Amador County – An off-duty Ione Volunteer Patrol officer acted quickly and saved a life in Ione last month, when a man suffered a heart attack and his heart and breathing stopped.

Ione Police Chief Mike Johnson said the life-saving efforts reaped the “ultimate reward,” and “quick action by the off-duty police department volunteer and quick response by both Ione Police Department and Ione Fire Department appear to have led to a rare success story.”

At about 12:30 p.m. on Friday, July 15, Bill Thiry, a member of the IPD Volunteer Patrol was off-duty and working at a home in the 400 block of Fairway Drive when he “heard a loud crashing sound.”

Johnson said a woman at the home “alerted Thiry that her 72-year-old husband had collapsed.” Thiry was already aware that he had a heart condition, and he “rushed to her aid and called 9-1-1.”

Thiry found the man had stopped breathing and had no pulse. Johnson said Thiry and the woman began Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation. “In 2-3 minutes an on-duty Ione Police Officer arrived, followed immediately by an IFD Engineer.” The police and fire personnel relieved Thiry and continued CPR, and “Thiry provided comfort and support to victim’s wife.”

An off-duty Ione fire fighter jogging in the area with his child also assisted. Mule Creek Fire Department and American Legion Ambulance personnel “soon arrived and continued advanced life support,” and the man was rushed to the hospital.

Johnson said “historically the success rate of surviving cardiac arrest is extremely low, around 5 percent. However, in this case, the Ione man is reported to be stable, back at his own residence, and is expected to make a full recovery.”

He said having full time firefighters “is also a new luxury to the City of Ione. Most of Ione Fire personnel are full-time medics or firefighters in cities and regions throughout the state but choose to live in Ione and give to their community by volunteering as paid-call firefighters on their days off.”

His new “Volunteer Patrol is also made up of a variety of professionals and retirees in our community who choose to serve our community selflessly, whether on-duty or not.”

Johnson said “Ione is fortunate to have so many willing, caring, capable volunteers supplementing the full time employees.”

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Sonora – American Wood Fibers Incorporated announced in mid-July that it has invested in Tuolumne County, with the purchase of a wood shaving company.

American Wood Fibers, and the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority announced the purchase in a joint statement July 8, saying it could bring more timber industry jobs to the region, and will continue the operation of the existing facility.

Tuolumne EDA Economic Director Larry Cope said American Wood Fibers (AWF) has purchased the former California Wood Shavings, previously owned and operated by Bob Brewster.

AWF is the nation’s largest supplier of wood flour and animal bedding, with 10 strategically placed plants and distribution centers near the majority of the country’s major timber processors from coast to coast. AWF produces consumer packaged goods including premium wood pellet fuel, equine and small pet bedding and industrial grade wood flour which is used in products such as composite decking, absorbents, adhesives, fire logs and soil extenders.

AWF showed interest in purchasing California Wood Shavings about eight months ago, Cope said, and will continue to operate the wood shavings mill on the La Grange Road site.

Cope said: “Over the next 12 months, we expect to see further investment and new jobs created.” He said “this type of wood-based operation perfectly complements our county’s history, the timber industry, and augments other mills in this area.”

Located at the former Joe Martin Trucking site at Highway 108 and County Road J-59, California Wood Shavings provided wood shaving bedding materials used by local equestrians and for those who compete at world-class horse shows.

Sierra Resource Management, owned by Mike and Vicki Albrecht, provided many of the logs for California Wood Shavings which were salvaged from the Stanislaus National Forest’s 3,000 acres that burned in the 1973 Granite Fire.

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Amador County – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy released grant guidelines last week for $5 million in Proposition 84 grant funds for its “Healthy Forest Grant Program,” and invited public comment on the guidelines, due by Aug. 15.

Brandon L. Sanders, Mount Whitney Area Representative of Sierra Nevada Conservancy, announced the release for public comment of the draft grant guidelines for Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s 2011-2012 Healthy Forest Grant Program funded by Proposition 84.

Sanders said “based on direction given by the SNC Governing Board, half (or approximately $5 million dollars) of our remaining Proposition 84 Funds will be awarded to Healthy Forest projects and there will be a pre-application process.” He said “direction has significantly changed the Draft Guidelines from previous grant rounds. As you review the new Draft Guidelines, please note that fee title acquisitions are not eligible and please pay particular attention to the application process, grant funding caps, eligible projects, and evaluation criteria.”

A companion Grant Application Packet is being developed to assist applicants invited to submit full applications. The Draft Guidelines are on the SNC website, and questions or comments should be submitted by August 15.

The final draft of the Grant Guidelines with changes to reflect Public Comment will be presented to the SNC Governing Board for review and approval at its September Board meeting.

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Amador County – Friends of Amador County has urged Amador County officials to sell off Buena Vista Rancheria of Mewuk Indians’ land for delinquent taxes.

Amador County Treasurer and Tax Collector Michael E. Ryan in a July 27 letter responding to Friends of Amador County Chairman Jerry Cassesi, said the property owned by the Buena Vista Rancheria “became subject to tax-default and subject to sale,” which was approved by Supervisors.

Ryan scheduled a tax sale in March 2011, but the property was withdrawn from the sale because the “taxability of the subject property” is “under challenge, and has not been resolved to date.” He said his “office has followed state law” and standard practice, noting that law allowed his office until July 1, 2014 to sell it.

Jerry Cassesi, in a July 21 letter to Ryan said that in 1995, “property taxes on the parcel ceased to be paid,” though “all the previous owners of the property considered that parcel Fee land and paid property taxes until 1995.”

Cassesi said Amador County Supervisors consider “this parcel to be Fee land as clearly pointed out in numerous court documents filed by the County.” He said “we believe the law requires that this parcel be treated exactly like any other Fee land for which taxes have not been paid in over 10 years,” and requested “that your office put this parcel up for sale as required.”

Ryan noted that his office was “not privy to any litigation involving the County,” and “it is the function and duty of the County Assessor to determine whether a property ownership is in fee title,” and determine that a “property is subject to assessment for property taxation.”

Ryan said it was “somewhat misleading” to say taxes were not paid since 1995. The “property is shown on the 1995-1996 fiscal year” Amador County Tax Roll as being assessed to Oliver Enos and Donnamarie Potts. Ryan in the letter said a “handwritten notation on this Tax Roll, made by the County Auditor’s office and dated Nov. 15, 1995, indicates the property taxes for that year were cancelled,” with the further notation of “Exempt.”

Ryan said for fiscal years 1996-2004, “the subject property was not assessed” on County Tax Rolls, “and no property taxes were shown as due for those years. Furthermore the property tax records maintained by this office show no unpaid taxes on this property prior to the 2004-2005 fiscal year.”

The Buena Vista property was added to the County Tax Roll in 2004-2005, and “became tax-defaulted on July 1, 2005,” Ryan noted, saying: “As of the date of this letter, neither these nor any of the subsequent property taxes that have been billed on this property have been paid.”

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