By Alex Lane - The Department of Transportation Pine Grove Maintenance Crew was recently recognized at the CALTRANS District 10 office in Stockton. CALTRANS Director Will Kempton presented the Governor’s Employee Safety Award, or GESA, to Mike Blake, Kyle Gaspard, John Kearns, Leonard Marsh, Dave McDaniel, Scott McKinney and Bruce Sage on behalf of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The prestigious GESA award was established in 1980 to highlight and encourage safety on the job by recognizing individuals and groups who have provided outstanding safety and health service to the State. Awards are presented to individuals or groups who have responded to hazardous or life threatening events, as well as those who have developed safety programs that are not part of their normal duties. Each Sate Agency only has the opportunity to provide two nominations per year. The Pine Grove crew was chosen for their brave and immediate response in preventing what could have been a catastrophic wildfire in the Pine Grove area. On August 9th, 2007, the crew was working on Highway 88 near Buckhorn Ridge Road when a bus transporting inmates and towing a portable restroom trailer passed the operation. A wheel from the trailer came off, igniting a grass fire near the road. The crew quickly coordinated efforts to contain the fire using several breaks until CAL FIRE could arrive. The crew also set up traffic control and cleared out civilians.

By Jim Reece - Halloween is approaching the Mother Lode, and Pirates have invaded North Main Street in Jackson over the last few weeks as a local resident and area youths have constructed a haunted pirate ship. Kevin Clark, advertising representative with TSPN TV, said he has been building the project in his front yard for a number of reasons. First, he said it was a way to give back to the community and the children around Jackson. Also, he said it was a way to get the community into the Halloween Spirit. Clark said that Halloween was a big event in his youth and he has spent the last few weeks constructing the ship on his lawn – despite having a broken right arm in a cast. Neighborhood schoolchildren have help with the project, including mounting a teetering main mast with a crow’s nest, hanging a wide variety of skeletons, heavy anchor chains and painting several Jolly Rogers – that is, skull-and-crossbones flags – the trademark of the pirates. Clark said the theme came about from the popularity over the last several years of the film trilogy “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Clark also gives back to the community by allowing the Arc of Amador And Calaveras County’s participants to tend a community garden in the yard of a house he owns in Sutter Creek. And the latest, the Haunted Pirate Ship of North Main Street, should be a popular destination come Halloween night. Friends at TSPN have also urged Clark to haunt the ship in Pirate’s garb, with his trusty right cast fixed into a pirate’s hook. See Kevin Clark’s community Haunted Pirate Ship in his front yard at 425 North Main Street in Jackson.

By Alex Lane - During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, members of the Amador County Public Works Department recapped extensive road repairs they’ve made across the County. “(During the) last 19 plus years, there have been nothing but overlays,” said Road Superintendent Barbara Belvoir, in reference to the traditional and more effective method of road repairs in the County. But due to ever-tightening budget constraints, Public Works has been forced to get creative. “Over the last four years we’ve seen a huge shift in rural counties towards pavement preservation, something that in the past we would just replace,” Belvoir said. She outlined a number of inventive techniques that are not as beneficial as a full overlay repair. These include much-needed repairs to areas of Gayla Manor, Ridge Road and Climax Road in the upcountry area. All in all, we spent 1.1 million on the roads during this (fiscal year),” she said. “It wasn’t perfect…but I would like to keep all of these (repair methods) as tools in the future.”

By Alex Lane - A four car pile-up Tuesday morning in Jackson sent four people to the hospital and backed up traffic for hours. According to a police witness at the scene, the wreck began with a fender bender and ended in a domino-effect collision. The driver of a car headed East on Hwy 88 was turning left onto Carriage Way. A white pickup and another person in a four door sedan were aligned behind the first car. A fourth vehicle, another pickup driven by an elderly gentleman, failed to notice the vehicles stopped in front of him and plowed into the rear of the sedan. This started a chain reaction of collisions. Two cars were forced off the road by the impact. One vehicle veered into the West bound lane and collided head on with another car. Just prior to the crash, a house fire in Jackson required assistance from other agencies who sent several fire vehicles down Highway 88 from the upcountry area. Since the road was completely blocked due to the collision, there was a logjam of fire personnel at the scene trying to clear the road so they could continue to the fire. Traffic was also backed up in both directions for some time.

