What started as a minor mechanical fire ended in a blaze for a truck driver this last Sunday. The blaze occurred on Defender Grade Road in Pioneer around 3pm. The owner indicated he had a mechanical failure. The blaze started in the engine and quickly spread throughout the vehicle and then to some surrounding trees. Firefighters from the 10th Battalion responded and extinguished the blaze. The truck was completely destroyed in the fire. No one was reported as injured.

Experts are warning Northern California residents to look out for the bite of the sometimes deadly brown recluse spider.  There has been some debate as to just how prevalent the recluse is in northern California. Some experts argue that the spider’s population is limited to the southeast, southern California, and Baja California. Nevertheless, the same skeptics have acknowledged the expanding web of the spider’s realm in the foothills. A number of Brown Recluse bites have been reported in Amador County. The spider’s presence beyond its natural habitat is blamed on modern transportation, in which spiders have been known to travel long distances on trucks, trains, and planes.

Recluse spiders seem to favor cardboard when dwelling in human residences, possibly because it mimics the rotting tree bark which they naturally inhabit. They also go in shoes, inside dressers, in bed sheets of infrequently used beds, behind pictures and near furnaces. The common source of human-recluse contact is during the cleaning of these spaces, when their isolated spaces suddenly are disturbed and the spider feels threatened. It is important to seek medical treatment if a brown recluse bite is suspected. Cases of brown recluse venom traveling along a limb through a vein or artery are rare, but the resulting mortification of the tissue can affect an area as large as several inches. While it is possible, and even likely, that many cases of "brown recluse bites" are indeed misidentifications of other infections, the brown recluse has justly earned its reputation.

California is virtually assured of experiencing one or more potentially damaging earthquakes by 2037, scientists said Monday in the first statewide temblor forecast. New estimates show there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike the nation's most populous state in the next 30 years. "It basically guarantees it's going to happen," said Ned Field, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena and lead author of the report. The 1994 Northridge earthquake under Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley was magnitude 6.7. It killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage in the metropolitan area. California is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Northern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt. Despite the new probabilities, scientists cannot predict exactly where in the state such a quake will occur or when. The uncertainty could make a difference in loss of lives and damage. Nonetheless, scientists say the analysis should be a wake-up call for residents to prepare for a natural disaster in earthquake country. The latest analysis is the first comprehensive effort by the USGS, SCEC and California Geological Survey to calculate earthquake probabilities for the entire state using newly available data. Previous quake probabilities focused on specific regions and used various methodologies that made it difficult to compare data.

An extensive FBI investigation has resulted in the sentencing of a Sacramento area man to five years probation for his bizarre attempt to shut down California’s power grid. United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that Lonnie Denison, 33, was sentenced today by a United States District Judge to six months home confinement and five years’ probation for damaging an energy facility run by California Independent Systems Operator Corporation, or CAL-ISO, a not-for-profit public benefit corporation charged with operating the majority of California’s high voltage wholesale power grid.

Denison was a contract computer technician at CAL-ISO on the date of the incident, April 15, 2007. His plan for destruction was said to have been extensive and elaborate. According to Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon, who prosecuted the case, the government argued for six months in prison. However, the court concurred with the recommendation of the United States Probation Office that Denison should be sentenced to home confinement instead of imprisonment. Judge Burrell noted the positive steps taken by the defendant since his arrest in April 2007, including maintaining his sobriety and seeking mental health treatment and counseling.

Jackson police Officers were dispatched to a 911 call of a shooting this last Saturday at approximately 3:04 am at  1034 North Main Street in the City of Jackson. Upon arrival of the officers, one victim of an apparent gunshot wound was discovered lying on the floor inside an out-building to the rear of the main home. The out-building is described as a garage converted into a small apartment, which is where the shooting victim resides along with a 31-year-old female, who was there at the time of the call and found providing aid to the victim upon the officer’s arrival. The female reported to police personnel on the scene that the victim had shot himself. A medic unit from the American Legion Ambulance Service arrived on the scene a short time later along with fire personnel from the Jackson Fire Department and rendered emergency medical aid to the victim. The Medic Unit ordered an air ambulance. The victim was later transported to Sutter Amador Hospital and subsequently flown to a valley hospital for further treatment. As of 9:15am on Sunday, the victim was reported to be in grave condition. Jackson police detectives Chris Mynderup and Douglas Grey were called to the scene and are in charge of the investigation.

Even the usual weekend crowd in Sutter Creek looked tame as the 49er Bypass Challenge rolled into town last Saturday. Around 160 people participated in the race, which purposefully uses the play on words to educate the public on heart health and to promote exercise. But the race has another meaning- back in 2006, it was also the first to trek across the Highway 49 bypass. This year the route was different. Bicyclists and runners traveled the “old” road in a 5k, 10k, or 25k race titled the bike, single or double bypass. A pancake breakfast was also included. Proceeds from the registration fees went to benefit the Amador County Recreation Agency.

