Elections Statistics are in for Amador County. With all precincts counted in the county and nearly 97% of precincts counted for the state, Amador topped the state turn-out by more than 20%, with 66% of registered voters compared to the statewide turnout of only 45%. The majority of Amador voters voted “NO” on ALL the propositions. Statewide, voters agreed with Amador on the issues of Transportation Funds, Term Limits and Community Colleges. These propositions did not pass. But the majority of California voters did not agreed with Amador regarding the Indian Gaming Compact Referendums, which were all passed by approximately 56% of the votes FOR and 44% of the votes AGAINST.  The Presidential Primary results in Amador were consistent with the rest of state. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton beat Obama by almost 10%.

Decline-to-state voters were allowed to cast votes in California’s Democratic and American Independent Party primaries on Tuesday, but there were complaints that they weren’t offered a primary ballot. The Secretary of State’s Voter Hotline has received several dozen calls from non-partisan voters around the state reporting some county poll workers were not fully aware of decline-to-state voter rights. Secretary of State Debra Bowen says the election code could be improved to protect the rights of voters who chose not to affiliate with a particular political party.

“It's an historic moment!  This is terrific!!!  Amazing!!! Stellar!!! Fantastic!!! Incredible!!!” These words from Amador County Recreation Agency director Tracey Towner-Yep on Tuesday when Mollie Joyce park in Pioneer officially became the property of the recreation agency. Amador County educator Fred Joyce signed 79-acres of his family’s historic ranch land to ACRA – after a 3-year effort to complete the transfer.

At Monday night’s Sutter Creek City Council meeting, the Council discussed some of the details of the proposed Erickson Ranch Annexation, a project that has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks. The Erickson Ranch property is comprised of 187 acres adjacent to the Hwy 49 bypass, between Tonzi and Sutter-Ione Roads. Although the item was not on the agenda, several residents commented on the proposal. Concerns among the public included the cost of maintaining the property, the limitations on public access to the land, and the Amador Land Trust’s involvement in land’s maintenance.

A woman transporting 4 dogs slid off a well-iced stretch of Highway 88 on Monday morning. Passersby and emergency responders assisted in recovering the animals from the vehicle and returning them back into their transport crates. Fortunately, there were no injuries to the driver or to any of the dogs. Caltrans arrived on the scene after the accident to lay down sand and put up road flares on the very icy section of roadway. Witnesses at the scene wondered why sand and flairs marking the hazard were not already in place since Caltrans employees must drive this section of the highway on their way to get to the Caltrans station in Pine Grove. Bill Lavallie contributed to this story.

Saturday, Amador County whiz kids competed in the first Amador Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Argonaut High School. The science fair was organized by teachers Kelsi Himmel and Donna Custodio for junior and senior high school students to explore their interest in science outside of the classroom. The Grand prize winners of this fair were Evan Layher, 12th grade, for his World of Cards Experiment - he calculated the number of atoms in the world and the number of different card combinations possible in a deck of playing cards.

Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel has announced changes to its concert schedule for 2008. Due to closing a significant section of the casino due to structural problems discovered there, the casino has relocated slot machines into the area formerly used for concerts. Carol Cook, Casino Creative Strategies Content Developer, announced the following changes to scheduled casino entertainment: The Abracadabra ABBA Tribute concert scheduled for January 20 will be held on Sunday, February 10, in the Grand Oak Ballroom of the Hotel.

Amador residents were among some 300 people who braved the rain last week to attend a workshop held by the Schwarzenegger administration’s Secretary of State and Consumer Services Agency chief Rosario Marin, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, Assemblyman Roger Niello and Senator Dave Cox to seek advice about their mortgage loans. With the prospect of facing higher mortgage payments and fearing the worst, residents filled the Maidu Community Center in Roseville to talk directly with credit counselors and lenders.