A cloud of doubt and confusion seemed to hover over the General Plan Advisory Committee, or GPAC, at Thursday night’s meeting.  One member, Ruth Gottstein, described it best by saying, “There’s an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ tone to what we are doing here.  Can we even do what we are talking about?” Indeed, questions arose about the entire General Plan process, and whether or not the committee was following the correct procedure.  Barbara Sinnett brought up the fact that the general plan should be drawn up in parallel with an environmental impact report, or EIR.  One of the planning consultants hired by the county tried to clarify the entire process and how it works. Jeff Henderson of EDAW, confirms that an EIR will be completed; however, the general plan must first be finished so you can analyze it in the EIR. 

In response to Gottstein’s comment, he reminded the committee that the general plan “sits at the top,” and should reflect “what we want to do in our county.”  The general plan is basically a general set of guidelines, and should represent what the county wants for everything from future land use designations and building to agricultural uses and watersheds.  The committee also debated the inclusion of Rancho Arroyo Seco, a planned development community in Ione. It seems the committee was divided on whether or not to even include the development in the general plan and many questioned why we would assign a town center there.  Some members felt that the developer should pay for any cost associated with a town center, while others questioned the apparent opposition toward the development, a project that has not even yet begun. To be sure, the General Plan update process is undeniably complex and confusing.  The next GPAC meeting will be on April 24th.

Amador officials are hoping that a shocking recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help raise awareness of child abuse on a local level. The study showed close to one in 50 infants in the country were victims of child abuse or neglect in their first year. Amador County’s Child Welfare Services Office statistics indicate a total of 42 reported cases of child abuse in February and 45 in January. Roughly 10 percent of the reports received are confirmed as legitimate cases. On average, the office receives 45-60 reports a month. Reports are received from law enforcement officials, child care providers and concerned citizens.

According to Matt Zanze, program manager for the child welfare office, any reasonably suspicious report of sexual or physical abuse is investigated jointly with local law enforcement. If a situation is deemed unsuitable for the child, the law will take the child into protective custody, which may require Child Welfare services to file a petition with the court. Zanze explained that his department will try and keep the child with their family whenever possible. “The law requires we make every effort to help the children remain in their home. We work to make sure parents receive the necessary parenting skills,” says Zanze. However, a number of children who have been separated from their families are put into foster care.

Anxious youngsters from local elementary schools will soon be able to take advantage of the new playground at Detert Park in Jackson. The City of Jackson’s fifth annual “Clean Our Green” litter clean-up and recycling day has been chosen as the occasion for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the City’s new play structure equipment in Detert Park. As the Clean Our Green event winds down, attention will shift to the play area behind the Jackson pool. After years of reserving funds for a new playground structure, the City invested $60,000 in new playground equipment in the area where previous equipment was removed due to safety regulations. 

The City received assistance from the Jackson Elementary School third graders to select the equipment and the City’s Public Works crew installed the equipment over the past few weeks.  The play equipment features several different structures intended for children from ages 2 to 12. Clean Our Green is a community wide effort intended to give Jackson a spring cleaning by providing helpful participants with litter bags and gloves to remove litter in public areas throughout the community. The Amador County Recreation Agency will also be on hand to provide free barbecued hot dogs and other snacks for participants.  The event is funded with California Department of Conservation funds granted to the City from the deposits on beverage containers. The ribbon cutting will take place at noon on Saturday, April 19th.

Putting a halt to teen driving deaths is the goal of a new program that will be introduced today at the State Capitol. It's called Impact Teen Drivers. Educators, law enforcement and families of teens who have died in car crashes are supporting the bill. Videos, pictures and an education program for California's high school sophomores will be available online and are designed to reduce injuries and save teens' lives. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell will introduce the program at the State Capitol at 10 a.m. in preparation for teen driving safety week which kicks off next Monday.

According to national statistics, traffic collisions are the leading cause of deaths among American teens. In fact, a teen dies in a car crash somewhere in the U.S. every 70 minutes. California Highway Patrol officers say inexperience makes teens more vulnerable to car crashes. Teens have quick reaction times, but often aren't focused enough on driving. "A lot of times teens are distracted," says Seargent Kinoshita of the CHP. "Cell phones, texting while driving, all dangerous for anybody but especially inexperienced teen drivers." The educational website tailored for High School Sophmores can be found online at http://www.impactteendrivers.org.