By Jim Reece - The Sutter Creek City Council selected five people for its Architectural Review Committee, out of a total of eight applicants for the position. The council then voted 3-1 to have the committee select its own chairman. Councilman Pat Crosby motioned to have the council appoint a chairman on the committee, but the move died for lack of a second. Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth then moved to have the committee select its own chair, which passed 3-1, with Crosby against. Crosby said he thought that an appointed chair would give the council someone to approach if it was displeased. The council at its regular meeting Monday took a report from assistant city manager Sean Rabe, who before had given the eight application letters to the council. Councilmen then selected their top five candidates and Rabe announced the results of their voting. Those selected to the Architecture Review Committee are former planning commissioners John H. Walser and Edwin L. Pogue, architects John E. Otto and Sandi Baracco and resident Sharyn Brown. Baracco is also a former planning commissioner and was a member of the General Plan Committee, as were Brown and Otto. Other applicants may be considered if openings occur on the committee. The other three applicants were Peter H. Smith, Suzie Reynolds and Linda Rianda. Establishment of the committee was required by city law. The committee will review site plans and provide recommendations to the community development director. The members were appointed to overlapping terms, with three years being the longest term. Staff recommended that for diversity’s sake, committee members should include at least one city business owner, one resident not connected with a business in the city, at least two people experience in architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation, urban design planning, or engineering.

By Jim Reece - The Ione City Council received a 4th quarter financial report Tuesday with most actual costs under budget and revenues and cash above budgets. The council past approval for staff to seek Community Development Block Grants in the amount of 70,000 dollars for four separate areas, including the study of economic development and ways to improve Evelynn Bishop Hall. The grants will be matched 10 percent by city funds, or 7,000 dollars. City Finance Director Mark Smith gave a 4th Quarter financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30th. He said American River Bank reported that the city’s LEIF Deposits were sound and that it had boosted its insurance to 250,000 dollars per account. Smith said the state last Friday had made good on gasoline tax payments to the tune of 70,000 dollars. He said building permits were down 50 percent from the opening of the fiscal year, July 2007, while sales tax was up 1 percent. He said General Fund Cash and Reserve each were above 1 million dollars, while the sewer fund cash balance was 600,000 dollars more than projected, topping 1.4 million dollars. Capital expenditures totaled 45,000 dollars, for three items: purchase of a police vehicle, lease of a truck for the building department, and purchase of a lawnmower for the parks department. The Capital fund included 2.2 million dollars, which included 420,000 dollars earmarked for street work. Smith said the city has 1,433 active sewer accounts, below budgeted projections by 101 accounts. The council voted 4-0 to create a Recreation Fund for keeping unused funds. Those may include 500,000 for a new swimming pool at Howard Park, plus funds and fees generated at the city pool, Howard Park fields, Evelynn Bishop Hall and the horse arena and stables.

