Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel’s popular series of comedy shows return on Thursday, April 3, when 3 Blonde Moms deliver their high-energy, semi-scripted standup comedy show jam packed full of hysterical material about being a Mom, having a Mom, kids, schools, husbands, in-laws, and more. If you have a family, know a family, or want a family, this is the show for you!  The show is in the Grand Oak Ballroom at the Jackson Rancheria Hotel. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the laughter starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each and are available at the Dreamcatcher’s Club booth in the casino.

Local Supervisors Brian Oneto and Ted Novelli spearheaded a movement for more time and information regarding the Forest Service’s new Off Highway Vehicle Plan- and now their efforts are being rewarded. The Forest Service says the public comment period for the Eldorado National Forest Public Wheeled Motorized Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been extended for an additional 45 days. Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo says the public comment period will end on October 22. The extension is an outcome of public comments the Forest Service received during six public meetings held in July and August that were attended by more than 1,100 people. The DEIS was released for public review on July 20, 2007.

Are you a fan of the Discovery Channel’s number one show-a crab fishing series, The Deadliest Catch?- Well if you are hooked like the rest of America and think you recognize the Capt. Of the Wizard- new to the show this season- you are not mistaken. The Capt and first mate are Amador County natives that attended Plymouth Elementary School. Keith Colburn of Redmond, Wash., has served at the helm of the Wizard for the last 14 years. His brother Monte Colburn is also an experienced deck hand who takes over as skipper for the last half of crab season.

Today is the Mother Lode Community blood drive sponsored by the Jackson Rotary. Anyone who gives a pint gets a pint today! If you donate blood you will receive a coupon for a free pint of Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream and T-shirt. Blood donations help patients being treated for accidents, routine surgeries and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and hemophilia. Thanks to the generosity of local donors when you receive care at Sutter Amador Hospital or at Sacramento-area hospitals such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Sutter or Mercy hospitals, the blood you receive comes from BloodSource donors. Giving blood is easy, safe and takes less than one hour, but only five percent of the estimated 60 percent of eligible Americans donate blood. To give blood, you must be in generally good health, free from cold symptoms for at least 48 hours; be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent); and weigh at least 110 pounds. There is no upper age limit for donating blood. If you’re interested in donating blood please don’t forget a photo ID. The Blood drive is going to be held from 11am to 6pm at the Jackson Civic Center located at 33 Broadway. For more information about the Mother Lode Community blood drive please call Jody Boetzer at 257-7619. For donor eligibility questions call BloodSource at 1-800-995-4420.

A bill that would remove the power from the California State Legislature to approve new childhood vaccine mandates and hand it over to state public health officials appears to be gaining ground in the capitol. The bill, AB 16, would require that all new vaccines recommended by the Center for Disease Control for children would be automatically mandated in California five years later. Citizens would not be able to speak through their elected representatives and stop a new vaccine mandate, such as the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, or stop any other new vaccine recommended by the CDC from being mandated.

Jackson Rancheria Tribal Council Member Adam Dalton this afternoon presented the Sutter Amador Hospital Board of Trustees and Sutter Foundation Board with a check in the amount of $1,000,000.

Over the past decade, the leisure activity most closely associated with corporate success in America has been in a kind of recession. The total number of people in the US who play golf has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million, according to the National Golf Foundation. Amador County is home to at least six golf courses that have felt the impact. On Highway 49 alone, there are at least 29 golf courses between Sonora and Auburn. With a modest county wide population of 38,000, local courses are dependent on commuter golfers from the Sacramento area.

According to Dominic Atlan, Director of Golf at Castle Oaks Golf Course in Ione, it’s no secret that golf has been on the decline. He has followed a drop in rounds at Castle Oaks by a yearly average of 8000. “It seems more people are giving up the game than taking up the game,” says Atlan. Other local courses, like Mace Meadows in Pioneer, have made staffing cuts. Once popular and promising courses like the Winchester and Dark Horse in Ione are now in foreclosure. The disappearance of golfers over the past several years is part of a broader decline in outdoor activities, according to a number of academic and recreational industry studies. Escalating gas prices in a worsening economy are also being blamed. But golf, a sport of long-term investors who buy the expensive equipment and build the courses — has always seemed to exist in a world above the fray of shifting demographics. Maybe not anymore.

Local efforts are underway to send two talented young wrestlers to the National Wrestling Tournaments. Wrestling Coach Rodney Plamondon is going public in his fundraising efforts to send Marissa Foreman and Hannah Collins, both members of the Argonaut Wrestling Squad, though the Nationals in March. Funds raised are expected to cover air fare, a rental car, motel rooms, food, and registration fees for the tournament.

The girls need to fly in a day or two before the events for weigh-in. Because of budget restrictions, the girls’ regular coaches and assistants will be unable to attend. Foreman has been a four year Captain of her squad, has previously scored 12 and 6 in the Nationals, and is ranked as one of the top 6 girls in the state. Collins is ranked second place in the girls All-State division and was awarded the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the Heavyweight Division. According to Plamandon, the girls will return with a “priceless experience to share with the high schools and wrestling clubs in the county.” If you’d like to make a donation, please call Jeff Collins at 763-5533 or 256-5550.

Tobacco Reduction of Amador County is offering a chance to help smokers fulfill a New Years Resolution. Tobacco Reduction and the American Lung Association are giving an 8-session “Freedom from Smoking” course beginning January 29th. This free program is one of many steps the organization is taking to reduce tobacco use in AmadorCounty. Other objectives include reducing access to tobacco products for minors, countering pro-tobacco influences and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke. In order to achieve these goals, the organization will be educating tobacco retailers and collaborating with Amador County schools, among other activities. One of the programs notable accomplishments is the adoption of an ordinance prohibiting smoking near the doors and ventilation systems of county buildings.

According to a study specific to Amador County, there were 68 smoking-related deaths and 74 potential years of life lost in 1999 alone. The County’s direct smoking costs that year was over 13 million, and the resulting loss of productivity cost the county an additional 8 million plus. Since this study, the local population has grown rapidly and there are still a significant number of smokers. For more information on the stop-smoking program, call 223-6638, or visit Tobacco Reduction of Amador County’s webpage at www.co.amador.ca.us.

 

If a new law, Assembly Bill 105, passes through the State Assembly, teenagers under the age of 18 will be banned from using tanning beds.  AB105 raises the minimum age kids may use tanning devices to 18. Under current law, children 14 to 18 can use tanning booths with parental permission. According to leading dermatologists tanning beds can be even more dangerous than natural sunlight because they primarily use ultraviolet "A" wavelengths. The ultraviolet "A" that you get in a tanning booth is hundreds or even a thousand times more intense than what you get from natural sunlight  and with malignant melanoma now the leading cause of cancer deaths among woman aged 25 to 29 Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-El Segundo wrote the bill. If it passes and is signed into law, the teen tanning booth ban would take effect January 1, 2008.