A Volcano woman was arrested last Thursday for driving under the influence after flipping her vehicle in an accident. The accident occurred on Shakeridge Road west of Fernridge Road. According the CHP reports, “due to (her) level of intoxication she allowed the vehicle she was driving to drift off onto the right shoulder...She lost control of the vehicle and drove up a slight embankment and overturned, coming to rest on the vehicle’s roof.” The 57 year-old woman was transported to Sutter Amador Hospital where she was treated and released with no injuries. She was subsequently arrested and booked in the custody of the Amador County Jail.

Republican Congressman Dan Lungren still represents a Republican district — but just barely. The California secretary of state says registered Republicans now outnumber Democrats by less than 5 percent in his Sacramento-area district, which includes parts of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento and Solano counties. It's the smallest edge for any California Republican congressman. Lungren's 3rd District is about 42 percent Republican and 37 percent Democratic. That's down nearly 2 percentage points from two years ago. Democrats are encouraged by the shift, which is part of a statewide decline in Republican voters. But a political analyst says Lungren still has the great advantage of being an incumbent when he runs for re-election in November.

According to Senator Dave Cox, Californians who live in rural, more remote areas of the state do not always have the high quality phone service that those living in urban areas enjoy.  Now Cox, who represents the 1st district which includes Amador County, is introducing a measure to continue a program that allows a “fair” rate structure for phone customers living in rural areas. “Not all Californians have equal access to technological advancements. Californians who live in rural, more remote areas of the state do not always have the high quality phone service that those living in urban areas enjoy,” says Cox. The proposed bill would allow the Public Utilities Commission to continue the program that, in Cox’s words, “allows a fair and equitable rate structure for phone customers living in rural areas.” Cox went on to say, “The bill will keep telephone and basic telecommunications service available and affordable in rural and mountainous areas.”

As any local winemaker will tell you, they go to great lengths to produce the right Zinfandel. "I've been fooling around with zinfandel my whole career. I was a cabernet sauvignon guy, too, but all of us cab guys want to try our hand at zinfandel," says Randle Johnson, a consulting winemaker with the Hess Collection. Zinfandel, it turns out, presents challenges even for veteran winemakers.

It's seen as the All-American grape, brought to California around 1849 by Gold Rush miners who turned to agriculture. But critics say it has never earned full respect and it will never make a truly elegant wine or be a "noble" grape like the cabernet sauvignon. Johnson. Johnson and his employer are looking to change that. The Hess Collection will now be working with about 15 independent growers in Amador and Mendocino Counties to produce 15,000 cases a year of Zinfandel. The partnership is seen as beneficial for both parties, who want to see Zinfandel gain in respect and, of course, sales, in the wine market.

At the Jackson meeting, there was heated discussion over the ongoing Buscaglia Restaurant project and it’s historical significance. In discussions with City Planner Susan Peters, several Jackson citizens were in attendance and voiced strong opinions on the issue. The owners of Buscaglia’s applied to build a new, larger structure behind the parking lot that would house the restaurant, as well as lodging and banquet facilities. Since all ordinances were met, they received a ministerial building permit, and constructed the new building in accordance with the C-2 zoning laws; however, some locals feel that the architecture does not fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and there are worries over increased traffic and parking shortages.

Another on-going controversy involves the original building’s historical value. The most recent plans outline the removal of the second story, as well as the roof and a portion of one wall, and the construction of a parking area.  Since this plan described a considerable amount of building loss, the Site Plan Review Committee determined it to be a discretionary project and referred the matter to the City Planning Commission for review. If approved as a discretionary project, the building would undergo a historic evaluation. After noting that considerable changes had already been made to the existing structure and listening to public comments that were generally in favor of remodeling the building, the commission determined that the owners could continue with their remodeling plans. As it stands now, the City Attorney and the City Planner are researching the matter to determine if there is a method by which the public can appeal the Planning Commission’s ruling.

Good news - it looks like Jackson’s 3rd Graders have been awarded new playground equipment at Detert Park!  In December of last year, the City of Jackson issued a request for proposals for new playground equipment for children age two to twelve, with a maximum budget of $60,000.

The city received seven bids, which were eventually narrowed down to four comparable bids. The city turned to Jackson’s youth for help in making the final determination.

