Jackson - The cities of Jackson and Sutter Creek have qualified for Federal COPS Hiring Recovery Program grant awards, as announced Tuesday by the United States Department of Justice. Out of the 7,272 agencies applying nationally, only 1,046 made the cut. “In our case, we applied in order to save one officer position from layoff,” said Jackson City Manager Mike Daly. Jackson and Sutter Creek will receive estimated awards of $299,874 and $238,884, respectively. The City of Oakland is the top recipient in California, with a total award of $19,747,117 to fund 41 officer positions. On July 28, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Justice awarded $1 billion in Recovery Act funding through its COPS Program to state, local and tribal law enforcement to create and preserve nearly 5,000 law enforcement positions. Jackson and Sutter Creek were two of 357 agencies in California to apply. Of those applicants, 109 were accepted. Applicants were chosen based on fiscal need, crime index and community policing policies. “Apparently, those numbers worked better for us, although we were in the lower percentile,” said Daly. All grantees must retain sworn officer positions awarded under the CHRP grant for a minimum of 12 months following the 36-month federal funding period. Jackson will use the award in part to fund 80 percent of one full-time officer position. Daly said they had only budgeted 20 percent of that officer’s salary. “We were crossing our fingers. That was one of the wild cards we had,” he said. The CHRP-funded position will be added to the city law enforcement budget with state and/or local funds. Story by Alex Lane. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Twain Harte – A Stanislaus National Forest fire has been blamed for the smell of smoke drifting into Amador County this week. Tuolumne County fire officials said the Knight Fire, burning near Twain Harte since Sunday afternoon, was only 10 percent contained as of Thursday morning. It had burned 1,643 acres in back country near Twain Harte as of Thursday. Amador County citizens from Pine Grove, Fiddletown, Shake Ridge Road and even downtown Jackson reported smelling smoke, prompting calls to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office dispatch and the Amador Fire Protection District. Amador Sheriff’s office attributed the smell to the Stanislaus Fire. The Tuolumne County information office said the Knight Fire was burning in a canyon along the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River. The fire was first reported at 3:35 p.m. Sunday, and was burning in trees and vegetation on “extremely rugged and rocky terrain.” The river is forming a boundary to the north, and a steep ridge is forming a boundary to the south, making up the 10 percent control. They are getting movement to the east and west flanks, with wind pattern changes, especially at night. Local, regional and statewide fire departments, including Calfire and the U.S. Forest Service were fighting the fire both in the air and on the ground, including more than 1,000 personnel, both hand crews and hotshots. The fight included 6 air tankers, 9 helicopters, 12 bulldozers and numerous fire engines. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council retained water rights specialists last week as negotiations continue on the Arroyo Ditch. City Attorney Steven Rudolph, of the firm Myers Nave (Naw-Vay), recommended the specialist, Somach Simmons & Dunn, attorneys at law of Sacramento. Rudolph in a July 2nd memo to the city council said the city is currently in “negotiations with the Shenandoah Water Company regarding the future maintenance of the Arroyo Ditch and the beneficial use of the related water rights.” He said the “purpose of retaining Somach Simmons & Dunn, and in particular, Paul Simmons of that firm, is to provide legal advice to the city regarding any proposal from (Shenandoah Water Company) that affects the city’s water rights.” Rudolph said the contract gives hourly compensation, and “the city will be reimbursed for these costs by the Shenandoah Water Company.” The council approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Dixon Flynn to execute a retention agreement with Somach Simmons & Dunn. The agreement included a $5,000 dollar deposit toward initial fees. Somach Simmons & Dunn’s schedule of rates for public clients listed Simmons as its only “key personnel,” earning a rate of $310 dollars per hour. Additional personnel hourly rates ranged between $120 and $390 dollars an hour. Flynn gave a presentation on a visit he made to Copperopolis during a trip he took in June, showing photos of the designs of downtown buildings. He said they “were constructed by a developer that shows a style of facades” that he thought “would be successful in Plymouth.” Flynn said it “is not a 1930s style but more of a Gold Rush late 19th century style.” In a memo to the council, he said he believed it may be worth the council members’ time to Copperopolis “just to see what they have done.” Flynn said he expected the Plymouth City Council’s next regular meeting, August 13th to be a big meeting, with a General Plan discussion. City planning staff took direction in early July and will make recommended changes. Staff was expected to give the “strikethrough” edition of the General Plan EIR to the city council members by Friday, July 31st, giving the council and the public 2 weeks to read the document, before the General Plan EIR public hearing meeting resumes. That meeting is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, August 13th at city hall, and the General Plan and EIR will be the only item on the agenda. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – Amador County officials and members of the public in 2 weeks will be able to comment on environmental impacts of the county General Plan Update. The Planning Department hosts a public scoping session Thursday, August 13th. County Planner Susan Grijalva in a release Wednesday said the “environmental impact analysis in the Program EIR will be based on the change between existing conditions and those associated with likely development in accordance with the Draft General Plan by 2030, as well as at theoretical build out.” Grijalva explained the scoping session process in a release Wednesday. She said: “Before any project decision can be made by the county, the California Environmental Quality Act requires the preparation and certification of a document which discloses the potential adverse effects to the physical environment which could occur from such a project.” Also, “mitigation measures must be developed which would, if possible, reduce those potential impacts to an acceptable level.” She said: “It has been determined an Environmental Impact Report must be prepared to address the proposed project’s potential impacts.” As part of the EIR preparation process a Notice of Preparation is circulated to various state, federal, and local agencies informing them of the proposed project and requesting their responses, “feasible reasonable alternatives, and mitigation measures” to be explored in the EIR. Also used as part of the EIR preparation process is Early Public Consultation. Grijalva said the county will hold a Scoping Meeting to hear comments and concerns of agencies and area landowners and residents. A subject-by-subject checklist-type questionnaire will be used to guide work at the meeting, presided over by the Amador County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commissioners. Following the scoping, and close of the comment period, August 31st, a Draft EIR will be prepared to respond to the issues raised by the public and various agencies. Once the Draft EIR is completed, a public hearing will be held on the document, Grijalva said. “Eventually, the EIR may be certified as being adequate. Once the EIR has been certified, the county can then go on to make ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decisions on the project.” Grijalva said the “certification of an EIR as being adequate is not an indication the county will or will not eventually approve the project. It simply means the environmental impacts have been fully disclosed and mitigation measures recommended.” The scoping meeting will be held in 2 sessions, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, August 13th, in Supervisors’ Chambers. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – The annual Amador County Fair kicked off Wednesday night with the always-entertaining Kid’s Day Parade in downtown Ione and the Miss Amador Scholarship Competition. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.