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Sutter Creek Planning Commission: Just Say No To Signs
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Bryson Park’s New Playground
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Mule Creek And Preston Castle Partnership
Thanks to inmates of the Mule Creek State Prison, Preston Castle, a national historic landmark located in Ione, is closer to restoration. The two entities have teamed up through the Mule Creek State Prison Vocational Cabinetmaking Program. The program ensures the restoration of all of Preston Castle’s windows and gives inmates the opportunity to learn valuable skills and give back to the community. Each inmate participating in the program works on some aspect of the window restoration project. Instructor Mike Doud supervises the inmates that participate in the five-year cabinetmaking program that is accredited by San Joaquin Delta College.
The restoration of Preston Castle’s windows began in 2007 and will continue until all windows are completed. “We are very excited about this partnership with Mule Creek State Prison,” says Marie Nutting, president of Preston Castle Foundation. “It benefits the prison, the castle and the community.” Chris Weathersbee, public information officer for Mule Creek State Prison, is also enthused about the partnership. “An inmate is much more likely to obtain employment with a contractor or cabinetmaking shop if he can reference specific skills that relate to either of these related trades.” The Vocational Cabinetmaking Program began in 1987 and instructs inmates on all the traditional cabinet construction techniques. The 27 inmates who participate in the program learn every aspect of the cabinetmaking trades and every student who graduates obtains certification as an entry-level tradesman, as well as the ability and opportunity to achieve economic success.
AWA’s Special Meeting Concerns Future Of Plymouth
At a special Amador Water Agency meeting tonight, the board will discuss the possible elimination of a proposed 1.5 million gallon treated water storage tank as a part of the Plymouth Pipeline project. During recent design reviews, Agency staff learned that the Plymouth Pipeline Project’s proposed storage tank could not be filled during peak water use periods. Agency Staff, working with City Staff, are considering alternatives in order to hydraulically bring water to the tank.
These alternatives included lowering the tank location, pipe improvements to reduce head loss, and elimination of the tank. If the tank is lowered in elevation, benefits to the Agency are dramatically reduced. The Agency will also continue reviewing storage options in connection with the proposed Regional Water Treatment Plant. The proposed tank and associated infrastructure was estimated to cost 3 to 3.5 million and its elimination presents a significant Project cost reduction.
Displaying The Dangers Of Tobacco
Young people from the
Amador County Youth Coalition joined thousands of kids across the country for Kick Butts Day (KBD), a
nationwide initiative that makes kids leaders in the effort to stop youth
tobacco use. As part of the local
Kick Butts Day event, Youth Coalition members created a dynamic display
illustrating the 1200 deaths that occur every day in the United States
to tobacco related diseases. Tobacco
statistics indicate that, here in Amador County, at least 1 person loses their
life each week due to smoking.
The dynamic display made a striking impression on passing motorists, and one witness said it reminded him of modernist “physical art”. Throughout the year, these young advocates take part in a variety of activities to promote healthy living in our community, including working to develop policies that reduce youth tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke and educating their peers about tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing practices.
New Jackson Ford Mercury generously donated a portion of their fence
line yesterday along Highway 49 in Martell for the 17 member Youth Coalition to
construct a display. Youth
Coalition members from Ione Junior High, Jackson Junior High, Amador High School
and Argonaut High School have worked with many local
agencies and businesses to collect the 1200 pairs of shoes. After school, on
the afternoon of April 2nd, Youth Coalition representatives will be
along the fence line beside their display showcasing their message with
youth-created banners and signs. Each
empty pair of shoes represents a life lost every day. For more information about the KBD display along
Highway 49 in Martell, contact Diana Evensen at 223-6638 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Forest Service Seeks Local Contractors
The U.S. Forest Service will be hosting a
workshop on reducing fuels in
the El Dorado National Forest using Stewardship Contracting. The target
audience for the workshop is prospective contractors in Amador and El
Dorado counties who wish to learn more about how stewardship contracts work and
how to bid. Stewardship contracts were authorized by Congress in
the 2003 Appropriations Bill and allow the Forest Service to exchange
goods for services. For the past four years, the Forest Service has been using
the value of commercial timber from forest thinning projects in the El Dorado
National Forest to offset the cost of reducing fuels on the ground and removing
small trees growing under taller trees that create “fire ladders.” “Stewardship contracts reduce the
Forest Service’s reliance on tax dollars to accomplish vital fuels reduction in
the National Forests,” said El dorado National Forest Contracting Officer
Patricia Ferrell.
