Last Friday marked the deadline to file for the Supervisor’s race in Amador County. The candidates come from a wide range of backgrounds. Three candidates filed to run for the District 1 seat, which is being vacated by Richard Escamilla.  Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla, the sister-in-law of Supervisor Escamilla, has served on the Jackson City Council for over seven years, twice as mayor. Also running for District 1 is John Gonsalves, a fulltime Amador County resident for the past 23 years as well as the Foreman of the 2000 - 2001 Amador County Civil Grand Jury. The third candidate for District 1 is John Plasse, a fourth-generation Amador County resident. Plasse is currently involved in evaluating the land use, open space, and economic development elements being drafted in the Amador County General Plan Update.

Finally, Richard Forster, the District 2 incumbent, has been an Amador County resident since 1975, and served two terms on the Board of Supervisors.  Additionally, he served on the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors, the Ione Planning Commission, as well as various other organizations.  Mr. Forster is running uncontested. Louis Boitano, the District 4 incumbent, is a life-long and fourth-generation resident of Amador County. Boitano served on the Sutter Creek City Council and the Sutter Creek Fire Protection District, each for three years, and is currently serving as chairman of the Amador County Transportation Commission. David Pincus, a local Certified Mortgage Planner, is the only challenger to the District 4 seat.  Pincus’ background is in law enforcement in the Bay Area, where he served as President of the International Police Association, San Francisco Region, and was a career police officer. We’ll have more on the candidates in future news broadcasts.

The recent 2-2 deadlock over the ISA agreement with the proposed Buena Vista Casino has, in the minds of many citizens, raised more questions than answers. In a statement released last week, County Administrative Officer Terri Daly explained the future implications of the Board’s vote. “Today’s decision by the Board of Supervisors means the ISA that the County negotiated has been rejected. The Tribe or the County immediately could seek to renegotiate another ISA, or to begin the binding arbitration process,” says Daly.

The decision also means that the County can continue to fight the lawsuit that challenges the Tribe’s right to the land in question as “Indian land”. The arbitration process could be initiated at any time and a decision will be provided by a neutral arbitrator who will choose between either the County’s or the Tribe’s last best-and-final offer. At the conclusion of the arbitration process, the Tribe will be free to construct and operate a casino in Buena Vista, so long as it conforms to the arbitrator’s decision. An injunction to halt the casino construction can only be granted by the federal court hearing the County’s current challenge.

Ione is one of many cities in Amador County currently working on its general plan. PMC, a planning firm contracted by the city, estimates the current price tag for updates at 592,000 dollars. At last week’s Ione City Council Meeting, Councilmember Sherman stated that the amount of money is quite a large sum, and although he has no issue with the PMC firm, he’d rather the Council put the project out to bid and explore other offers. Vice Mayor Ard said he and Mayor Andrea Bonham had a two hour meeting with the team from PMC and feel they are qualified.

Ard referenced a previous PMC project in Rancho Cordova. After lengthy deliberation, the council approved a motion allowing PMC to work on the General Plan Update Process. Also on the agenda were changes to the Ione Municipal Code. The main discussion revolved around two different guidelines traditionally used as a guideline in constructing and updating Municipal codes.  The council opted to schedule a workshop on April 29th at 4 pm to review and learn about the rules before a vote for adoption is put into motion. 

The Ione Picnic Association, or IPA, has big plans for this year’s Ione Homecoming Fundraiser. All proceeds from the event will benefit the 132nd Ione Homecoming planned for May 9-11 in Howard Park in Downtown Ione. The Ione Homecoming is believed to be the largest continuous event in the region. For years now, the IPA’s spring fundraiser has become increasingly creative in it’s approach to highlighting local history.

This year, the Picnic Association will be showing “The Story of Seabiscuit”, a 1949 Technicolor film starring an adult Shirley Temple. The movie tells the story of the humble beginnings of the undersized, underdog colt who became one of the greatest racing thoroughbreds in horseracing history. How does this relate to local history, you ask? Seabiscuit was owned by Charles Howard, the wealthy automobile entrepreneur and horseracing fanatic who once owned land in what is now Howard Park near Ione.Ione, or the Rancho Arroyo Seco office. For more information, contact Regia (Ree-gee) Sargent at 304-4306.