Daffodil Hill is in full bloom, and TSPN’s contributing photographer Bill Lavallie took some stunning visuals of the spectacle this last weekend. Daffodil Hill was a regular stopping place for teamsters hauling timber from the Sierras down to the Kennedy and Argonaut Mines, and for eastbound travelers heading for the Comstock Lode on the Amador-Nevada Wagon Road. Today, much of the landscape around the old homestead is covered with more than 300 named varieties of daffodils. More bulbs are added each year, with the help of private donations. The bulbs number more that 300,000 and include not only 300 varieties of daffodils, but also a large number of other varieties of bulbs and flowers as well. The best time to visit Daffodil Hill is the spring, usually from the end of March through the first three weeks of April. Daffodil Hill is open only at this time of year, after that it goes back to a working ranch. Please call Daffodil Hill at (209) 296-7048 for additional information.

Jackson Rancheria celebrated the expansion of its already-existing day care center last Friday. The “Little Oaks Learning Center” expansion doubles the existing square footage to 10,000 feet in order to accommodate a growing number of children the care center looks after. The center is “employee-based”, meaning that all of whom are related to employees of the Jackson Rancheria. According to Amy Hagood, manager for the center, children from 18 months to 13 years of age may attend. Even though many of the children attend school during the day, Little Oaks provides them with an after-school environment that encourages further education through social interaction, field trips and a special curriculum. “Teacher feedback tells us that they look forward to seeing Little Oaks children. Teachers are impressed with (many of the children’s) knowledge of letters and numbers, and their ability to work well in social groups,” says Hagood. The care center provides 5 buses to transport the kids back and forth. Hagood says that the Little Oaks of today was a dream of Margaret Dalton, founder of the Jackson Rancheria.

Also, the Ione City Council will appoint a new member at a meeting on Monday, at 6:00 pm at city hall. Councilman Jeff Barnhart suddenly resigned from the council in March, leaving one seat vacant. The deadline to submit a letter of interest in the position was April 3rd. At the council meeting on Monday, City Manager Kim Kerr stated that the council had received several letters of interest that they were currently reviewing. 

The latest statistics from the Amador Fire Protection District continue to show that medical aid calls make up the majority of calls received. The Amador Fire Protection District responded to 124 incidents in March 2008.  The 73 for medical aid and 12 vehicle accidents accounted for 68% of the total incidents. 10 of the incidents were fire related: 2 structure fires, 1 chimney fire and 7 wildland fires.  58% of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.

A new survey finds that most Sacramento region residents think home prices are more affordable now. But the poll also shows few people have the money to buy one. A Sacramento State poll released today shows that most people think affordable housing is not the challenge it once was. Two years ago, an earlier poll showed that more than half of the people surveyed thought the availability of affordable housing was a big problem. Sacramento State pollster Amy Liu says only 36% of the people surveyed now  think affordable housing is a big problem. Liu also says, thanks to plunging home sales, 63% believe buying now or within the next six months is a good idea. But 58% worry that their total family income won’t be enough to pay the bills. The Sac State poll also found that three-quarters of the residents polled believe it will take at least two years before the local housing market fully recovers from the sub-prime mortgage debacle.

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed close to one in 50 infants in the country were victims of child abuse or neglect in their first year. The study found that infant child abuse is far more common than many people think. “Child abuse can result in long term depression and mental health issues. Child abuse affects us all,” says Robin Valencia, Program Coordinator for the Amador County Child Abuse Prevention Council.

 

The CDC study focused on non-fatal abuse, and found that nearly 30,000 infants in the country were abused or neglected in their first week of life. More than 90,000 were abused or neglected before their second birthday. Experts said alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, and mental illness may contribute to abuse of children, and that it's passed from generation to generation. Another factor is a general lack of knowledge about child care. Information for the CDC study came from a national database of cases reported from 2005 and 2006.

 

It covered 45 states, Washington D.C and Puerto Rico. Another recent study by Prevent Child Abuse America, or PCAA, estimates that the direct cost of child abuse and neglect in the US is $94 billion annually. PCAA did not take into account indirect factors, such as the provision of Welfare benefits to adults whose economic condition is a direct result of the abuse and neglect they suffered as children.