Ferrell says fuels reduction isn’t the only work that
can be accomplished in the National Forest using stewardship contracts. Many kinds of projects can be undertaken with this contracting
authority including watershed restoration, wildlife habitat and forest health
improvement, and noxious weed control. “Like anything new, there is
apprehension in potential contractors.
We plan to help educate our prospective contractors so they can effectively
bid on these projects,” said Ferrell. For more information about the workshop,
contact El Dorado National Forest Contracting Officer Patricia Ferrell at (530)
642-5146.
Jackson Cemetery Repairs
Thanks to the Jackson Cemetery Committee and
some industrious high school
students, the city cemetery is receiving some much-needed repairs and a new
monument. The committee chairman, Warren Carleton, introduced the
committee members and provided an overview of the committee’s recent efforts. A
wooden gazebo that was originally constructed by Jackson Boy Scout Troup 478
had fallen victim to vandals over time. With the help of Parkey’s
Welding, the committee used city funds and private donations to rebuild the
gazebo out of steel to make it more durable and vandal-proof.
Also, new signs have been mounted at cemetery entrances that bear the City of Jackson logo and ask visitors to “Please respect the cemetery.” Additionally, a new sign is in the works to honor and mark the graves of the miners killed in the 1922 Argonaut Mine Tragedy. The committee has also completed some gravesite repairs with the help of the County Probation Department’s community service program. In addition, the committee has plans to revitalize the children’s cemetery, a project spearheaded by Cemetery Sexton, Charline Buckley.
Those plans include installing a low-post
boundary fence and better marking some of the gravesites. Buckley says she wants to provide visitors
and relatives with a nice area to visit. Most of the children in that area died
in the 1950’s and 60’s. And finally, ten
students from Argonaut High School have volunteered to erect a Chinese monument in the cemetery as part
of their leadership class. Sydni
Nicolici, the student chairperson on the project, says they are
building the monument so “they can help everyone understand” about the
Chinese aspect of the cemetery. The project will add an inscription to an
existing pillar, and the finished monument will include a ceremonial stone, a
dedication stone, bamboo, trees, and a small rock wall. The students are working with a contractor
and have thus far drawn up plans. Their
next step will be to seek out donated materials and labor to complete the
project.
Plymouth Debates Attending Regional Planning Committee
Years of fundraising to rescue two imperiled
gold rush Chinatown buildings in Fiddletown have
paid off with an announcement by the California Culture and Historical
Endowment, or CCHE, last week. CCHE awarded a grant of $208,000 to the
Fiddletown Preservation Society, or FPS. The small foothill village of Fiddletown
is unique for having four gold rush era structures remaining from its 19th
century Chinatown. Most early Chinatowns in California were
destroyed by arson or demolition. Fiddletown’s Chinese gambling hall and general store, both constructed
around 1860, are in danger of crumbling due to deterioration from time and
weather. Since 2001, the FPS has been seeking public and private funds
to save these remainders of a once-vibrant Chinese community.
The buildings are
across the street from the rammed-earth Chew Kee Museum, a historic Chinese herb store
that was restored in the 1980s. This first phase of the Fiddletown Restoration of Chinese Structures project
will stabilize and weatherproof the two endangered Chinese buildings.
Additional money was raised from local grants, Chinese organizations and
private donations. CCHE is a grant program designed to preserve stories of the
many people who together make up an historic and modern California. CCHE has awarded a total of $122
million dollars from the California
Neighborhood Parks
and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 — more commonly known as Proposition 40.
An Environmental Fable For The Kids
Yesterday marked the 3rd in a series of educational yet entertaining performances by Amador High School’s “Earth Club”. Preschool and Kindergarten aged children sat watching in fascination as half a dozen high school students performed an ecological fable about the negative effects of deforestation. Members of the Earth Club developed a performance that will promote the Waste Management Department’s guiding priorities: REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE, or the 3R’s. The performance told the story of a group of woodland creatures whose habitat is threatened by a greedy developer. The children’s reaction was anything but negative, however, as they enthusiastically asked questions about trees and recycling after the show. The children were then invited by the cast to help pick up cans and bottles.
The Earth Club’s two remaining performances will take place at Pioneer Elementary at 8:15 a.m. on April 8th, and Pine Grove Elementary at 9:30 a.m. on April 8th. Teacher Joe Anooshian and Waste Management Staff Leader Anne Short discussed the need for a campus beautification make-over at Amador High School. Over the years, the landscaping has deteriorated, while littering and vandalism on campus have increased. Since high school seniors are required to complete 10 hours of community service, they could apply the hours earned from the project towards their credits. For more information, please contact the Amador County Waste Management Department at 223-6429.
Heinz Hamann of AWA Resigns
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