A popular recreation site in the Pine Grove area is closed to the public until April. According to the AWA’s General Manager Jim Abercrombie the water agency has asked that Tabeaud Lake remain closed to the public for the public’s own safety as the agency works in the area to complete the Amador Transmission Pipeline. A sign at the entrance says access to the lake and its recreational activities will not be open until sometime in April.

The City of Ione had quite the meeting last night when the city council began by swearing in two new police officers. Those same officers were then put to work almost immediately when a suspicious object was discovered outside of the city hall. The Officers passed a note to City Clerk Janet Traverso warning of the danger outside of the City Hall and the Calaveras County Bomb Squad was called into service. While drama unfolded outside of the City Hall drama of a different sort began inside as the City Council dealt with several hot topics.

This week the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission will meet. The commission, mandated by California State law, is responsible for reviewing and approving proposed jurisdictional boundary changes, including annexations and detachments of territory to and/or from cities and special districts, incorporations of new cities, formations of new special districts, and consolidations, mergers and dissolutions of existing districts.

Hospice of Amador is looking for volunteers from the community for their Griefbusters program. Griefbusters give their hearts, time and support to children or teens who have experienced the loss of a loved one. It is a meaningful and rewarding experience to help these young people through their grief. Hospice of Amador will hold a Griefbuster training on April 23 & 24 & May 11. For more information about the 20 hour course and to set up a screening interview, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Ann Metherd, at 223-5500 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Hospice of Amador is a non-profit agency providing quality end-of-life care to patients and families in Amador and northern Calaveras counties for 25 years. Visit www.hospiceofamador.org for more information about our services.

Yesterday’s big news was the electrical power outage that turned the air conditioning off to about 4462 customers. Initially the 4462 customers, both commercial and residential, went dark around 4 pm after a major PG&E transformer exploded. The outages effected local business, homes and meetings with the City of Sutter Creek having to postpone their Planning Commission meeting. The transformer explosion, located in the Martell area just off of Highway 49, is thought to be heat related. As PG&E crews responded the call lines to the utility were swamped with local residents asking about restoration. By about 8 pm 1100 or so customers had their power restored by PG&E crews that were able to shift the power grid around slightly. The remainder of the customers saw their power restored by about 1 am last night. According to PG&E spokesman JD Guidi as permanent repairs are made through out the day today customers will be taken off line, for a few minutes at a time, as tests are conducted. This will occur through out the day today but these outages will be planned, temporary, short in duration, and part of the overall fix.

Drivers got the green light for the Sutter Creek bypass yesterday morning around 10:30.  The road closed sign was removed and Caltrans activated the lights.  It did not take long for drivers to take the new 3.5 mile stretch of road that bypasses Sutter Creek and Amador City which will cut several minutes off of their trip between Highway 16 and Sutter Hill, as well as save the side mirrors of many vehicles that are parked along the old Hwy. 49 stretch in Sutter Creek. The new road also provides a spectacular view when headed north toward the old Hwy 49 junction. TSPN was there yesterday morning as the bypass officially opened to traffic. The Bypass was expected to significantly reduce the amount of commercial vehicle traffic through Amador City and Sutter Creek. The County and ACTC is still working on getting funds from the state to bring the old section of Hwy. 49 up to standard before it is transferred to County and Cities.

 

Last week, the Plymouth City Council heard from a tribal elder of the Ione band of Me-Wuk Indians during the public comment period and it appeared that the Plymouth citizens were upset at the lack of negotiations between the City and Tribe for the proposed Casino. The tribal elder told the council that starting Thursday, last week, the tribe has begun negotiations with the County. The tribe representative stated, “I’m sorry the City has to loose out on the money this casino will generate but we will continue to push forward with this casino." Citizens of Plymouth also addressed the council on the 'dead' MSA between the tribe and the City; Plymouth citizen, Maria Simon addressed the council saying, "God created all men equal; red, brown, black, yellow, white… You allow 250 homes here, 500 there, and 300 over there… I do not see why money from developers is any better than that of the tribe. The city is going to miss out on big money and it will now go to the county. Plymouth will get the short end of the stick yet again."

More concerns have been raised by residents living near and around Mule Creek State Prison when recent rains gave flow to the creek. The creek color according to neighbors of the prison is black. Amador County Environmental Health Department Director Mike Israel is aware of the situation and has been investigating the concerns since first contacted last week. He was on site Friday, February 9, and at that time Israel reports, the creek was flowing significantly.  Though the water was muddy and cloudy, no unusual color (black) was noted at that time by Israel.

The Amador Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is looking for a volunteer to be appointed as an Alternate Public Member to the commission. This is a 4-year term, running from January 2007 to February 2011. Applicants must be a resident and registered voter in Amador County and cannot be a city, district or County official of any public agency within Amador County. Those seated on LAFCO are subject to the Fair Political Practices Act and must file an annual conflict of interest statement.

 “Radically out of control” is how one neighbor described the George Reed Company’s plans for expansion at their Jackson Valley Quarry. This continues to be a red hot issue with landowners in the scenic ag-oriented valley. Currently Reed’s permit allows for the extrication of rock from the quarry, as well as the transportation of that rock. The company has been in the process of an expansion for the boundaries of the rock pit which would double the size of the quarry and in turn increase production and transportation trips for the rock.