News Archive (6192)
Amador County – Two Jackson civic and business groups plan meetings in the coming week, including the Jackson Revitalization Committee’s monthly meeting Thursday, and the Jackson Business and Community Association’s fall mixer Monday, Oct. 17.
The Jackson Revitalization Committee meets 6 p.m. Thursday in the Jackson City Council Chambers, at 33 Broadway. Discussion items include committee membership term renewals, a review of revitalization committee goals, and an updates to the Jackson business planner.
The Revitalization committee will also get project updates, including on the Façade Improvement Grants; Downtown historic plaques; and the Creekwalk Project, which will discuss a request from the Amador County Recreation Agency for grant preparation funding assistance.
City Manager Mike Daly announced the JRC meeting, saying another business meeting of note is the Jackson Business and Community Association’s Fall Mixer, coming up on Monday, Oct. 17, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Jose’s Mexican Restaurant, owned by the Amador County Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year, Martha Perez.
The 2011 Fall Mixer will give attendees drinks and refreshments, and information on what the Jackson Business and Community Association is doing, what it has done, and what it has planned for 2012.
Organizers Pattie and Ron Busch of the Celtic Knot sent announcements, encouraging people to bring friends, and saying to “remember this is more than a business association. It is a community association, open to anyone who cares about Jackson.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors honor retirees, give vintners gold medal
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Vintners’ Association Executive Director Jamie Lubenko said “this may not be the year to leave law and go into winemaking,” due to the bad weather and long season. But that is what Amador County Counsel Martha Jean Shaver is proposing for her spare time with retirement.
The Amador County Board of Supervisors read resolutions of appreciation for two retiring long-time county employees Tuesday for Shaver after 12 years with the county, and Beth Arnold, who retires after eight years as assistant County Assessor.
Shaver said the resolution writers “perhaps made me sound a little more interesting than I am,” but said she moved to Amador County to work and live, to be near her son, who “promptly went to high school and I never saw him again.” She admired the level of professionalism in Amador County.
Sheriff Martin Ryan said he would like to “thank Martha so much for her legal counsel,” saying she was always there for consultation. Ryan said Shaver’s “legal skills are unparalleled” and “my office is a better place for having her as county counsel.”
Former Supervisor Richard Vinson thanked Shaver for keeping former lead counsel John Hahn in line for 12 years. Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said Shaver was a dedicated public servant, and performed well in keeping the board informed.
Supervisor Vice Chairman Louis Boitano said he knew some grape growers in the valley with good grapes for her winemaking hobby. Lubenko, of the Vintners’ Association, said Mr. Boitano thinks he knows growers in the valley with good grapes, but they were hurt by recent storms.
Supervisors later presented Lubenko with a first place medal and a plaque for best red wine from this year’s annual convention of the California Local Agency Formation Commission. Amador LAFCO Executive Director Roseanne Chamberlain said the conference was held in Napa.
She said the assembled multitudes tasted the wines from the attending county representative of Cal-LAFCO, and Amador’s red wines “received an inordinately high number of votes,” and “just blasted the other wines.”
Supervisor Ted Novelli, who was elected to the Cal-LAFCO board’s vice presidency, said it was good to “beat Napa at Napa,” but they could not have done it if it wasn’t for Lubenko and her Vintners’ Association.
Lubenko said she was not sure which wine that she sent had won the award, but she suspected it was the Jeff Renquist Petite Syrah, which also won a lot of gold medals at the state competition this year.
Lubenko said: “This plaque will hang on the wall next to last year’s plaque.” She said: “We take a lot of pride in this.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Chamber Business Person of the Year Martha Perez was honored by a Jackson City Council resolution Tuesday in City Hall.
Mayor Connie Gonsalves presented the resolution to the 28-year business owner and civic leader, owner of Jose’s Mexican Restaurant, and read the resolution, which in part said City Council gives Martha Perez “her well deserved recognition as the Amador County Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year and give her a big Muchas Gracias for her dedication to our community.”
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked if it was the city’s first “at least partially bilingual resolution” that the city council had awarded. City Manager Mike Daly said: “Si.”
Perez said she wanted to “thank everyone that has been a part of this honor. I am on cloud nine and I’m going to stay on it as long as possible.” She said: “I am very grateful to be in this country,” her voice tailing off as the audience gave her a standing ovation.
Gonsalves read the resolution, which noted that Perez opened Jose’s Restaurant in 1983, and in 2003, she “designed and guided an extensive remodel” to “give it an authentic ambiance for its many local patrons.”