Three Third grade classes at Jackson Elementary were polled by viewing large, color presentations of each proposed playground.  The winner, North State Playgrounds, was chosen by a landslide majority vote of over 70 percent!

The new equipment will included a large climbing structure, with attached bars, walls, poles, and multiple slides, a teeter-totter, and several benches.  For children age two to five, there will also be a smaller play unit.  Most importantly, the bid includes safe, wood-fiber surface materials instead of wood chips, and the area will include an ADA-approved ramp. The new playground will replace the old, metal equipment currently located in the sandy area behind the Jackson Pool. The city hopes to have the playground installed and open to the public in time for Clean Air Green Day, on April 19th.

This week sees the formal opening of a vault designed to protect and preserve samples of valuable seeds from around the world. The "Doomsday" vault in Svalbard, Norway can store more than four million batches of seeds, including the world's major crop varieties. Although the vault cut into the side of a mountain is dubbed “Doomsday”, Norwegian scientists described it more as a "backup collection" in case some of the world's 1,400 gene banks are destroyed, anticipating any potentially disastrous situations in the earth’s future. The vault is located in a highly secured, mile deep tunnel on a remote island near the North pole.

 

 

The CHP has reported a number of vehicle accidents in Amador County over the weekend. Although some were dramatic, there were no reports of serious injury. As a result of a pounding storm and white out conditions, a traffic collision involving eight vehicles occurred on Highway 88 east of Plasses Resort near Kirkwood. The Highway was covered with snow and ice, causing a small commuter bus to lose control and slide, blocking the entire highway on a blind curve in the process.

Several motorists traveling eastbound encountered the bus and attempted to avoid it. One by one they lost control of their vehicles, resulting in a total of five separate vehicle accidents. In a separate report, a resident of Volcano was driving on Buckhorn Ridge Road when she lost control of her vehicle and proceeded across the  opposite lane. The vehicle collided with a chain link fence,  hit a sign post, flipped over and came to rest on its roof.  After the collision, the woman fled the scene on foot.

 A special joint meeting between the Board of Supervisors and the Amador Water Agency, or AWA, was held yesterday at the County Offices. The meeting was open to the public. The two parties discussed- but did not take any action -on a number of water and wastewater matters currently affecting the county. Supervisor Richard Forster was present and played “host” throughout the proceedings. Matters pertaining to water issues included discussion of new developments, the status of the water supply for Carbondale Industrial Park, the water supply pipeline to the City of Plymouth, and the proposed Wild and Scenic River designation for the Mokelumne River.

Debbie Dunn was on hand to represent the Foothill Conservancy, which has been pushing for the Mokelumne’s Wild and Scenic designation. Pros and Cons for Wild and Scenic status  were discussed, including the relative ease or difficulty such a designation would make for the Water Agency in implementing future regulations upon that portion of  the river. In reference to wastewater issues, AWA general manager Jim Abercrombie talked about the capacity of the Sutter Creek Plant. There was also some talk about the Camanche area and taking drinking water over the hill to a landowner’s property. This decision could be affected by the presence of  the California Tiger Salamander, which has been discovered within a mile of the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency is interested in how the Salamander’s habitat will be affected. A final discussion occurred between Dunn and Abercrombie concerning the wastewater capacity at the Airport. Dunn, a representative of the Airport Committee and its ongoing renovations and improvements to the airport, seemed surprised when Abercrombie remarked that the AWA has no to little further wastewater capacity available for the airport to use. Discussions will continue at future meetings.

Amador locals reported feeling the shock of an earthquake that hit northeastern Nevada last Friday. According to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, the quake struck at 6:15 am with a magnitude of 6.0.  The trembler was felt across most of the West, from Southern California to Utah and Arizona, with as many as 30 separate reports of aftershocks. Officials received calls from Amador County and Sacramento residents after the initial quake hit.

Most affected was the town of Wells in Elko County in a sparsely populated area near the Utah border. Elko County officials declared a state of emergency.  Almost all of the town’s 700 residential structures had some damage. The town of about 1,300 was closed to all but residents, the Nevada Highway Patrol said. Officials posted signs along nearby highways telling motorists to fill up on gasoline elsewhere. In the high desert along the California Trail traveled by Western pioneers, Wells was founded by Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s. Friday's quake temporarily disrupted the railroad in the sierras now owned by Union Pacific.