The East Bay Municipal Utilities District and the Sacramento County Water Agency have recently joined together to construct a 900 million dollar pipeline project in order to supply water to customers in Sacramento County and the East Bay. Once completed, the Freeport Water Project will supply 85 million gallons of water per day to the SCWA. The SCWA will in turn supply customers in central Sacramento county to supplement ground water use. The project will supply East Bay MUD as a supplemental water source, to be used in dry years only, estimated to be 3 out of every 10 years. East Bay MUD currently serves 1.3 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and the Freeport Regional Water Project will serve 300,000 customers in Sacramento County.

The SCWA will receive water beginning in 2011, two years later than East Bay MUD, due to the construction of an additional surface water treatment plant. According to East Bay MUD project liaison Gerald Schwartz, East Bay MUD had water rights to the American River dating back to 1970. A lawsuit was brought before East Bay MUD by environmentalist groups, which was later joined by Sacramento County. After years of conflict and millions of dollars in litigation, Sacramento County and East Bay MUD decided to join forces and build common infrastructure. One segment of the project, known as the Folsom South Canal Construction project, is currently under construction and stretches from the Clay Station Pumping Plant on the American River to an East Bay MUD pumping plant on the Mokelumne River below Lake Comanche. The pipeline stretches along Liberty Road, and will impact traffic. Motorists should be aware that Liberty Road will be closed from Highway 88 to Mackville, from June 11th to the 23rd, 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For more information on this project, visit www.freeportproject.org. 

A car that had apparently drifted into the opposite lane collided with a truck and sent two people to the hospital around 3pm Monday afternoon. The crash took place on Gopher Flat Road near Sutter Creek, an intersection notorious for car accidents. Immediately following the collision, emergency assistance crews from the Sutter Creek Fire Department and Police Department were on scene to assist. Both drivers were taken to Sutter Amador Hospital. Although the drivers were reported to have sustained serious injuries, both are said to be in stable condition.

 

New wildland fire protective gear for the Ione Fire Department volunteers arrived at Ione City Hall this week. Fifty sets were purchased with funds raised last October at a community fundraising event held at Rancho Arroyo Seco. “The department is so grateful. These new sets of gear will replace much worn sets that are over 12 years old,” stated Fire Chief Ken Mackey. “This community generously donated over $8,500 that was matched by Rancho Arroyo Seco for a total of over $17,000. As a volunteer organization, we do not have a large budget and this type of support goes right back into the community.” All 45 volunteer fighters were measured for the customized outfits. The funds raised were enough to purchase 50 sets, with 5 put into reserve.Each set includes jacket and pants of special fabric that is designed to provide an extra layer of protection from heat to the skin.

In addition, helmet and boots specific for wildland firefighting are worn. The manufacturer of the wildland gear sent a representative to Ione to measure each firefighter. The group was also able to specify design elements such as pocket size and placement for handheld equipment and tools. This year’s wildland fire season has started and the department has already been on many calls. Enforcement of weed abatement within the city limits has helped to reduced city fires. However, the department is concerned with fires outside the city limits and responds to those in order to protect the fire from entering the city limits. The 2nd Annual Firefighters Fundraiser will be held in October of this year at the Big Red Barn at Rancho Arroyo Seco in Ione.  A community leadership group has been formed and plans are underway to make this more of a success than last year. For information on this year’s event, contact Sharon Long at 209-274-6597.

 

Last week, the Sutter Creek City Council performed the first readings for three general plan amendments. The first, known as the ‘Hartwick General Plan Amendment’ involves the rezoning of .28 acres of property located at the corner ofSutter Ione Road and Spanish Street. The property belongs to Sutter Creek resident Gary Hartwick. The Council is proposing to rezone the property from ‘R1 residential single family’ to ‘C2 commercial.’ The rezone is in exchange for a piece of property Hartwick donated to the city in order to widen Sutter Ione Road, which is adjacent to Amador High School.

The second rezoning request under consideration is for a piece of property off of Bryson Drive, which will soon be the site of 12 cottage style residences. The ’Bryson Cottages General Plan Amendment’ is for the down-zoning of the property from Residential Housing and Commercial to Residential Single Family. The project plan was recently scaled back from the original planned 24 townhouses to 12 cottages, and the rezoning will reflect the change. Finally, the council reviewed the ‘Lincoln Mine Center General Plan Amendment.’ The property in question is located adjacent and east of the Sutter Creek Fire Department, off of Highway 49. The requested change will create two commercial lots, six moderate density residential and commercial lots, twenty-one residential single family lots, and one open space lot. The site may also be the future home to the beginning of the planned ’East Side Sutter Creek Bypass,’ which will run from Old Highway 49 to Gopher Flat Road. All of the first readings were approved unanimously by the city council.