As evidenced in the history of local debates, watersheds are a big issue here in Amador County. In addition to county government, who is charged with protecting our valuable watershed lands? In 2003, as part of a settlement with the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, PG&E was required to establish a “PG&E Environmental Enhancement Corporation” to oversee conservation on California watershed lands. That non-profit corporation is now called the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council. The council will receive 10 million dollars per year from PG&E until the year 2013. According to Ric Notini, Director of the Land Conservation Program, the council is in the process of developing a comprehensive land conservation plan.

The council’s mission is to preserve and protect about 981 parcels of watershed lands covering over 140,000 acres, more than 221 square miles, which includes 22 counties in California, including Amador and Calaveras counties. The council has identified watershed lands in each area that will be donated to an appropriate public entity, non-profit group, or recognized Indian tribe for protection and preservation. As for Amador County, there are over 2800 acres available for donation. The selection system will ensure that the lands are protected as watershed lands and never developed. Notini says this is a “great project” and is “looking forward to starting the pilot program.” Interested organizations can find more information on the council’s website at www.StewardshipCouncil.org. We’ll have more on the activities of the council when Amador County is identified in the next step of their process.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday asked state lawmakers to approve $6 billion to build new prison medical and mental health centers to care for 10,000 inmates. He is also seeking another $1 billion to upgrade existing prison health care facilities. This could be big news for local prisons like Mule Creek near Ione, which has been suffering under the weight of statewide budget cuts and a recent influenza outbreak. The request, included in a letter to the Legislature's budget committee chairs, is the first time officials have said how much it will cost state taxpayers to improve a prison medical system so poor that it has been ruled unconstitutional. Schwarzenegger's finance director, Michael Genest, said in the letter that the court-appointed federal receiver, J. Clark Kelso, intends to spend $2.5 billion of the borrowed money during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

It would go to start building six or seven long-term care facilities outside existing state prisons or on state-owned land. Each of the facilities would serve up to 1,500 inmates. Construction would begin in January and the facilities would be completed by mid-2013 under Kelso's plan. Most of the $7 billion Schwarzenegger is requesting would be borrowed, but $100 million would come from the state's general fund. The governor agrees with Kelso that even as the state struggles with a massive budget deficit, the new spending is necessary "after decades of neglect, (to) get the level of care at the state's correctional system up to a constitutional level of care." U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson of San Francisco seized control of the state's prison health care system two years ago, saying medical care for California's 170,000 inmates was so bad that an average of one inmate each week was dying of neglect or malpractice. Schwarzenegger also has proposed releasing more than 22,000 inmates and eliminating about 4,500 prison guard positions as a budget-cutting move. State senators plan a hearing Monday on how those proposals affect the prison and jail building program the Legislature approved last year. Administration officials said Friday it is too soon to know.

The Amador County Unified School District is looking at implementing a drug testing policy. At Wednesday night’s Board of Trustees meeting, the board conducted a first reading of the policy.  Several interviews and surveys that were conducted in 2007 will be evaluated by the board and will help them consider whether or not drugs pose a considerable threat to Amador County, and if implementing some sort of drug testing policy for extracurricular activity participants is suitable for Amador schools. The purpose of the proposed drug testing policy is to help prevent student athletes from using drugs, to help protect students’ heath and safety, to provide drug abusers with the appropriate assistance, and to preserve and maintain a positive learning environment. If implemented, the policy would require random drug testing for students involved in sports and other school activities.

Also, parents would be able to request drug testing for their child, if under the age of 18. Each student and their parents will be required to sign a consent form before any testing can be done. Samples would be tested by a licensed drug testing agency, and the test would screen for amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates and alcohol.  Results would only be given to the superintendent of schools, or a designee, as well as the student’s legal guardians.  The policy that was reviewed by the board was detailed and comprehensive, with specific actions to be taken for first, second, and third offenses. According to the district, about 12 percent of U.S. high schools participate in some type of drug testing.  As part of their review, the district looked at seven of those programs.  The proposed policy will be reviewed by the school district’s attorneys, and will under go a second reading at the board’s next regularly schedule meeting on April 23rd.

The amount of smog and particle pollution in Central Valley air could be playing havoc with the health of Californians, particularly children, according to the American Lung Association. In 2005, ALA released findings from air quality monitoring stations across the state. The organization found that in 32 of 58 counties, residents were being exposed to air pollution at levels considered unhealthy. Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama and Tuolumne counties were some of the places with the unhealthiest air.

The ALA report may point to one reason why respiratory specialist Dr. George Bensch of Stockton is seeing more patients with lung damage and asthma. "The pollution counts undoubtedly are adding to allergies," Bensch said. "We think allergies are increasing in children probably 7 percent here." The American Lung Association estimates that 4.2 million Californians live with lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In March, the Environmental Protection Agency launched a set of multibillion-dollar smog restrictions it called "the most stringent standards ever." The new, primary eight-hour standard is .075 parts ozone per million and the new secondary standard is set at a form and level identical to the primary standard. The previous primary and secondary eight-hour standards were set at .08 ppm. However, because ozone is measured out to three decimal places, the standard effectively became .084 ppm, according to the EPA.