By Jim Reece - The Ione City Council issued three proclamations for Ione citizens on Tuesday at the outset of the regular council meeting. Ione Volunteer Firefighter Bob Wright, Father Thomas Relihan and Ione Public Safety Officer Kevin Summers each were honored with city council proclamations. Wright was honored by the council as a member of the military reserves, on his way to serve in the War in Iraq. City Manager Kim Kerr said Wright is one of the city’s volunteer firefighters, is a reservist and will serve in Iraq for a year. The Council also issued a proclamation for Father Thomas Relihan, who was retiring from the Catholic priesthood after 61 years. Relihan’s career included 25 years serving as the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Ione, where he took over in 1983, upon moving to town.. The proclamation noted his assistance with the many facets of the community, all areas of joy and sadness for families, and his help with the homeless and others in need. Councilman Lee Ard commented that he hopes that he will be as spry as Father Relihan when he came to be his age. The Council issued a third proclamation in honor of Ione Volunteer fireman and EMT, Kevin Summers. The proclamation noted that Summers was selected as the 2008 Public Safety Performer of the Year by the Amador County Peace Officers Association. Summers has lived in Ione since childhood, where he has worked for the Ione Police Department and as a crossing guard for the junior high and elementary schools. Summers will be honored at a Citizen of the year and Officer of the year ceremony at the American Legion Hall on October 25th.

By Alex Lane - The National Weather Service in Sacramento will be conducting weather spotter training for Amador County residents today, Thursday, October 9th. The training will enable interested citizens to be become volunteers for Project SKYWARN, which helps keep local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service relies on visual observations from spotters to provide critical information that would otherwise not be available to forecasters. The training is free and will take place between 6 PM and 8 PM at the County Administration Building, located in Jackson, at 810 Court Street, in conference room “C”. This training is co-sponsored by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services and the Amador Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group. Members of the public are welcome to attend. For more information on disaster preparedness, contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services at 223-6384.

By Jennifer Wilson - Seven water district candidates placed themselves in the public eye Monday evening at a special candidate’s forum sponsored by the Amador Resource Conservation District. The forum, which was moderated by Giles Turner, and organized by Steve Cannon, was designed to provide the public with information about the candidates’ positions, motivations and their general knowledge about water issues. The seven candidates included Bill Condrashoff and current Director Madonna Wiebold for District 1, Current Chair and District 2 Director John Swift, Don Cooper and John Bonini for District 3, and Debbie Dunn and Brent Parsons for District 4. In their opening statements, candidates touched on their qualifications, goals and motivations. Next, the public had a chance to pose questions to individual candidates. Most questions were focused on water availability, conservation, and uses, for which the candidates had worthwhile answers, but other questions targeted the candidates themselves, adding fuel to some issues that had obviously been brewing for a while. The ongoing issue involving the City of Jackson meeting with the water agency to discuss rates was brought up by several people, including Condrashoff, who said, “Jackson has asked to be agendized,… the mayor has repeatedly asked for a meeting and the water agency has refused.” In closing, candidates provided the public with a brief recap of their goals, or made a short statement. Bonini said, “I’ll earn your respect as you earn mine” while Condrashoff stated that the AWA “needs new leadership.” Cooper says he is “ready, willing, and able to support your water needs” and Dunn reiterated her dedication to Amador County and involvement in a multitude of county meetings. Parsons believes that “you deserve a choice” in selecting a district director. Current Chair Swift touched on collaboration between the agency and cities in conserving water, while Wiebold reminded the public that she is very approachable and that communication is the key. Voters will select the five water district directors in the November 4th election.

By Alex Lane - Recent retirements and cost cutting measures at the Amador County Social Services Department have led to restructuring in order to provide for continuity of services. Eight employees, including two top managers - the Health and Human Services Agency Director and the Director of Social Services - retired simultaneously this year to take advantage of the Early Retirement Incentive Program. As a result, a team headed by County Administrative Officer Terri Daly has taken on the task of reorganizing the department. Major changes in the organizational structure include, restructuring management, transferring financial functions, and an overall integration of functions. “The structure will create more management and financial depth for the department and increase outside oversight,” said Daly in a report presented to the Board of Supervisors. Although the Board is not scheduled to vote on the reorganization before January of 2009, Daly said the County would benefit by enacting the proposal by November 1st, “given the large number of retirements in Social Services.” The total cost for the proposal is estimated at 533,754 dollars. Due to these tough economic times, no new positions are being hired from outside the County at this time. Open positions will be hired internally.