And finally, for all you outdoor enthusiasts- Kirkwood will officially begin its summer mountain operations on July 4th with weekend chairlift operations, hiking trails, mountain biking, climbing wall, ropes course, zip line, disc golf, fishing, horseback riding and many other activities.  Kirkwood’s summer headquarters will be open on weekends with scheduled hours of Saturdays from 8:30am to 4:00pm and Sundays from 8:30am to 3:00pm. They’ll be offering information on all summer activities including Kirkwood’s inaugural Mountain Bike Event Series, Fly Fishing Clinics, and Climbing Programs.  For more information, please contact Expedition Summer Headquarters at 209.258.7360 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">'+addy_text41644+'<\/a>'; //--> .

A vehicle accident occurred upcountry Sunday night at approximately 9:30pm when a young driver lost control of his pickup truck. The accident occurred on Ponderosa way near Pine Grove. The driver lost control of his vehicle and slid off the road, rolling down an embankment and against a tree.The small truck came to rest in a ditch. When TSPN’s contributing photographer Bill Lavallie arrived on the scene, CHP investigators were determining the cause of the accident, and the driver and his passenger were being evaluated for injuries. CHP officers suspect the accident to be the result of high speed driving on a curvy mountain road. Intoxication is not suspected to be a contributing factor. 

Last Friday marked the end of another school year in Amador County, and for many the beginning of a new and exhilarating chapter in life. The senior classes of both Amador and Argonaut High Schools celebrated their final year of high school through the weekend; fortunately with no party-related injuries or accidents were reported. Of the graduates surveyed by TSPN after graduation, the outstanding majority plan on leaving Amador County for higher-level schooling. “I have a lot of friends and family here, so leaving will be tough for me. But there is just no outlet in Amador County for what I want to do with my life,” said one student who plans on attending UC Davis in the fall. 

If you happened to be at the fairgrounds’ Frontier Town last Thursday, you might have felt like you’d been transported back to the 1850’s.  It was all smiles and laughs as kids donned bonnets, prairie skirts, and old-style hats to participate in Plymouth Elementary’s annual Pioneer Day.  The event, sponsored by teachers Gretchen Johnson and Barbara Chasteen, is modeled after a similar event at Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento. At the Plymouth event, 4th & 5th graders learned what it was like back in the olden days by participating in ten different old-time activities. Kids made wooden toolboxes, learned to make butter and candles, and even had a watermelon seed spitting contest. 

CAL FIRE’s Amador / El Dorado Unit will hold the official opening of the new Dew Drop Interagency Fire Station Number 10 this Thursday, June 12. Dew Drop has a long history as a CAL FIRE / El Dorado National Forest Interagency Fire Station. CAL FIRE considers the Dew Drop Fire House to be an essential base for firefighters in the mountainous areas of upper Amador County. As fire season moves into full swing, the staff of CAL Fire welcomes the opportunity to officially man a new station in such a strategic area. The fire station is located near the Dew Drop Bypass, approximately 9 miles from Pioneer and a half-mile east of Shake Ridge Road off Highway 88. The public is invited to attend the open house from 10am to 2 pm.

Depending on the length and distance of your Sacramento commute, CAL TRANS is offering a small bit of good news. North bound lanes of Interstate Five in Downtown Sacramento were reopened Monday morning - as scheduled. But the massive Fix I-5 Project isn't done yet. After a few days off, work crews will close down all south bound lanes to resume repairs. Transportation officials say commuters adjusted well during the first 10-days of the project. Mark Dinger with Caltrans says he hopes motorists keep it up and not become lax. "We suddenly lost half the traffic here in Sacramento because people cooperated by taking transit, did things like ride their bikes to work, and some worked with their employers to alternate their work hours. Some people I'm sure even took some vacation. So we need more of the same thing if we're going to get through the south bound closure," he said. Work crews are replacing an aging drainage system and repaving the stretch of I-5 known as the "boat section'. The $27 million project is scheduled to be finished by July 15th. CPR Radio Contributed.