The resolution said “in addition to her dedication to creating jobs and commerce in Jackson, Martha Perez has donated her time and money to several non-profit organizations, including hosting an MDA event, serving on the Board of Directors of Sutter Amador Hospital, Sports for the World’s Children, Amador County Chamber of Commerce and more recently, the Jackson Business and Community Association.”
A frequent host on TSPN’s “Just Between Us” women’s morning talk show, Perez is a 28-year member of the Amador County Chamber of Commerce. She is also a volunteer for Amador County Unified School District; a local school sports sponsor; and a past participant in the Amador Business Association. Perez has translated for Superior court, Justice Court, hospitals, doctors and others, including all of the schools.
Martha Perez will be honored as the 2010-2011 Amador County Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year during a celebration Friday, Oct. 21 at the Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel and Conference Center. The “American Dream Celebration” is the Amador Chamber event of the year.
For information, call the Chamber office at (209)223-0350.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sutter Amador Hospital offers tips for Halloween safety
Written by Tom
Amador County – Sutter Amador Hospital offered safety tips to encourage parents and kids to prepare for a safe Halloween.
Pediatrician David Stone, M.D., of Sutter Amador Pediatric Center, shared some safety tips. Stone said while driving, be especially cautious on Halloween. Kids will dash across a street to a promising house, where treats are better.
Stone said “it can be a frightening night to drive with large groups of young children walking, sometimes running, along your darkened neighborhood streets.”
Costume considerations should be made for safety. “Most kids aren’t used to wearing long skirts, capes or oversized shoes,” he said. “When choosing their costumes, they aren’t considering how well they fit, but how cool they look. As a parent, our job is to be sure they can safely navigate the neighborhood or front yard without landing on their nose.”
Costumes shouldn’t be too long and should be light colored. Reflective tape or a light-up accessory can help make them more visible in the dark.
Masks are dangerous because they limit visibility. Face paint is a better option. If only a mask will do, suggest that it not be worn until after the ringing of the doorbell, and taken off again during travel from the house. Also, try to find one with large nose and mouth openings, with large eye holes.
Preparing your porch for safety includes making the stairs clearly lit and walkways free of obstacles. Stone said trips and falls are the most common injuries on Halloween.
Keep candles out of harm’s way, and try battery-operated lights for worry-free jack o’lanterns and luminaries.
Know where pets will be when visitors approach the door, Stone said. They can get spooked by noise and additional visitors.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jackson urges county to follow own historic preservation guidelines
Written by Tom
Amador County – Jackson City Council on Tuesday approved sending a letter to Amador County urging it to follow its own design guidelines to preserve historical building designs, after its planning commission OK’d a remodel of McDonald’s in Martell.
Jackson Vice Mayor Keith Sweet, who is appealing the McDonald’s variance approval with eight other county citizens, brought the issue to the council seeking approval of a support letter similar to one sent by Sutter Creek City Council.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi said he supported Sweet personally 100 percent, but did not attend the Amador Planning Commission, did not hear the arguments and how it made the McDonald’s decision. He said he supported a letter, but not a resolution, as was approved by Sutter Creek.
Councilman Pat Crew agreed, saying he also did not attend the meeting, and did not see how the decision was reached. He said a council resolution “would be stepping into an issue that we don’t belong in.”
Garibaldi favored a letter structured much more simply, because the restaurant is located outside city limits and Sphere of Influence. He said it was jumping in on something that doesn’t impact us, and he would rather see a letter urging local governments to follow their design guidelines, and build “something that fits.”
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said Supervisors at a recent meeting made individual comments on county’s design guidelines, and asked staff and the Planning Commission to “hopefully integrate them into the design guidelines.” He said design zoning areas were a good idea, while “one size fits all is very difficult to do.”
Plasse said he agreed with Crew and Garibaldi that it is “uncomfortable to get into the operations of other governing” bodies and was not right to weigh in, in a formal manner, with a resolution.
Sweet “for the record, I did not ask for a resolution, just a letter.” He didn’t disagree with a word Plasse said, but was not pleased the County Planning Commission worked on design guidelines, voted 5-0 to recommend them to Supervisors, and then chose to ignore the guidelines when it approved the McDonald’s remodel.
Sweet said if council members were uncomfortable, he would pull the issue. Garibaldi said he was not uncomfortable, but just did not know the methodology behind the decision. He suggested authorizing City Manager Mike Daly to send a letter with much less detail, encouraging local government to follow their own guidelines preserving historic designs.
