The Amador Fire Safe Council has announced they are extending the entry deadline for their defensible space contest to close of business July 16, 2007.  The Contest is open to all Amador County residents and will honor those homeowners who are an excellent example of defensible space requirements.  Criteria will be the law, PRC 4291.  See our website at www.amadorfiresafe.org or call the office at 296-6220 for entry details.  Winners of the contest will receive a gift certificate from the Ridge Road Nursery and a yard sign proclaiming them to be "Fire Safe!"

Monday morning around 7am it was reported to the Jackson PD that a red big rig with white trailers had clipped a telephone pole at the corner of Hwy. 49 and Hoffman Street. The caller said the pole was damaged and leaning. Responding Jackson Police Officer Mark Harmon immediately notified PG&E and then began searching for the hit and run vehicle. Officer Harmon discovered the truck at Jackson Jr. High School, as the truck was part of an asphalt project at the school. Harmon then contacted the driver, identified as 55 year old Charles Wimer. Officer Harmon observed that Wimer displayed the characteristics of being intoxicated and he administered a field sobriety test. Wimer was subsequently arrested and booked into the Amador County Jail on suspicion of drunk driving and hit and run.

Governor Schwarzenegger has reached an agreement with legislative budget writers on a plan that would stop sending less-serious and nonviolent juvenile criminals to state institutions, beginning this year. If the full Legislature goes along with the plan, the decade-long population decline at the Division of Juvenile Justice would continue, dropping over the next two years from 2,600 currently to 1,500, according to the agency's projections. Instead of being housed in the state's eight juvenile facilities, less-serious juvenile offenders would be retained at the local level.

Last Friday an accident that looked nothing short of devastating was reported around 9:30 pm on Hwy 88 near the Pioneer Lodge. This car was split in half after the driver lost control, skidded sideways into a large cedar tree, uprooted the tree and chopped the bottom off. Then the rear of the car skidded back onto the lane he was traveling in, west bound, and the front of the car continued about 300 yards down the road in the east bound lane, and wound up in a field. According to the CHP the driver was arrested for suspicion of Driving Under the Influence and released to medical personnel. He was airlifted to a Valley Hospital.

At least 165 structures have been destroyed with more endangered and more than 1,000 residents were evacuated ahead of a massive wind-driven blaze raging in the south Lake Tahoe area near Angora Lake Ridge, between Meyers Lake and Fallen leaf Lake. Linda Curran of the Camino Interagency Dispatch Center in California said the Angora Fire has destroyed 165 homes or outbuildings. “I can confirm 50 structures have been destoyed by fire, but I can’t tell you yet how many of them were homes and how many were outbuildings,” Curran said.

Monday proved to be almost as busy as weekend activity with local Deputies arresting vehicle thieves and the CHP responding to a serious drunk driving accident near Van De Hei Ranch Road. Also on Monday was accident on Sutter Ione Road that sent the driver to the hospital. According to Officer Drake Wilburn’s report 23 year old Mitchell Hodson, of Sutter Creek was driving his 2002 Chevy S-10 southbound on Sutter Ione Road at approximately 40 mph. Hodson stated to Officer Wilburn that he swerved for a skunk that was in the roadway causing the vehicle to travel onto the shoulder of the road and then subsequently overturn. Hodson suffered minor injuries and was transported to SAH.

This week the Fiddletown couple accused of animal abuse made a court appearance in Amador County Superior Court. The appearance in front of Judge Dave Richmond involved a plea agreement that was reached between the defendants and the Amador County District Attorney’s office. That plea agreement was the subject of much discussion after it was discovered by the DA’s office that they had illegally returned two of the allegedly abused horses to their former owners, John and Krista O’Sullivan. The plea agreement reached previously in the case reduced 5 felony charges of animal abuse to two misdemeanor charges, dropped all charges against Mrs. O’Sullivan and returned two of the horses to the O’Sullivan’s Fiddletown Ranch.

Other than Friday afternoon’s vehicle fire on Hurricane Hill, Amador County Roadways were pretty quiet. Sutter Creek City Police and Fire Crews responded to a vehicle accident on Old Hwy 49 near Dennis Drive.  According to witnesses on scene a green Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling North from Sutter Hill and lost control on a curve veering into the South bound lane colliding with a GMC pickup. The passenger in the GMC and the driver were taken by ambulance to Sutter Amador Hospital for their injuries.

A Pioneer man was injured on Saturday afternoon when another vehicle crossed into his lane and hit his vehicle head on. Thankfully the man observed the impending accident and reacted in such a way that the accident wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  Elizabeth Fry of Pine Grove was traveling east bound on Hwy. 88 west of Rossbridge Rd at a stated speed of 45-50 mph. William Hemenway, 69 and of Pioneer was traveling west bound on 88 at a stated speed of 50 mph. According to Officer Melissa Scobee’s report Fry took her eyes off the roadway for a moment to remove her glasses and wipe her eyes. Her 2002 Toyota Sienna began to drift into the opposing lane of traffic. Hemenway observed the Toyota drifting across the roadway and into his lane, he immediately applied his brakes and steered his 2005 Kia Sedona towards the north roadway edge in an effort to avoid a collision. Subsequently, Fry was unaware that her vehicle had drifted across the roadway and the left front of Fry’s Toyota struck the left front of the Kia. Hemenway suffered a laceration to his left forearm and Fry was uninjured in the accident.

On the Consent agenda yesterday the Board of Supervisors approved a Memorandum of Understanding or MOU for the Amador County Sheriff’s Office to continue providing services to the Amador County Superior Court. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office has provided security and bailiff services to the Amador Superior Court for a number of years now based on an interim agreement that the Board approved several years ago. The Sheriff’s Office and the Superior Court have negotiated a revised MOU for the provision of the security and bailiff services.