Amador County’s Peace Officer of the Year and Citizen of the Year were honored Saturday night by the Amador County Peace Officer’s Association. Amador County Sheriff Lieutenant Charles Ray was named Peace officer of the Year. Ray has been in Amador County law enforcement since 1987. He has worked in narcotics investigations, and as a field training officer, firearms instructor, member of the SWAT team and Dive Rescue Team. Lieutenant Ray has twice been involved in deadly force incidents where he placed his life on the line to protect innocent bystanders and fellow officers.

Be safe this Halloween. Amador County Child Abuse Prevention Council has these safely tips for your kids: Trick or treat in your own neighborhood. Plan your route ahead of time with your parents. Stop only at houses that have lights on. Don’t go into a stranger’s house for any reason. If a stranger invites you inside, say “no,” get away, and tell a trusted adult. Remember to bring your older brother or sister or an adult you trust with you. Keep a flashlight or glow stick with you so that you can find you way. It’ll also help you show off your costume! Don’t eat your treats as you go. Instead, save them until you get home and your parents have had a chance to look through your bag of goodies. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Amador County Public Health Officer, Dr. Bob Hartmann advises that getting a flu vaccine is still the number one way to prevent influenza (flu.)  “The flu can limit a person’s ability to work, go to school, care for loved ones, or enjoy fun activities and just plain make you sick.  The flu vaccine can prevent the flu and some serious complications such as pneumonia” says Hartmann.  In the US, about 35,000 people die and more than 225,000 people are hospitalized each year because of influenza and disease complications. There are two types of flu vaccine available this year and both are in good supply.  The "flu shot” is given as an injection, usually in the arm.  The newer nasal-spray flu vaccine (brand name FluMist®) is a vaccine made with weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine”).  FluMist® is approved for use in healthy people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant. 

The City of Ione will be holding a special meeting on Tuesday October 30th to address several issues, one of which includes the Wastewater treatment options for the City. The meeting will begin with a discussion surrounding the First-Time Homebuyer Program the city is working to administer and then move right into the sticky issues regarding City’s wastewater treatment and disposal options. To assist in the process the City hired Lee and Ro, to evaluate the cities current treatment capabilities, as well as provide future direction for treatment. Bob Godwin of Lee and Ro, has been working closely with the City and has developed 12 options that at this point that are possible, however the City staff and council must narrow the possibilities down to 3 to 4 preferred options. At the meeting on Tuesday the Council will be reviewing Godwin’s report, taking public comment on the proposed solutions, and then hopefully narrowing down the options to the possible 3 best solutions, or 4 at the most,  for the city. The public is invited to attend and learn more about what challenges the City is facing when it comes to wastewater treatment, and express their opinions about the proposed options. The special meeting will be held at the City Council Chambers at 5pm.

Amador County is known for it’s variety of historical aspects. More recently the Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek has been a focus of local citizens trying to preserve the Foundry and all the history that it encompasses. The Knight Foundry Corporation, “An educational non-profit corporation has dedicated it’s time to acquiring, preserving and operating the Knight Foundry…” according to their mission statement. The Foundry was developed in 1872 by Samuel Newman Knight, a millwright from Maine.

Some Southern California residents evacuated from their homes earlier this week were able to return home on Sunday as Saturday’s humid weather conditions helped fire fighters gain an upper hand and had the fire about 50% contained Sunday afternoon. Though firefighters are feeling more hopeful CDF still reminds us that most of California’s resources remain in Southern California and caution Californians that while the Department and its cooperators are fully staffed, the publics help is needed in practicing fire safety in their communities. 

 And speaking of the Southern California fires, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is under fire as questions arise over the state's initial response to those Southern wildfires.  Some political leaders from Southern California have stated that the state was slow to use firefighting aircraft while the governor counters that high winds are what initially kept some planes and helicopters grounded. Schwarzenegger met with officials on Friday at the Office of Emergency Services headquarters in Rancho Cordova. There he defended fire authorities during a new conference by saying, "We deployed all of our resources that we safely could deploy, at all times."

Law enforcement agencies from Amador and Calaveras Counties responded to an Amador County Deputy’s report of shots fired when he tried to make contact with the owner of a Jeep that was parked near the bridge on Hwy 26 on the county line. At about 6:30 Wednesday, an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy patrolling the area of Hwy 26 and River Road in Pioneer observed a camouflage vehicle stopped near the bridge at the Amador/Calaveras county line.  The vehicle was unoccupied with the exception of a dog.  Suspecting the driver to be nearby, the deputy began checking the area and announced that he was from the Sheriff’s Office.

Tuesday afternoon abut 3 pm, a vegetation fire was reported in Ione. The fire was located in rough terrain behind the gun club on True Sportsman Way in Ione. Several units descended on the fire and contained it before it threatened any structures. Wind threatened to spread the fire but firefighters kept the area burned to about 5 acres. No air support was needed and the cause of the fire is under investigation.  A Bill Lavallie story