Local mythology claims that Seabiscuit was buried on that very piece of property. The event takes place on Saturday, March 29 and tickets are 20 dollars. Each ticket will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Rancho Arroyo Seco company, current owners of the property. An author who is an expert on Seabiscuit will also be in attendance. The Picnic Association will be awarding one silent auction prize, a ticket to the Diamond Jubilee Celebration in Willits. Tickets are available at Ione Elementary School, Coldwell Banker in

Amador County is continually updating its REVERSE 911 system, which has the ability to rapidly send telephone notifications to all residents and businesses in geographically specified area in the event of an emergency. It will automatically call listed and unlisted telephone numbers within the affected area and deliver a recorded message. If phone lines are busy, the system will attempt to redial those telephone numbers to make contact. Amador County is currently set to try the number twice at 5 minute intervals. If an answering machine picks up the call, the emergency message will be left on the machine. Typically, community leaders define the types of notifications that will be made. In Amador, the Office of Emergency Services, or OES, will work with the Sherriff’s department and Water Agency to inform residents of such things as contaminated water, gas leaks and criminal activity directly affecting citizens.

The system was used recently to assist citizens in finding an elderly gentleman who walked away from his home. In the event of an emergency, OES works with the other agencies to determine the type and length of the recorded message. Amador has the Mass Call™ Option that provides access to thousands of phone lines on an as-needed basis. The OES periodically tests the system by making a Test Call to a limited selection of listed phone numbers. The system will report back on how many calls were answered in person and how many were picked up on answering machines.

The Sierra Fund, a non-profit foundation focusing on environmental conservation in the Sierra Nevada region, has just released a report addressing Gold Rush-era mining contamination of California's land and water. The Fund presented its findings to scientists and experts from state, local and federal agencies at the State Capitol last Tuesday. The presentation included an overview of health and environmental concerns caused by toxins such as mercury and lay out future strategies for cleanup.

The Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee and the Natural Resources Committee have legal jurisdiction over land and water in California, said Elizabeth "Izzy" Martin, chief executive officer of the Sierra Fund.  Gold miners used mercury to extract gold from mined materials and then discharged the waste into streams, where it accumulated in the sediment. Many bodies of water in Gold Mining regions – including areas of Amador County - contain high amounts of mercury. Though elemental mercury poses little risk to humans, excessive can cause damage to the nervous system of developing children, according to health experts. The report is now available to the public. For more on the Sierra Fund’s findings, visit their website at www.sierrafund.org.

TSPN was on hand to capture the grand opening of Jackson Rancheria’s new RV Park on Wednesday. Grand Opening ceremonies included a Native American blessing, ribbon cutting, and refreshments. Located in a secluded forest setting, the RV Park is only a short ride from the fast-paced action of the Casino. Rancheria representatives describe the park as, “the perfect home base for exploring the scenic and historic Motherlode area.” The Park, located on Dalton Road, features a full service clubhouse with kitchen, fireplace, and large screen TV, heated pool and two spas, cable TV, 24-hour surveillance, Wi-Fi internet, restrooms with showers, and a dog walk and walking trail. In addition to the RV Park’s amenities, those staying there are eligible to enjoy the pool, salon, fitness center, arcade and other luxuries of the Hotel. A nearby general store and gas station, scheduled to open soon, will include both a car and RV wash. For more information visit jacksoncasino.com or call 800-822-WINN.

The Amador County Office of Education’s Budget Advisory Committee met to finish the task of compiling a list of proposed budget cuts totaling more than 2 million dollars. One of the proposed cuts was the district contribution to Amador’s high school libraries. Yvonne Lindecker, librarian at Argonaut High School, gave a detailed overview of the services provided by Amador’s school libraries, and stressed their importance to Amador’s high schoolers. Some of the larger cuts included cutting counselors at the junior high and high schools, reducing nursing services, and reducing district office staff, as well as other certificated and classified staff. 

Smaller budget cuts included charging for bus transportation, reducing supplies and postage costs, combining freshman and junior varsity sports, and eliminating various Board expenses. These proposed cuts were addressed at the School Board meeting Wednesday night. The board commended the Budget Advisory Committee for all of their hard work on the difficult task set before them. Among the budget cuts that were approved by the board were resolutions to cut one full-time junior high counselor, a half-time high school counselor, .8 of a full-time school nurse, and a total of 1.67 of various other positions.

The reduction of a music teacher by one half of a fulltime position was the only resolution rejected by the board, which elicited a collective sigh of relief, followed by a loud round of applause. “I am speechless.  I am overwhelmed at the outpouring of support from the community,” says Tootle. The next step in the budget process will be to forward these resolutions on to the State of California.