The letter passed 3-0-1, with Sweet abstaining, and Councilwoman Marilyn Lewis abstaining.
Sweet said he and some appellants met Monday with McDonald’s officials, and are working on a compromise, and hopefully the appeal hearing won’t have to happen.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors continued an appeal hearing on a pet crematorium
Written by Tom
Amador County – An appeal hearing for a pet crematorium use permit at Amador Memorial Cemetery was continued for more information Tuesday.
Michael Johnson, owner of the cemetery, is appealing a 2-3 Amador County Planning Commission denial of his request for a conditional use permit to open a cremation business for pets and other animals in Pioneer.
Amador County Board of Supervisors heard the appeal Tuesday and voted 5-0 to continue the appeal until its Oct. 25 meeting, and asked staff to visit a similar model of the cremator, a “Model 37-2,” to observe it in operation and look for odor and smoke.
The motion also asked staff to look into “odor nuisance language” with the county counsel and also look at hours of operation, likely 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, as suggested by Supervisor Vice Chairman Louis Boitano.
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse asked if that would include repercussions for Johnson that could compromise his investment. Johnson said the unit would cost about $30,000. Boitano said he would leave the language to the experts, but suggested a condition where if they get a complaint, that they “can set up a scenario of conditions” for the county Air District to be able to monitor the unit.
Johnson said he was planning to place a carport over the cremator, but might try to operate it first, before building a carport. Boitano said he could make it easy on himself that way, in case it needed to be moved.
Air District Director Mike Boitano was asked to go to Hanford to observe the similar unit in operation, to see if emissions come from the unit. Supervisor Richard Forster asked him to note the location of homes in relation to the Hanford unit.
A group of neighbors of the cemetery attended the meeting Tuesday and many spoke, including Kirt Dalmau, a Buckhorn resident, who said he had 60 signatures on a petition that requested Supervisors uphold the findings of the Planning Commission. He said: “There’s other places you could do it. Why do it in our back yard?”
Mike Boitano said “if the plant is operated to the manufacturer’s standards,” he did not believe it would have odors or smoke.
Forster said they were talking about odors and if it was approved, can there be conditions in place where if odors are present, it could be shut down?
Deputy County Counsel Greg Gillott said Air law covers particulates and emissions, but the Board of Supervisors “could add language that specifically calls out odors.” Supervisor Brian Oneto asked Johnson if he could agree with such language. Johnson said he would like to see the language first.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador County – Ione City Council held a special meeting Wednesday to discuss a newly discovered deficit of nearly $700,000, meaning it will need drastic cuts to operation and salary costs.
City employees presented options for cuts in their departments, including Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson offering options to sell the city’s police dog, and personnel cuts totaling $260,000 of his total $853,000 budget. Johnson said “this does not mean we’re begging you to implement all of these.” He said he would “absolutely take a pay cut of $5,000 to $10,000” off the top, to serve as a leading example, and so the city could realize the savings immediately.
His suggestions included selling the police dog for a one-time boost of $10,000 to $15,000, the dog’s general value. He said a part time property clerk, and full time records clerk position could be cut, along with an officer. City Manager Jeff Butzlaff said the police cuts, including those offered by the Ione Police Officers Association president, totaled about a 40 percent cut.
Johnson said the goal is to have coverage around the clock, 365 days a year, and “we will still strive to maintain that for the city.” He said “we are a prison city,” part of the population is “unsavory” and “people hunt here for victims.”
The IPOA president, representing four officers and a sergeant, offered another $70,000 in concessions. Johnson said he could not make any offers of options that affect the union.
City Building Inspector Don Mishrall, representing city staff in the Service Employees International Union, said those six employees offered to furlough out one day each pay period, starting Thursday, Oct. 13. He said: “I personally will furlough out two days a week.”
He said building inspecting, like police, “is a life safety issue: Houses fall, people die; houses burn, people die.” He said he would furlough, but work as many hours as he has to. Mishrall said JTS Communities “is building 50 homes right now and I will keep inspecting homes.” He said “it’s not an option. Bang the gavel and I will start tomorrow.” The savings SEIU offered was $71,000.
Butzlaff said the city auditor found the General Fund, thought to have $2 million, was actually has about $1.3 million. He said “this is a stunning revelation.” Auditor Larry Baine said not too many accountants could see the true cash amount in the city’s accounting software, installed on Kerr’s recommendation. He said “it has about 40 or 50 accounts you have to add up to come up with the cash in the General Fund.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Public Health No link to communicable disease in 5-year-old’s death
Written by Tom
Amador County – The death Monday of a 5-year-old boy has been found to have not been caused by a communicable disease.
