Six skilled and lucky poker players are on their way to the World Series of Poker (W.S.O.P.) after winning a main event qualifying tournament at Jackson Rancheria Casino on May 14, 2007. The winners are: Craig Dixon of Pine Grove, Robert Manley of Jackson, Jeff Houston of Merced, Xavier Ignacio Martinez of Stockton, Brandon Riggenbach-Ware of South Lake Tahoe, and Takashi Takii of Sacramento. Each won $2,000 cash plus a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Pokers Main Event which begins July 6 at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In addition to the top six winners, the others rounding out the final table each won $1,000 in cash. They are Toko Luu of San Jose (seventh place), Michael Lane Newhall of Lodi (eighth place), and Quyen Trong Luu of San Jose (ninth place). The 24-hour Poker Room at Jackson Rancheria Casino is now hosting qualifying tournaments every Monday at 7:30 p.m. for a $150,000 Guaranteed Tournament to be held at noon on Monday, August 20, 2007. For more information, call the Poker Room at 209-223-8469 or visit jacksoncasino.com.

A state property tax reduction program near and dear to many Amador County residents is being threatened by Governor Schwarzenegger’s newly proposed budget revise. The Williamson Act currently provides some 94,249 acres in Amador County with tax breaks that total about 9 million dollars. The California Land Conservation Act of 1965--commonly referred to as the Williamson Act--enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space uses. In return, landowners receive property tax assessments which are much lower than normal because they are based upon farming and open space uses, as opposed to full market value.

The White House and key lawmakers agreed Thursday to new national immigration laws that will provide millions of illegal immigrants’ legal status, at least eventually and at the same time tighten borders according to its proponents. The compromise brought liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans together with top members of President Bush's team on the issue that carries heavy potential risks and rewards for all involved. The Senate will debate the hot topic on the issue next week. The plan would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a "Z visa" and then after paying fees and a $5,000 fine, get on track for permanent residency.

It is that time of year when Amador county residents should begin taking precautions against West Nile Virus (WNV). West Nile Virus is caused by a virus which is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. WNV is established in mosquito and bird populations in California and in Amador County, as well as surrounding areas. People who spend a lot of time outdoors at work, gardening or recreating are at the highest risk of being bitten and becoming infected by the virus.

An easement dispute between two neighbors ended in the arrest of one of those neighbors for battery. The incident was reported around 12:30 pm on Wednesday on Robin Rd. in Pioneer. According to Amador County Under Sheriff Jim Wegner, “The call came out to (Dispatchers) as one man stating his neighbor had a gun concealed on his person threatening to shoot the reporting party.”

Yesterday at approximately 3pm Camino Dispatch received reports of multiple vegetation fires in the area between of Stony Creek Road about a half a mile after Argonaut High school and Pardee Lake. A short time later at least 2 more fires that we know of were reported- one on Hurricane Hill and another at the Martell Y in front of the Panda House Restaurant. Those two fires were extinguished quickly. Crews from all across the county and even neighboring Calaveras responded to the Stony Creek and Pardee area. Jackson Valley crews, Cal Fire, the US Forest Service, Amador Fire Protection District, Ione Fire Departments, Jackson City Crews, Sutter Creek Fire, Pine Grove, hand crews from Pine Grove Camp and Growlersburg, MCSP crews, Tuolumne-Calaveras Units, and EB MUD, all responded in force. Helicopters and dozers were quickly called to the scene. Even local residents were doing their part with their sprinklers running and shovels in hand. As of the last report from Camino dispatch there were a total of 7 fires between Jackson and Pardee Lake.

The Jackson City Council reviewed City Planner Susan Peters’ compiled comments, both the Councils and her own, regarding the Wicklow Way project on Monday night. At a previous meeting the Council voiced their concerns regarding the close proximity of the project to the Jackson City limits and the impacts it will have on the City, in terms of traffic, public services, noise and many others. The City successfully requested for the comment period to be extended allowing another 60 days, and the opportunity for Peters to return before the City Council to review the assembled comments. Planner Peters reported that she met with the County’s Planning Director Susan Grijalva several times about the proposed project and that she was encouraged by the County’s willingness to work collaboratively with Jackson on making sure their concerns are addressed. Peters then went over the comments that would be sent to the County in regards to the project. She broke the comments into different topics with the first being Land Use Consistency.

The coveted Recycler Ricky award was presented to the ARC of Amador and Calaveras Counties at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors Meeting. The Supervisor’s Chamber’s barely had an empty seat when the agenda item rolled around with Arc employees and clients present to receive the award. Arc was nominated by the Amador County Local Task Force on Integrated Waste Management and voted to receive this year’s Recycler Ricky Award for their excellence in recycling. They have been a pioneer in recycling in Amador County since 1991, and in 2006 they collected 796 pounds of aluminum, 701 pounds of plastic, and 19,665 pounds of glass that otherwise may have ended up in the waste stream. Jim McHargue, Program Manager of the County’s Waste Management and Recycling Department had a few words to say as well regarding the Arc’s exceptional recycling efforts.

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.