Funny money is making its way into the gold country. Recently, Tuolumne County Sheriff's investigators were notified that six counterfeit $100 bills ended up in Tuolumne County's daily bank deposit. Lt. Dan Bressler said that county employees Thursday compiled a short list of people they believe could have passed the counterfeit bills,  The Sheriff's Department was notified after the bogus bills were discovered in the county's Tuesday deposit at Westamerica Bank on Mono Way. "We are in the process of beginning to investigating" Bressler said. 

According to the Associated Press attorneys for the Lodi man, Hamid Hayat, convicted this spring by a federal jury of supporting terrorists have asked a judge to grant a new trail after reports of juror misconduct. In a 106-page motion filed Friday, Hayat's lawyers said reports of "extensive misconduct" by jury foreman Joseph Cote demand court review. "Given the reports of extensive misconduct involved here, the seriousness of such misconduct, and the credibility of the sources, only (an evidentiary) hearing will suffice to resolve the present claim," wrote Wazhma Mojaddidi and Dennis Riordan. 

This wildlife season deer and turkey are beautiful, plentiful and in the roadways and according to California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Craig Harmon several serious accidents have occurred in Amador County as people attempted to avoid hitting the local wildlife. Harmon advises motorists to preplan for such an event, a common event here in Amador County, just as he advises that motorists keep a watch on their high visual horizon. Looking as far forward as you can see while driving and keeping watch on the road ahead helps ensure the drivers know what is coming up on them.

This past weekend was relatively quiet for the California Highway Patrol on local roadways. On Friday Officer Brian Hagemann investigated an accident that occurred on Hwy 49 at Martell Rd. The 3;30 pm accident occurred when Birthe Christensen of Sutter Creek stopped behind another vehicle on northbound Hwy 49 at the Martell Rd. stopsign. Dawn Parla of Pioneer then stopped behind Christensen and allowed her foot to slip off of the brake pedal rolling into the rear bumper of Christensen. Saturday Officer Chris Zaragoza, while on patrol in the upcountry area, responded to a report of an accident Hwy 88 at Kay’s Rd.

 

Requests from various businesses within the booming Martell area dominated discussions at this week’s Amador County Planning Commission Meeting. One item that appeared on the agenda was a request for a use permit to exceed the height limit for a freestanding sign. The sign proposed was 40 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The sign would be the advertisement for the new Harley Davidson store and would be located at the intersection of Prospect Drive and Old Mill Lane, within the Sierra West Business Park in Martell.

A new survey is being conducted in the county- this time to look at our local transit and transportation needs. The survey is being conducted by a diverse group of individuals from multiple agencies and organizations throughout the county including the Amador Regional Transit System, or ARTS, the ARC of Amador County, Social Services, First Five Amador, Amador County, and concerned citizens. This group evolved out of the two workshops on the issue that were held last February and April that are part of the county’s general plan information findings. Together these organizations form a group called the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council.

The head of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, joined an Orange County legislator, the California Highway Patrol and MADD to put teen drivers on notice: beginning January 1, drinking and driving is no longer a civil penalty, but a crime. The new law is the result of legislation recently signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to toughen penalties on minors who drink and drive. AB 2752 (Spitzer, R – Orange) makes it crime, punishable by a fine, for anyone under the age of 21 to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .01 or above.

North Korea said on Monday it had safely and successfully carried out an underground nuclear test in a gesture of defiance as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in South Korea. "The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent," North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said. "It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the KPA (Korean People's Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability." The report said there was no leak or danger from the test.

Rural roads are seeing the impact of growth and congestion due to drivers that are no longer using the freeways for their route of transportation but opting for what, at one time, were less crowded short cuts.

In a press release dated October 27th the Ione Band of Miwok Indians reported that the United States Department of the Interior had dismissed an appeal by Amador County regarding the recent lands determination and legal opinion given by members of the that Department. Amador County challenged the land determination decision back on October 18th. Now the tribe has announced that both additional appeals filed regarding that land determination have also been dismissed by the Board of Appeals for the Interior Department.