As desert winds and intense fires continue to torch Southern California, local Red Cross volunteers are already helping with relief and recovery efforts. The Motherlode District American Red Cross office, which serves Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and parts of Alpine Counties, sent a mobile feeding vehicle and team on Monday.  Calaveras County Red Cross Captain Clayre Quick has also been deployed to Southern California and local Red Cross volunteers are currently on stand-by for deployment.

When you order a cord of wood, how do you know what you are getting? Mike Boitano of Amador County’s Department of Weights & Measures cautions viewers about getting what they pay for. He said 3-4 complaints are filed each year with his department. To avoid getting ripped off, buyers need to know how much wood comes in a cord. By law, wood must be sold by the cord or some portion of a cord. A cord of wood is equal to 128 cubic feet, or a tightly stacked woodpile 4 feet wide by 8 feet long by 4 feet high. The best way to make sure you are getting a full cord is to have the wood stacked immediately, preferably by the person delivering wood. Have an area marked off the size of a cord.

The Supervisors also heard a request from Sutter Gold Mining Company to extend their hours of operation for exploration drilling. Sutter Gold Mine is located east of Hwy 49 between Sutter Creek and Amador City, and conducts drilling for core samples related to gold exploration. The company’s current use permit has allowed the drilling Monday through Friday, 7 am to 4 pm. In August 2007, county planning staff visited the site to evaluate the proposed extension of drilling hours and noted that they were unable to hear the drill rig operating at the nearest neighboring parcel.

A complete overhaul of the River Pines Park is possible now with the infusion of $150,000 in state funding. The Amador County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a lease agreement between Amador County Recreation Agency and Amador County that will allow the use of Proposition 40 “Safe Neighborhood Parks” funding for a complete renovation and upgrade of the three-acre park.

On a lighter note this weekend was full of activities for Amador County residents and tourist alike, and two of those events drawing a great crowd included the Sutter Amador Health Festival and the Sutter Creek Organ Music Event. A little rain and gray weather couldn’t keep participants away from this year’s Health Festival which kicked off on Friday Oct. 12. The big event also included the beginning of the Amador County Public Health Department’s fight against the fall flu. The focus of the event included information about the services that Sutter Amador offers, Safe Kids car seat check and a Walking Path Challenge. Child Passenger Safety Technicians were on hand to inspect car seats and determine if they had been recalled, were the wrong size or had been improperly installed.

The Great Sutter Creek Chili Cook-Off and Car Show held last Saturday on Main St in Sutter Creek was a resounding success, according to Lisa Klowsowski, the event chair and Sutter Creek Business and Professional Association president. This first annual event attracted hundreds of chili lovers and car buffs on a beautiful Fall Amador County afternoon. Klowsowski said that the car show was somewhat of an impromptu event, but event organizers were thrilled by the beautiful classic cars that lined Main Street.

Amador County’s School Transportation Department is short staffed, again. Transportation Director Andy Peters is driving everyday, along with other Administrative staff, which is encroaching on Peters’ ability to fulfill all facets of the Directors job. The district is however looking at some alternatives such as cutting and reducing some bus routes, looking at white van services, utilizing the youth bus operated by the Rancheria, providing gratis child care such as the after school program at the elementary school, and other ways to alleviate the growing problem.

Nearly four months ago, recent Amador High School grad Michael Israel began a coast to coast trek with a college student he barely knew. Their cause; a nonviolent resistance to war efforts, the end of genocide in Darfur, the end of nuclear weapon holding and proliferation and increased environmental sustainability. In total the pair walked 3,000 miles. On Sept. 10, they reached Washington, D.C.. Ashley Casale, a sophomore at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., organized the March for Peace. A handful of anti-war activists joined her for parts of the journey. Michael Israel accompanied Casale the entire way. The route took them from their starting point in San Francisco eastward across the Rocky Mountains, through the Midwest and south of the Great Lakes.(The University of Delaware Review contributed to this article)

Sutter Amador Hospital will be sponsoring a BloodSource- Mother Lode Community blood drive to meet the community’s need for blood on Thursday, October 4 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m at the Jackson Civic Center.  All walk-ins are welcome.  Thanks to the generosity of local donors when you receive care at a Sacramento-area hospital, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Sutter or Mercy hospitals, the blood you receive comes from BloodSource blood donors.  Sutter Amador Hospital receives its blood from BloodSource. Giving blood is easy, safe and takes less than one hour, but only about 5 percent of the estimated 60 percent of eligible Americans donate blood. To give blood, you must be in generally good health, free from cold symptoms for at least 48 hours; be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent); and weigh at least 110 pounds.  There is no upper age limit for donating blood. Prospective donors must bring a photo ID.

Roseanne Chamberlain, the Executive Director of LAFCO, presented the county-wide Municipal Services Review to the Jackson City Council at their meeting Monday evening. The report, which is currently in its final stages, is a state required study of services including fire protection, water, and wastewater, law enforcement, roadway, drainage, cemetery maintenance, and resource conservation services provided by local agencies. The report also focuses extensively on growth and development in the county, including population, job growth and future development. At the conclusion of her presentation, Roseanne Chamberlain thanked the council for their “support of the MSR, [particularly] in the way of funding.”