Amador County Public Health released information Tuesday saying a “preliminary investigation into the death of a 5-year-old child does not reveal communicable disease.”
Amador County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann said: “Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the child’s family and caregivers.” He said: “Our investigation reveals that there is no need for preventive antibiotics for contacts.”
Hartmann said “as a precaution, a childcare facility was temporarily closed pending the outcome of the preliminary investigation. The childcare site has been allowed to reopen.”
He said the “Amador County Sheriff’s Office collaborated closely with Dr. Hartmann and the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office in the investigation of this death.”
Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner said late Tuesday that the Sheriff’s Department would release more details today. He said Public Health did not consult the Sheriff’s Office before releasing information, and the Sheriff & Coroner’s Office “is required by law to conduct an inquiry to determine the cause and manner of death,” not Public Health.
He said in this case, Hartmann “was merely consulted as we are required to report deaths possibly involving communicable disease to him and at the time that was in fact a consideration.”
Wegner said contrary to a newspaper report, “the autopsy that was conducted was not a ‘preliminary autopsy’.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lungren supports U.S. Capitol burning solid waste to generate energy
Written by Tom
Amador County – Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA) has lent his support to a plan negotiated by the Architect of the Capitol in Washington D.C. to turn waste generated in the Capitol complex into energy.
Lungren promised to evaluate the plan when he assumed duties in January as Chairman of the House Administration Committee, which has oversight of maintenance and functions related to the operation of buildings in Washington. Last week he gave support to the new program, expected to save thousands annually in waste disposal and energy costs.
Reports said the Capitol will start using a “waste-to-energy” process, burning trash to generate electricity, beginning in November, according to the Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers, who reportedly signed a contract that would remove from the waste stream that solid waste which cannot be recycled.
The program will take solid waste generated in the Capitol and burn it to create energy to be used in the Capitol. The project will divert about 90 percent of the waste from the Capitol, away from landfills and into energy production. The total waste generated in the Capitol in 2010 was 5,300 tons.
Ayers said our “mission is to preserve and protect the national treasures entrusted to our care. It just makes perfect sense to fulfill our mission using sustainable practices.”
The U.S. EPA notes that solid waste “can be directly combusted in waste-to-energy facilities to generate electricity,” and “because no new fuel sources are used other than the waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills,” that waste fuel “is often considered a renewable power source.”
It said the waste burned in the practice could consist “mainly of renewable resources such as food, paper, and wood products” and “it also includes nonrenewable materials derived from fossil fuels, such as tires and plastics.”
The Hill online reported last Thursday that the “process creates usable energy employing waste that would otherwise be placed in landfills — diverting up to 90 percent of the Capitol campus’s non-recyclable solid waste.”
Lungren in The Hill story praised Ayers’ “waste-to-energy” initiative, saying he was “pleased that, after consultation with the Committee and thorough analyses,” the Architect of the Capitol “has entered into a new waste removal contract that will divert the majority of Congress’ solid waste from local landfills and save taxpayers thousands annually.”
Lungren said the practice is “woefully underutilized here in the U.S.” and it is an “environmentally efficient, cost-effective means to reduce greenhouse emissions and divert waste from landfills.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amador Public Health sets vaccinations clinics as flu season arrives
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Public Health Department has scheduled two upcoming flu vaccination clinics for community members, one on Oct. 31, and one on Nov. 17 at the Public Health building on Conductor Boulevard in Sutter Creek.
Public Health officials in a release this week said FluMist nasal vaccination clinics will again be offered for students at their school sites. Amador County Unified School District is currently working with Public Health to organize the school site flu clinic vaccination schedule. Dates and locations will soon be released.
Dr. Bob Hartmann, county public health officer, said “it is recommended that everyone plan on getting their seasonal flu vaccination this year. The flu vaccination is the best protection against the flu.”
Flu prevention measures are also important. Key recommendations are to wash hands often with warm soapy water for at least 30 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizers. Another recommendation is to cover coughs and sneezes, and if you cough or sneeze into a tissue, throw it away and then wash your hands. A third reminder tip is, if you are sick, stay home.
Flu symptoms include a fever of 100 degrees or higher and a cough or sore throat. Headache, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea could also be present.
The public flu clinics are 2-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, and 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Health & Human Services Building, located at 10877 Conductor Boulevard in Sutter Creek.
For more info on the flu clinics, call Public Health at (209)223-6407.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
