Fire season is upon us two weeks sooner than usual and CAL FIRE Amador ElDorado Unit Chief Bill Holmes urges all citizens to act soon to create defensible space. It is anticipated that burning will be suspended in early June due to the dry conditions and recent rise in temperatures. Citizens are urged to act soon to dispose of their yard trimmings and debris. Cal Fire is doing their part and new recruits were on the fire line Friday as part of a training drill in Ione. The new firefighters spent several hours setting back fires, cutting fire lines with bulldozers, and learning about special tools that allow them to shoot an explosive device into remote areas.

Early this morning a serious accident occurred on New York Ranch Rd just north of China Graveyard Rd. The accident occurred around 12:30 as the driver of a 1999 Ford lost control of the vehicle after driving in a reckless manner. According to the CHP report written by Officer Craig Zaragoza an unidentified 28 year old driver from Sutter Creek ran off the roadway, hit an embankment and subsequently rolled the vehicle. The 28 year old then fled the scene with one of the passengers, age 20, who was later found unconscious in a ditch. The driver also left a second injured passenger, 19 years old, trapped in the car. The driver was subsequently identified through the CHP investigation and is considered wanted and at large.

The weekends continue to be a busy time for the California Highway patrol on our local roadways, with 6 accidents being reported on Saturday alone. Things started off badly on Friday morning when Officer Patrick Ong responded to two accidents within one hour of each other. The first occurred around 7:30 am on Shakeridge Rd just east of Hillside Rd when Casey Hallinan, 18 of Sutter Creek was forced to lay down his 2007 Suzuki Motorcycle to avoid hitting a deer. Hallinan did avoid the deer, casing only minor injuries to himself.

Hwy 88 near Peddler Hill was the sight of quite a mess Saturday afternoon. California Highway Patrol Officer Mike LeMasters reports that at approximately 12:15 pm Saturday afternoon a 1999 Peterbuilt with a trailer full of 45,000 pounds of corn grain became separated when the trailer broke away from the cab causing the vehicle to jack knife blocking the east bound lane. LeMasters states the situation only became worse after the heavily traveled road started to jam with traffic heading westbound. LeMasters and two Department of Transportation, Caltrans, workers worked on traffic control while tow crews attempted to right the truck. However, the situation suddenly only got worse as the trailer ripped open releasing grain on the roadway. The remaining grain was offloaded from the trailer which was towed to a Caltrans yard. The lane was reopened about 6 hours after the accident at 6:15 pm. LeMasters compliments the Caltrans staff for their traffic control measures which he states helped prevent any more traffic collisions in the backup.

A Lodi area murder plot ended with the discovery of the victim early this morning- the body was found over the steep hillside of Defender Grade Rd. in Pioneer.

An end of the year bust in Calaveras County of a Mokelumne Hill house last week turned up more than a pound of methamphetamine and resulted in the arrest of five people. According to the Calaveras Enterprise, Calaveras County Sheriff's Department SWAT team members and Narcotics Enforcement Unit officers served a search warrant at a house located on the 8100 block of South Main Street in Moke Hill. The methamphetamine and some cocaine, with a combined street value of about $20,000, were seized during the search, a sheriff's report said. Those arrested during the raid were:

• James Oscar Paxia Sr., 52
• Judy Markey, 55, who live at the searched residence
• Donald Allen Osburn, 38, of the 7900 block of Nall Street, Valley Springs;
• Samuel Ugene Kaufman, 39, of the 8800 block of Sierra Lane, Mokelumne Hill
• Alondra Michelle Rebolledo, 24, of Sutter Creek.

A USDA Rural Development grant will now allow a neighboring community to create jobs while reducing fire risks. Faced with above average unemployment rates and excess forest fuels, the Calaveras Healthy Impact Product Solutions (CHIPS) Project aims to resolve these issues by reinvigorating the formerly thriving timber based economy in Calaveras County. With the help of a $96,500 Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) from USDA Rural Development, the CHIPS Project will turn brush and small-diameter timber into usable wood products, including wood chips and mulch, creating jobs and reducing forest fuel loads in the process.  Yesterday, USDA Rural Development State Director Ben Higgins and Congressman Dan Lungren presented leaders of the CHIPS Project with a check for the RBEG funds at the West Point Community Hall.

Saturday night around 10:05 pm a suspicious item was found near Castle Oaks Course Community in Ione- the item resembled something that could have been an explosive device. The device was discovered by an Ione Police Officer and a citizen while on an unrelated call on Hwy 104 near Mule Creek State Prison. The Calaveras County Bomb squad was once again called to Amador County to investigate the suspicious item described as a pipe. Chief of Police Bob Olson responded, as did another Ione unit, a CHP Unit and a CHP Supervisor unit. Traffic on Hwy 104 was shut down for about 2.5 hours. The device was rendered safe by the Calaveras County Bomb squad which determined that the device was not an explosive device.

Caltrans has announced that they will be closing Hwy. 104 in Ione to resurface the existing pavement in downtown Ione. The work is scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 10th at 9am. This will be an ongoing 36 hour project that was agreed upon by the City of Ione and the local businesses in the area. Access to business will not be restricted during the 36 hour period. Motorist should expect minimal delays, however a detour will be available. Caltrans said alternate routes should be taken whenever possible. And please remember for the safety of workers and other motorist, please slow for the cone zone.

Last Friday 06-22-07 law enforcement officials on the other side of the river in Calaveras County made a bui discovery that resulted in Deputies from the Calaveras County Narcotic Enforcement Unit and Federal Agents from the Bureau Of Land Management serving a search warrant onto land located near Highway 26 in the Mokelumne River Canyon. Deputies discovered and then removed over 3600 marijuana plants from the area, and had observed one Hispanic male adult running from the area during the investigation. It is believed that several persons had been living inside of the Marijuana Garden. Although the marijuana plants were not fully grown, it is believed that the plants were being tended to on a daily basis. If each plant had been allowed to grow until maturity, each plant could have produced over 2,500 lbs of marijuana, which would have resulted in a crop valued at over 9 million dollars.