Senator Dave Cogdill is continuing his push to eliminate the problem of methamphetamine from rural California. The Senator from Modesto that represents our neighbors to the south has announced his introduction of Senate Bills 591 and 592. Senate Bill 591 would change the possession of methamphetamine from a simple misdemeanor to a felony carrying the punishment of imprisonment in a state facility. Senate Bill 592 proposes creating a new fund within the Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup Account to assist land owners in paying the costs for the removal of methamphetamine by- products illegally dumped on their property. Cogdill says, “Methamphetamine use has grown exponentially over the last few years. Senate Bills 591 and 592 will aid this effort by creating a harsher penalty for those who simply posses meth and by providing assistance to those who suffer the consequences of the dumping of meth by-products on their land.”

This week local resident John Wadsworth was sentenced in Amador County Superior Court for a series of incidents last fall that ultimately lead to the lock down of Amador High School and Sutter Creek Elementary. According to District Attorney Todd Riebe, Wadsworth received a total of 3 years in state prison.  3 years for possession of a firearm by a felon, 16 months concurrent to the 3 years for armed criminal action, and 1 year concurrent to the 3 years for one misdemeanor count of spousal abuse and one misdemeanor count of child endangerment. Wadsworth, former High School and Youth Football coach was arrested Tuesday, September 19th at Amador High School after attempting to pick up his children after he became aware that the children were being questioned by Child Protective Services in regards to an Ione PD domestic violence case involving their mother.

Fire Chief Mark Morton then reported that the Jackson Fire Department finished out the year with 876 calls, which is a 21% increase in calls over 2005. He also reported that the new year has already been challenging with 19 calls so far as of Monday, and three of those were calls involving that all ended in fatalities.

Finally, some satisfaction for some Amador County residents that have waited patiently for years to resolve property disputes in the senior community of the Mesa De Oro area of Sutter Creek. The original developer Sheldon Thompson will be facing justice over what is characterized as multiple counts of real estate fraud. The case began when the Amador County District Attorney’s Office received a citizen complaint against Mr. Thompson and conducted a preliminary investigation.

A dramatic non-injury accident Tuesday night on Highway 88 near Columbia Road in Pioneer left a vehicle overturned and temporarily closed the road. Workers briefly closed the highway while emergency personnel cleared the roadway Tuesday night around 9:00PM. The driver of the vehicle reportedly lost control of his car and end up spinning and flipping. There is no report as to whether any intoxicants were involved. The driver of the vehicle was not injured. 

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.

The San Andreas CHP are currently investigating a motorcycle collision that occurred at an unknown time but after 5pm on Saturday, March 22 on Murphys Grade Road, approximately 2.2 miles east of Lower French Gulch Road. Earl E. Wiggins, a 61 year old male from Hathaway Pines, was last seen at his work in Angels Camp at 5pm on Saturday. He was riding a black 1997 Harley Davidson. He was reported as missing on Sunday when he failed to show up for work.

The report was filed with the Calaveras County Sheriffs Department. Wiggins was finally located by friends and family members on Tuesday after they retraced his normal routes. A preliminary investigation has revealed that Wiggins was traveling eastbound on Murphys Grade Road when he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway and ran off the roadways edge.

Wiggins and his motorcycle were located approximately 75 feet over the roadway edge and  down an extremely steep embankment. Any witnesses to this collision are encouraged to contact the California Highway Patrol, San Andreas Office at 754-3541. This is the third fatal collision that has occurred in San Andreas’ CHP jurisdiction for 2008, and the first motorcycle fatality. In 2007, the CHP investigated 5 motorcycle fatality collisions.

Friday afternoon saw two wildland fires- one in Amador County and one in Calaveras County- both fires placing local fire crews on high alert. The Amador County fire broke out around 3:30 pm near Surrey Junction off of Ridge Rd and Woodside Lane.  The fire burned dangerously close to homes and was contained to less than one acre.

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.

The Amador County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office has received the final forensic pathologist report, toxicology report and microscopic examination report relative to the January 29, 2007 death of Joshua Hampton Hoehn, 17, of Pioneer. Hoehn was involved in a physical altercation in Sutter Creek, before being transported by friends to a residence in Pine Grove, where he subsequently lost consciousness.  Hoehn was transported to Sutter Amador Hospital by American Legion Ambulance where death was pronounced. The reports document the cause of Hoehn’s death as “Sudden cardiac death following a physical altercation associated with acute cocaine intoxication”.  The forensic pathologist’s examination revealed that the superficial injuries sustained from the physical altercation did not contribute to the cause of Hoehn’s death.