Fog and speed too high for the conditions were the cause of an accident Thursday night, according to Amador County CHP. A 19-year old Ione woman was driving west on Jackson Gate Rd at 11 pm at 45 to 55 mph – too fast for the foggy conditions. She failed to see the intersection at Hwy 49, and ran through the stop sign attempting to make a right turn onto the highway. 

Amador County Assessor Jim Rooney is warning local governments to brace themselves for reduced growth in property tax revenues next year. At the Plymouth City Council meeting Thursday night, Rooney made an informal presentation on how the current real estate slump is affecting property values – which translates into reduced property taxes filtering down to city governments. For the past several years, the Amador County and cities have enjoyed property tax revenue growth of 15 to 17% per year. Rooney says he thinks revenues next year will likely only increase about 5 to 7%, and that local governments should plan their budgets accordingly. Rooney is scheduled to make a similar presentation to the Jackson City Council at their regular council meeting tonight.

Tonight, Jackson City Council will choose a new city council member to fill the council seat left vacant when Drew Stidger resigned from the council at the end of the year. Applicants for the job sent letters of interest to the council and seven made presentations on their qualifications at a special meeting last Monday night. The candidates are Jim Laughton, Dave Butow, Wayne Garibaldi, Judith Jebian, Kam Merzlak, Marilyn Lewis, and Keith Sweet. The council will vote on Stidger’s replacement at the beginning of its regular meeting tonight and the new council member will begin serving immediately upon appointment. Jackson City Council will also select Committee members for new Water and Sewer Rate Study Committee and the Oro De Amador Planning Committees. Jackson City Council meets at 7 pm tonight at Jackson City Hall.  

To fill in the canal or not to fill in the canal? That is the question. Amador Water Agency board members need an environmental study before they can decide which way to go. With the new Amador Transmission Pipeline completed and carrying the water that most of Amador County’s water, the next step is to run a small water pipe in the old ditch to serve about 134 customers who still receive raw water directly from the canal. After this pipe is installed in the canal and current canal customers are hooked up, the agency will stop pumping any water into the canal.

At the Amador Water Agency meeting Thursday, General Manager Jim Abercrombie told Board members that the agency has received a letter from the attorney for the Foothill Conservancy, threatening to sue the agency if it moves forward with expanding the size of the pipe in the Plymouth Pipeline. As is customary with matters of litigation, the board will discuss this in closed session and no other details were provided. Chris Wright, director of the Foothill Conservancy says that changing the size of the pipe expands the capacity of the system from 1065 equivalent development units to 2730 units – more than doubling the amount of growth possible in Plymouth, at least as far as water is concerned. Wright says the addendum to the pipeline EIR that the Water Agency approved does not address the impact of that additional growth in Plymouth. Wright told TSPN that the Conservancy is not opposed to the pipeline itself – Plymouth needs the water, he said, but – he says the letter is to let the Agency know that they are serious about opposing the Plymouth pipeline unless there is additional environmental review.

A structural defect discovered at the Jackson Rancheria Casino building has caused casino managers to temporarily relocate a significant number of gaming activities to another part of the casino. According to a press release Friday, engineers investigating the cause of water leaks at the casino entered areas not normally accessible and determined possible structural defects in the construction of a portion of the casino area. Pending further investigation, casino officials have closed this portion of the casino and will relocate its gaming activities to nearby Dalton Town Hall – the press release calls this action “a precautionary measure.” “We became aware of this potential structural problem and took immediate steps to ensure the safety of our patrons and staff by closing part of the casino,” said Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman. “We would rather err on the side of caution. Once we determine the extent of the problem, we will review our options.” Inspectors have evaluated the remainder of the facility and deemed it fundamentally sound.

This year’s presidential primary is attracting lots of voter interest and is expected to motivate many young people to vote for the first time. If you are a first time voter, or if your address has changed, the last date to register for this year’s Presidential Primary Election is January 22. Many folks in Amador County will be voting by mail. To vote by mail you must submit your written request by January 29. Sheldon D. Johnson, Registrar of Voters, announced today that the Election Department commenced mailing out vote by mail ballots on Monday, January 7. Your vote-by-mail ballot must be received in the Elections Department or at any polling place in Amador County no later than 8:00pm on the day of election, February 5.

Taxpayer advocacy groups are criticizing the State’s offer to assist with tax return preparation for tax year 2007. The California Franchise Tax Board announced has expanded customer service including, for the second year, the ReadyReturn program. ReadyReturn provides a pre-filled state tax return service available to qualified taxpayers. Taxpayers who file as single with no dependents, earn wages from only one employer and take standard deductions, are eligible to have their tax return completed by the state. The online service allows taxpayers to check eligibility, review the pre-completed return, make necessary changes, select how to receive a refund or make a payment automatically, and receive an instant confirmation of the completed return.

Representative John Doolittle of California announced his retirement from Congress on Thursday quoting the Bible, “This circumstance reminds me of a passage in the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy: ‘The time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.’ ” Doolittle had said as recently as last October  that he planned to run for another term but at a news conference in Roseville, Doolittle said, “I plan to complete my term and finish my Congressional service at the conclusion of this Congress. 

Last weekend, the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, or ACCNET, made its first publicly announced drug bust. Working with Mule Creek State Prison officers, ACCNET intercepted a significant quantity of heroin from 2 people attempting to smuggle the drug into the prison. On Saturday at about 10:20 a.m., Gloria Diane Mitchell, 59, of Sun City arrived at Mule Creek State Prison to visit her son, inmate Michael Mitchell, 42.