Community Development Director Stephanie Moreno is the focus of a heated battle amongst Calaveras County Supervisors and the backers of a grand jury report that claims she is unqualified to do her job. The controversy has become the centerpiece of recent Supervisors meetings and has raised questions about both the Board’s hiring procedures and Moreno’s credibility. Moreno, who was formerly employed as an Amador County Supervisor under her previous name of D’Agostini, was criticized in the report for “confrontational behavior”, “lacking the technical skills and sufficient related experience to successfully perform her job”, and mismanaging county funds, among a number of other accusations. In total, the jury made 17 findings that target either Moreno or the Board of Supervisors. Among the accusations made against the Supervisors is a failure to conduct a background check, and a failure to “clearly define the reporting relationship of the position.” The grand jury that created the report is comprised of citizens appointed by Superior Court Judge John Martin to oversee government operations. The report divided the Board over how to approach the situation at last Tuesday’s Board meeting. When Supervisor Tom Tryon asked for a closed session reevaluation of Moreno’s performance, Supervisors Wilensky, Claudino and Thomas immediately voiced their opposition, citing that all evaluations should be initiated by the county administrative officer. This sparked Tryon to accuse the other three Supervisors of conspiring to protect Moreno and holding a calculated opposition against the grand jury. “They weren't interested in fact finding, they were interested in undoing the grand jury report,” Tryon said. Claudino countered that the grand jury “report is more subjective than objective.” Wilensky fired back with references to Tryon’s continued opposition to hiring Moreno. What seemed to anger Tryon the most was that Wilensky and Claudino had gone to the CAO after the grand jury report was released to find counterpoints. Wilensky vehemently denies the accusations against him and claims to have an explanation for all the jury’s findings. The board has agreed to hold an open session on July 22 to discuss the grand jury’s findings. (The Calaveras Enterprise Contributed to this Story)

Earlier this week, the Jackson City Council awarded over 34,000 dollars to two local organizations in another move to help the revitalization of Jackson. The money came from Measure E funding, which was a measure approved by the voters in 2002 whereby the city’s transient occupancy tax, or motel tax, was raised from 8 percent to 10 percent. That extra two percent translated into about 64,310 dollars in 2007, according to a report by City Manager Mike Daly. To help determine the best use of Measure E funds, an advisory committee oversees requests for, and disbursement of the funds. This year, the Amador Council of Tourism, or A.C.T., and the Amador Chamber of Commerce both requested funds to help support their organizations. The A.C.T. requested a total of 30,000 dollars, a portion of which would go to the Historic Jackson Business Association, or HJBA. Maureen Funk and Toni Fancher were on hand at the meeting to present their proposal and answer any questions. Mayor Pryor Escamilla and Vice-Mayor Connie Gonsalves both praised the “level of partnership” that A.C.T. and HJBA exhibited. A.C.T. was awarded 25,310 dollars, with 11,000 of those dollars reserved for partner projects with HJBA. Additionally, the Amador Chamber of Commerce requested funds. Jacquie Lucido was present at the meeting to give an overview of the many services provided by the chamber, which includes responding to a myriad of tourist inquiries, and even booking hotel rooms and providing information about local events. Lucido ended by saying, “When we ask for money, its money that we desperately need.” The chamber requested 37,500 dollars, but due to an earlier council decision to reserve 30,000 dollars of the 2007 funds for economic development needs of the city, the chamber received the same amount as last year, which was 9,000 dollars. “We’d like to give everyone all the money that they request,” says Daly, “but there was only 34,310 dollars available.” The 30,000 in reserve will likely go to projects related to the Economic Development Committee, and, according to Daly, could also go towards the feasibility study of forming the much-talked-about Jackson Redevelopment Agency.

The City of Jackson has just adopted a resolution that will make it safer for Argonaut High School students to walk to and from school. Earlier this year, the City Engineering Department applied for a “Safe Routes To School” grant, which was subsequently funded through CalTrans. The grant will cover most of the 688,400-dollar cost of upgrading the curbs, gutter and sidewalk along Argonaut Lane, from Mariposa Avenue to Hoffman Street. The city will contribute matching funds of 68,850, or 10%, from an Argonaut Lane mitigation fund. In addition, the city will install bike lanes on the west side of the street, and will improve the drainage on both sides of the street. Project construction will begin once the city has completed the design, environmental, and engineering processes.

Amador County vocalists, between the ages of 16 and 28, will have a chance to compete at this year’s county fair to be crowned the Amador Idol, with the winner moving on to the California State Fair competition. Modeled after the popular T.V. show American Idol, Amador Idol promises to be very entertaining with the audience helping the judges to choose the ultimate winner. Idol contestants will be competing for a chance to advance to the State competition at Cal Expo on September 1, and the opportunity to win an undisclosed cash prize, a makeover, and roundtrip airfare to the national talent competition of their choice. Amador Idol hopefuls will be asked to sing two songs – the first being their choice, the second should include at lease one word in the title from the Fair’s theme “Bumper Cars, Rodeo Stars, and Ewe (You)”. Idol contestants will compete on Sunday, July 29, at 4 pm, with the top three finalists, chosen by the judges, advancing to the finals at the end of the show. Three judges with music industry background will be on stage to offer advice and select the three finalists. The Amador Idol competition is for vocalists only and contestants must be Amador County residents. For further information, please contact Jamie Lubenko at 245-6992 or the Amador County Fair office at (209) 245-6921.

