The Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority is a joint powers authority made up of nine entities, including Amador, Calaveras and Alpine Counties in the Upper Mokelumne River watershed. The group, through proposition 13 and 50 grant funding, has undertaken a multi-phase watershed assessment and planning project which is aimed at advancing the group toward a broader understanding of the water quality issues that concern the Upper Mokelumne River watershed, as well as developing a method that will evaluate the water quality of the watershed on a long term basis. This project, known as the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Assessment and Planning Project, was funded in part by grants available after the passage of statewide propositions.  As part of this project, a hydrologic model of the watershed was developed and calibrated using the Environmental Protection Agancy-supported Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework, or WARMF, software.

The Junior Olympic trials recently held in Amador County by the Amador County recreation Agency showed the athletic talents of our local kids. The winners will now be moving on to the regional competition to be held in West Sacramento. The first place finishers are eligible to continue to the national junior Olympic held in Colorado. The winners are: for Boys Basketball - 8-9 Division First Place - Travis Andrews Jr., Second Place - Stone Mason Third Place - Jesse Batchelor. Boys Basketball 10-11 First Place -Aaron Zambrano, Second Place - Josh Coy. Boys Basketball 11-12 First Place - Kyle Chew, Second Place - Wade Wontorek, Third Place - Wayne Batchelor.

According to the California Highway Patrol Wednesday was a rough day for drivers under 21 on Amador County roadways. Fortunately of all four of the accidents reported yesterday, only one involved any injury. However, 3 of the accidents have common denominators, young drivers driving at excessive speeds on wet roadways. Three of the four reports were written by Officer Mike LeMasters in succession. The first accident was reported at 5:30 am on Stoney Creek Rd 6 miles west of Jackson when 20 year old Heather Ross of Valley Springs was headed toward Jackson at an excessive speed, according to the CHP Report. Ross lost control of her 2004 Chevy, failing to negotiate a curve, and ran of the roadway and through a fence. She was uninjured.

Saturday, Amador County will see an influx of motorcyclists as the Italian Picnic grounds become the destination for the Unsung Heroes Motorcycle Ride to benefit the Special Olympics of Northern California. The ride is anticipated to generate 800 to 1000 riders which will begin from three separate points, the Harley Shop in Folsom, the new Harley Shop on Sutter Hill and a point in Stockton. The route, according to the Special Olympics is about 60 miles in length no matter what the starting point. The ride was founded in 2001 by the late Dennis "Buzz" Mazzuola, formerly deputy chief of the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office Investigations Division and a 29-year veteran of the Stockton Police Department. The ride starts at 7:30 am. Registration forms are at www.sonc.org/regions/region_ne_article2.html. According to CJP Community Outreach Officer John C Hardey and Sutter Creek Police Chief Rob Duke state that they have not been notified of the ride- but both agree that this amount of motorcyclists will casue impacts to Amador County roadways.

The Jackson Rancheria Casino has announced they have schedules a third Global Knock-Out event. The wildly popular action packed world of mixed martial arts returns to Jackson Rancheria Casino with Global Knock-Out – Summer Slugfest on Thursday, August 2. Dalton Town Hall doors open at 5:30 p.m. Must be 18 to attend.Tickets are $100, $70, and $35 and can be purchased online or by phone from Ticketmaster or in person at the Jackson Rancheria Box Office. The Box Office is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and accepts credit cards, checks, Dreamcatcher's Club points, and cash. These tickets sell out extremely quickly- so do not hesitate if you want to attend. Since the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians launched the Global Knock-Out series last Fall, these events have become among the most popular attractions at the Casino. The audience is guaranteed a lot of sprawl-and-brawl, clinch-and-pound, ground-and-pound action-packed fights.This third event will feature many top local fighters, plus another four-man heavyweight tournament. Mixed martial arts began as a way of pitting different martial arts and fighting styles against each other with minimal rules in an attempt to determine which system would be most effective in real combat situations. It has evolved into a dynamic sport with some rules but much of the original no-holds-barred concept. Fight card subject to change. For more information, call 800-822-WINN or visit jacksoncasino.com

Cal Fire has announced that the Amador-El Dorado Unit of Cal Fire will conduct Hand Crew Exercises in the area of Marble Valley (the Parker Development) for three days. The exercises began May 1st and include conservation crews from Pine Grove, Growlersburg, and Washington Ridge. The Conservation Camps will conduct a four-mile hike, construct hand cut fire lines and chain saw training. The exercises, will prepare hand crews for the upcoming fire season. Cal Fire is currently authorized to operate 39 Conservation Camps statewide that house nearly 4,000 inmates and wards. These camps are operated in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Through these cooperative efforts Cal Fire is authorized to operate 196 fire crews year-round. These crews are available to respond to all types of emergencies including wildfires, floods, search and rescue, and earthquakes. When not responding to emergencies, the crews are busy with conservation and community service work projects for state, federal, and local government agencies. Fire crews perform several million hours of work statewide each year.

The San Andreas Unit of the California Highway Patrol is reporting a fatal accident involving a Jackson man. According to the CHP report the accident occurred when 24 year old Jared Allen of Sutter Creek was traveling through Mokelumne Hill on Hwy 49 in a 1989 Jeep. As Allen proceeded through town a car driven by 48 year old Julie Henderson of Moke Hill stopped to make a left hand turn off the roadway.  Allen, according to the CHP report, due to his level of intoxication, suddenly realized that  Henderson was stopped in front of him and attempted to steer around the rear of Henderson’s car, a 2000 Toyota Corolla. The maneuver was unsuccessful and the Jeep hit the rear of the Toyota causing the Jeep to run off of the west side of Hwy 49. Allen then overcorrected and the Jeep rolled ejecting the passenger, 23 year old Jeremy Brown of Jackson. Brown was declared dead at the scene. Allen was subsequently arrested for DUI and Vehicular Manslaughter.

The worst possible news out of Iraq for one Amador County mother was received Saturday afternoon when the family of 21 year old Private First Class Jay-D Ornsby-Adkins was notified of his death while fighting for his country in Iraq. Serving with the US Army, Jay-D was a 2005 graduate of Northstar Independence Study, the Amador County Unified Independent Study Program. Ornsby Adkins and two other soldiers died Apr. 28 in Salman Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle was struck with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire during combat operations. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. Jay-D was newly married to his wife Ashley in March. JD’s hometown of Ione has reacted with sadness and shock and has established a makeshift memorial to the soldier the downtown area. The Board of Supervisors also declared yesterday that all the County flags be flown at half staff in honor of Jay-D and his family and the sacrifice they have made for our Country.

The Amador County Planning Commission’s denial of a use permit for two sea land containers to be used as storage buildings prompted one property owner to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors as well as request that the entire ordinance regarding sea land containers be revamped. Ellen Ling had previously addressed the Planning Commission and requested a use permit to allow for both of her containers to be situated on a single parcel. According to County code only one container is allowed per parcel and the container must be within 6 feet of a residence or building and be painted colors that do not draw attention to the structure.

The Amador Water Agency had an entire agenda item devoted to mapping their system last week, as the Board discussed the Agency’s System Mapping. Scott Wolfskill, the AutoCad Draft-person, made a presentation to the Board on the Agency’s current system maps and future capabilities and enhanced software. Gene Mancebo, the Manager of Engineering and Planning, explained that the Engineering Department is currently responsible for producing system maps which are used by the Agency for day to day operations. Customer Service, Operations, Construction, as well as the Engineering Department, utilizes system maps daily in their course of work.