A fight over Veteran rights is raging in the western part of the United States and a local veteran leader is right in the middle of the action. It’s a different battle field, but a fight just the same for Floyd Martin, Amador County Veterans Affair Officer and member of the American Legion Post 108. The fight is over the proposed closure of the Veterans Hospital in Livermore and the skilled nursing facility located at the hospital. Martin and San Joaquin County officials have paraded troops of local veterans to persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs CARES to keep the Livermore hospital open and also to consider building another skilled nursing facility in the San Joaquin County area.

This afternoon a special ceremony will be held at the Board of Supervisor’s chambers to honor 8 people in their life saving efforts. The Amador Fire Protection Board of directors will present certificates of commendation along with a Board of Supervisor’s Resolution in recognition of some local heroes who’s whose immediate reactions to a life threatening situation resulted in saving the lives of other residents who were trapped by a fire in their home. The fire occurred in early August on Pine Needle Drive in the Buckhorn area. Upon arrival on scene emergency crews realized that 3 residents of the home were trapped on the back deck. An Amador Co. Sheriff’s Deputy along with Fire personnel worked using a ladder to rescue the 3 residents, with no concerns for their own safety. The local heroes will be recognized today at 1:30pm at the Board of Supervisors meeting and the public is invited to attend to show their support for our local emergency rescue personnel and our Amador County Sheriff’s Department.

Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo signed a decision last week that leaves in place the 1999 Rock Creek Recreation Trails Management Plan for motorized and non-motorized trails located in the Rock Creek area near Georgetown. The decision came about after the Forest Service completed a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in August 2005. The District Court ordered the Forest Service to complete a cumulative effects analysis to address the effects of the proposed trails project on the Pacific Deer Herd.

The Jackson Rancheria Casino parking lot was the scene of an accident on Friday afternoon.

The Amador County Child Abuse Prevention Council has received a $400 grant from RadioShack Corporation to help fund their Shaken Baby Prevention Program. 

Residents of both Amador and Calaveras counties have been invited to participate in efforts looking for ways to find paths to conservation of our region's oak woodlands. The Amador/Calaveras Oak Conservation Group is seeking persons wanting to collaborate with scientists, property owners, government officials and others in examining the current and future threats to our native oak forests. The group's mission is to foster cooperation among public agencies, conservation groups and local property owners.

The Amador County Recreation Agency learned yesterday afternoon at their regularly scheduled meeting that the Ione city council has pulled their financial support for the countywide recreation agency out of next year’s budget. The city had voted unanimously to designate approximately $11,000 for ACRA in their budget earlier this year but Tuesday afternoon voted to take it out, 3-2. Ione City Councilman and ACRA Board Member Jerry Sherman stated, "This was out of the blue to me, I did all I could to keep ACRA in our budget, but I was simply out numbered." This will impact the agency by thousands of dollars as every city and the county contributes to the organization on a per citizen basis.

A recent California law entitled the Safely Surrendered Child Law allows for the voluntary surrender of a baby within 72 hours of birth. Under this law a parent or parent(s) can safely surrender their baby and be protected from prosecution for child abandonment. This law makes it easier for a parent who might otherwise abandon their baby in an unsafe place to have an alternate solution. The law allows a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for their baby to safely surrender the baby within three days of birth. All that is required is that the baby be given to an on-duty employee of a hospital or safe haven site in California. 

Deer season has ended in Northern California but that does not slow down the California Department of Fish and Game and their search for poachers.

Is the trail going cold on the icy blooded cop killer that took the life of a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy last Friday morning? No according Sacramento County sheriff's investigators who state they are not without leads, thanks to modern forensic science. Evidence found at the site of the shooting of 38 year old Deputy Jeff Mitchell will be analyzed for DNA, including evidence found on Mitchell's body, said Sgt. Tim Curran, Sac County Sheriff’s department spokesman. The Sacramento County district attorney's crime lab has agreed to expedite its analysis, Curran said. Results could be available in "a week to two weeks." Officials believe Mitchell was in a violent struggle before he was shot which produced bodily injury to the deputy, and most likely, to his attacker as well.