The Amador County Unified School Board is getting sobering news about drugs in local schools. A Healthy Kids Survey administered last spring asked students to anonymously disclose which substances they had used two or more times in the past year. Argonaut, Amador and Independence high schools all saw around or above a 65% use of alcohol by the 11th grade population, a range of 36%, 42% and 68% respectively of marijuana use, and a 2%, 1% and a 21% use of cocaine.  A more recent survey conducted by the school district asked students and parents about drug use. 79% of parents surveyed stated that drug use among students is getting worse.

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.

Tonight, Wednesday, October 10th, is the next session of Amador Government 101 the ongoing workshop series being offered by decision and policy makers to help the general public better understand Amador County Government. The workshops being held to allow local citizens an opportunity to hear how our local government works directly from the mouths of the folks who run it. Wednesday night’s Amador Government 101 class will focus on the responsibilities of the Assessor, the Auditor and the Tax Collector.

Ione City Council met Tuesday evening with a special presentation. The Ione Police Department received first place for the 2007 California Law Enforcement Challenge for police departments with 1-10 sworn personnel. Interim Police Chief Bob Olson presented the award to the council, noting that the award could have some economic rewards for the city. Two new grants are now open for application, and the fact the city received this top award puts them in a very good position to receive that money. Councilmembers voted to keep Ione Planning Commissioners Joe Wylie, Laurie Lord, and David Jenkins in their respective seats for another four years.

Now here’s a creative idea to make Halloween more fun and easier on the pocketbook. Jackson Girl Scout Troop 360 has planned a Halloween Costume Exchange for Monday, October 8th in the Jackson Elementary School cafeteria. Costumes for the whole family – infants to adults -- are being collected for Monday night’s event. Families are invited to come to the costume exchange and find costumes for the big night – and it’s all free – no charge, no donation required.

Amador County put its best paws forward Saturday at the annual A-Pal Humane Society fundraiser to benefit homeless animals in the county – at the pooch-packed Paws in the Park. Margaret Blair of Twin Cedar K-9 was on hand to describe some of the action: Contests, games, the classic Strut Your Mutt Dog Walk, snacks for humans and canines, Vincent Van Dogh dog painting booth, even a live band – to quote Dr. Suess, it was a BIG dog party! The Italian Picnic Grounds was filled with mutts and blue bloods, competing for best costume, loudest bark, shortest tail, most senior and more. Dogs demonstrated their agility, their good citizenship, their best trick, and their knack for getting their owners to look just like them. Human participants paid a registration fee for the action-packed morning and all proceeds benefit A-Pal and its animal-related charities. Woof!

This morning there will quite a bit of emergency crew action around Sutter Amador Hospital as the hospital continues part of a three day emergency training drill. The Disaster Drill planned for today will test the surge capacity of the hospital as well as emergency responsiveness to a disaster from other county agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services and Public Health. American Legion Ambulance and the Jackson Police Department will also help in the drill scheduled for 8 am to noon.

 

There seems to be no end in sight to the ongoing repairs at the historical Amador CountyMuseum. What began as a roof repair soon escalated into a full construction overhaul after serious deficiencies in the 150 year old structure were discovered. In a presentation Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors, General Services Director Jon Hopkins outlined the updated plan of attack and urged the Board to waive the formal bidding procedure and approve a contract addendum for the sum of 113,955 dollars in additional repairs. The Board also agreed to purchase glass from the Glass Architects company in the amount of 22,600 dollars and Youngdahl Consulting Group in the amount of 5,200 dollars.

“We’ve spent a considerable amount of time trying to formulate the best method of attack with the carpenters and engineers,” said Hopkins. After comparing proposed construction bids between a number of competing companies, the County decided upon Otto Construction, one of the few contractors who specialize in the restoration of older buildings. The Board had initially considered putting the additional repair work back out for bid so the contractors could compete for the lowest offer. Hopkins also urged the Board to consider the many other structures in Amador County that need repairs. “When I look at the total here, we’re going to spend 450,000 dollars just on this (museum). We need to eventually think about stopping and diverting that money to other properties that need it,” he said. Supervisor Ted Novelli congratulated Hopkins and all others involved on the effort they have put into this project. Hopkins will continue to update the Supervisors on the progress of the project during future Board meetings.

At Monday night’s Jackson City Council Meeting, the Water/Sewer Rate Committee gave a report outlining their recommendations to resolve rising water and sewer rates.  The committee has been charged with analyzing water and sewer rate issues affecting the city’s budget.  According to the report, “the largest single item impacting the water department budget is the rate increase approved by the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors in June, 2007,” which raised the rates by 22% last August, and will include a 12% increase on July 1, 2008, and next July 1st.  The committee believes that there are three primary issues that are the cause of these rate increases: the Plymouth Pipeline, the Ione Treatment Facility, and Amador Transmission Pipeline Capacity.  Specifically, the committee found that AWA is only charging Plymouth customers 2500 dollars per hookup to the new Plymouth Pipeline, when in fact the AWA’s own study shows that 7040 dollars is actually needed to cover the costs for new wholesale customers.  At a discrepancy of over 4500 dollars per hookup, and an estimated 536 new wholesale hookups in Plymouth, that adds up to about 2.4 million dollars in costs that “will be borne on all of the other ratepayers.” 

According to the committee, AWA insists that Plymouth customers hooking up at the lower rate will benefit the rest of the ratepayers, but has not shown any evidence of this. As for the Ione Treatment Plant, the committee feels that AWA should reconsider expanding the Tanner plant, a project that will cost an estimated 40 million dollars, 12 of which will be passed on to customers. The committee says that the Ione plant would cost only about 4 million and should be able to adequately meet that area’s projected growth. And finally, the committee claims that AWA has “overestimated the capacity of the Amador Transmission Pipeline,” thereby causing existing ratepayers to pay rates that “reflect more than their fair share.”  The committee recommended that the City Council meet directly with the AWA Board of Directors to “clarify some of the outstanding issues.”  The council agreed and will seek to meet with the AWA Board in the near future.

The Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency, also known as ATCAA has secured a 250,000 dollar grant from the California Emerging Technology Fund, or CETF to help five rural Sierra counties improve high speed Internet accessATCAA Central Sierra Connect involves Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties. It is part of a statewide effort to help rural counties gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet and encourage wider use of technology by all residents. The CETF, created as part of private telecommunication company mergers, is charged with helping rural areas “catch up” to urban areas of the state. “Ultimately, we all want high speed Internet to be as universal as telephone service and is easily to use for all residents including low-income, senior and disabled people,” said Project Coordinator Michelle Shelton.

“That is vital to the future of our communities.” Central Sierra Connect is the second of seven rural regions in the state to secure a planning grant – the first, Redwood Coast Connect serving Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity and Mendocino counties, was funded last year. Each local county will be contributing time and funding to the project, and each will be able to develop its own more detailed plans for future projects. Calaveras County’s Mary Sawicki, the Program Manager for Calaveras Works and Human Services, said broadband connections are essential for helping disenfranchised people find jobs and resources. “It has been said over 80% of employment opportunities are advertised on the internet,” she said. “The internet opens up resources and educational opportunities that appear almost limitless.” For more information, visit the website: www.centralsierraconnect.org. for all households and businesses. The one-year project, called ATCAA Central Sierra Connect, will launch with the first meeting of the project Advisory Council in the morning and a community forum at Ironstone Vineyards on June 12, from 1-4 pm.