Twenty-one of Amador County’s administrators and department heads met Tuesday morning in Sutter Creek for an 8 hour roundtable discussion that will help set the course for the future of Amador’s economic development. The strategic planning workshop was led by Marilyn Schneider, who specializes in facilitating organizational planning for government municipalities and companies throughout the United States. The goal of the workshop was to help set the general direction of the county in terms of planning. The last time the county underwent a revision of its strategic planning guidelines was in 2004 to 2005. The meeting opened with a statement from County Administrative Officer Terry Daly, who articulated the reasons for the revision underway, namely, that “Amador County is currently facing some really big issues.” The workshop involved the identification of the internal and external issues facing the county today, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The group was also going to create a Mission Statement for the County, which answers the question “why does Amador County government exist, and for whom?” In addition, a set of goals, key performance measures, strategic objectives, and a follow-up monitoring process were all going to be formulated. This morning, the board of supervisors will meet again at 7:30 am to assess the board’s specific goals and responsibilities, as well as efficiency. We will have the highlights of these workshops for you tomorrow, including Amador County’s new mission and vision statements.

News data from CAL FIRE helps to reiterate the strain that statewide fires have placed on local firefighting services. Since the late June lighting storms began sparking blazes across Northern California, the Amador El Dorado Unit of CAL FIRE has sent over ninety personnel, eleven engines and eight hand crews to help fight hundreds of wildfires. The Amador El Dorado Unit is budgeted to staff 13 fire engines normally, but by freezing everyone on duty, the unit is staffing 19 fire engines. Only five fire engines remain in the home unit to protect over a million acres. Eight out of nine local fire crews have been on assignment statewide for weeks. As a result, the Amador Unit formed two ad hoc hand crews using engine company firefighters to protect our local area and keep another major fire from erupting. In addition, CAL FIRE has hired several local fire district engine companies to staff our state fire stations. The personnel sent to assist with the fires are assigned to frontline firefighting or supporting major firefighting operations. Local firefighters provide a variety of support roles that range from mixing and loading air tanker retardant, supervising the inmate crews staffing mobile kitchens, repairing fire engines, and providing training and support to the military personnel and aircraft that have come to CAL FIRE’s assistance. For More information on the many fires burning statewide, including counties declared as disasters by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, go to www.fire.ca.gov.

After much deliberation, the Ione City Council adopted the 2008 to 2009 Fiscal year budget at a special meeting held Tuesday afternoon. Only three of the five councilmembers were present, with both Councilman Sherman and Mayor Bonham excused for medical reasons. Councilmember Ard presided over the meeting. At the last minute, City Finance Director Mark Smith informed the council of a 17 thousand dollar oversight regarding the Amador County Recreation Agency’s annual membership dues. Because of this oversight a change to the total expenses incurred by the city will be reflected. Councilmember Ard questioned whether the budget “could operate without any money from the state,” due to the way that it is currently structured. City Manager Kerr was quick to reply that it would not be possible “unless we majorly gutted programs in the City.” The council passed the budget 2 to 1 with councilman Ulm dissenting.

The Amador County Public Health Department is advising citizens to take caution in the current extreme heat and poor air quality. Air quality is at dangerous levels because of the California fires and high ozone levels. This week is predicted to be the warmest week of the year, and record temperatures in the valley and foothills could reach as high as 110 degrees. Particulate matter from the fires has increased the Air Quality Index to between 150 and 200, which is an “unhealthy level.” The heat wave pushed the ozone to a “very unhealthy” AQI level of 210 in the Sacramento Valley yesterday. But these determinations mainly apply to the lower valley- the foothills have fewer monitoring stations but usually are at or exceed the valley levels. Amador County Public Health is reminding citizens of the factors that increase the risk for heat-related illness, including advanced age, isolation or social circumstances, heart, lung, or kidney disease, medication, and high blood pressure or diabetes. During this heat advisory, Public Health recommends drinking plenty of water and limiting drinks with caffeine and alcohol. Try to be less active during late afternoon- the hottest and smokiest part of the day. Finally, never leave kids or pets in a parked car. Temperatures can rise to dangerous levels in a matter of minutes. Heat-related illness can be prevented by taking these precautions while the heat advisory is in effect. Warning signs of heat illness include heavy sweating, cramps, headache, nausea or vomiting, tiredness, weakness, dizziness and fainting. Heat-related illness can be a medical emergency. If symptoms persist or worsen, seek medical care.