescribed burn project will begin with a small “test burn” at the beginning of each day, “as a final check to ensure that conditions are within prescription.” He said “if conditions are favorable, then the firefighters will begin burning around the perimeter of the project allowing a low intensity fire to consume fuels within the project boundaries.”
Keenan said CDF “field personnel are trained professionals and will not burn unless very specific parameters are met.” He said “all prescribed burn projects are the result of extensive pre-planning involving studies of the vegetation types, fuel loading, weather patterns, topography, values at risk, and fire history.”
An “environmental analysis is made for each project, along with mitigation measures to address any foreseeable adverse impacts that may be caused by the fire,” Keenan said. “The targeted area for the prescribed burn project has control lines in place as well as fire crews and fire fighting equipment in strategic locations in order to maintain control of the fire once it is set.”
The El Dorado National Forest tentatively planned to start prescribed burning on 5,300 acres this week, including 1,037 acres on Highway 88 across from Hams Station; and 1,375 acres near the intersection of Mormon Emigrant Trail and Silver Fork Road.
CDF’s McDaniel said people who are sensitive to smoke and who feel they may be affected are requested to contact him at (530)647-5288.
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