An overturned car and a missing driver were the only two pieces of evidence California Highway Patrol Officers had to work with when they were called to the scene of an accident late Monday evening on Electra Road. Around 5PM Monday, the CHP recieved notification of a motor vehicle accident in which the driver had lost control and flipped his car on its roof. When fire and CHP personnel arrived, the driver could not be found. They searched the river bank area to see if the driver had possibly been ejected from the vehicle, but no one was located. The CHP are still investigating the crash, but preliminary reports say the driver has yet to be contacted.

Recycler Ricky, Amador County’s official recycling mascot, and the Amador Disposal Service have announced a new curbside recycling program. In late August 2008, the Amador Disposal Service will begin to distribute curbside recycling containers to its customers living in unincorporated areas of the county. This new curbside recycling program will replace the “blue bag” program now in use, with no additional costs to customers. Amador Disposal Service customers will be able to put all of their recycling in one large 64 gallon blue cart for pick up every other week with their normal service. All paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass, aluminum and metal cans should be placed in the cart. Sorting of recyclables is not necessary. Areas scheduled to receive recycling carts include Carbondale, Forest Home, Willow Creek, Drytown, the Shenandoah Valley, River Pines and Fiddletown. Detailed information on the new program will be distributed when the blue recycling carts are delivered. Residents in the above-mentioned areas will also be gradually transitioned to carts for their household garbage. The Amador Disposal Service is encouraging citizens to participate in this “convenient” recycling program. According to Jim McHargue, Solid Waste Program Manager for Amador County, recycling reduces the amount of space needed for landfills and contributes to the preservation of our natural resources. For more information, please call the Amador Disposal Service at 274-2454.

Local Boy and Cub Scouts are gearing up for their annual Emergency Preparedness Fall Camporee. The event, which is much more than just a campout, will feature demonstrations by multiple local agencies, including the Jackson and Ione Fire Departments, CHP, Amador Sheriff, Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire, and Civil Air Patrol. Collectively, these and other agencies will be putting on a Midway Display Saturday afternoon, which will include emergency vehicles and helicopters, and is open to the public. Scouts of all ages will have the opportunity to learn about emergency preparedness. Boy Scouts, who are typically in grades 6 through 12, can earn an Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge by completing a series of requirements before and during the event. Cub Scouts, who are typically in grades 1 through 5, can earn the Emergency Preparedness BSA Award, which includes a pin, pocket card, and certificate. This award is available to all Scouts, as well as Adult Volunteers, and Venture Scouts, who are boys and girls age 14 to 20. All participants will learn how to respond to a myriad of emergencies, including saving someone in danger. The scenarios include rescuing or attending to someone who has touched a live electrical wire, or whose clothes have caught fire, or who is drowning, as well as many other situations. The boys will be required to chart their responses to each emergency, using the aspects of Recognition, Prevention and Reaction. Additionally, the Scouts will learn about the variety of emergency services available from local agencies. Besides all this hard work, the kids can participate in a Dutch oven bake-off, a Pioneering competition, and a Scout Spirit Competition. The event will also include a Saturday night campfire program and show, as well as an awards ceremony. The Fall Camporee will be held at Howard Park in Ione, September 26th through the 28th. The deadline for Scouts to sign up is September 16th. The Midway Display on Saturday is from 3 to 5 PM and is free and open to the public. For more information call Dick McCleery at (209) 274-4188, or Jim Whitaker at (209) 296-7776.

Films are like the outdoors in that they have the power to transport, transform and inspire. This week, the Amador County Recreation Agency, or ACRA, is unveiling a new program that combines both by bringing big-screen movies to parks throughout the county. According to ACRA Director Tracey Towner-Yep, Outdoor Cinema Adventures will provide those who work, live and play in Amador the opportunity to enjoy quality films with loved-ones while lounging under the late-summer stars. Outdoor films are a form of entertainment that Towner-Yep has always wanted to offer in the county. “I think Amador County needs this,” she said. “Movies in the parks are a terrific way to spend the evening with friends and family. Thanks in very large part to the Sutter Amador Hospital Community Outreach Fund, we have finally realized this dream.” The bill for the projection kit was picked up by Sutter Amador Hospital. Jody Boetzer (BATE-ZER), Public Relations Specialist for the hospital, says that part of their non-profit status is partnering with various agencies throughout the county, including ACRA. “It’s part of our mission to give back to the community” says Boetzer. Outdoor Cinema Adventures premieres this Friday at Detert Park, and will continue every other Friday and Saturday night through November 1st. Once it leaves Jackson, the 36- by 27-foot outdoor cinema system will make its way to Sutter Creek, Pioneer, Volcano, the Kennedy Mine, Plymouth and finally Ione. The screenings kicks off with Pixar’s “The Incredibles” on Friday, August 8th. This showing, as well as a showing of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in Sutter Creek, will be free to the public, thanks to sponsorships from the Upcountry Pool Center, Safeguard Pest Control and the Sutter Creek Police Officers Association. For a complete list of movie titles, times and venues, call ACRA at 223-6349.

Amador County’s 2008-2009 Proposed Budget is now available for public review. This fiscal year may be the first year in Amador’s history that the County will see a budget deficit. Previously, Amador County was one of only three counties in the State of California with a budget that was ‘in the black.’ Officials are currently estimating a budget shortfall in the ballpark of three million dollars. One controversial item that is under consideration in the budget is the purchase of a site for a new County jail. The County sought to obtain grant money earlier this year for that purpose, but was not awarded the funding. Amador County’s current 76-bed jail was built in 1984, and constantly suffers from overcrowding. There has been much discussion at this year’s board meetings about building a new 165 bed jail, which will add around 3 million dollars to the 2008-2009 budget. In addition, the County is considering the purchase of Scotty’s Plaza, located adjacent to the Administration building on Highway 88, which contributes about $400,000 dollars to the potential deficit. These two items, coupled with rising administration, service, and fuel costs amount to a tight financial position for the County. This year, the County will also see less support from the State and Federal Governments in the way of grant money for Social Services, Public Health, and Education. Said Supervisor Richard Forster in an interview with TSPN, “It really depends on what filters down from the State. It looks like the counties are going to be impacted hard this year by the State Budget. By the time the State Budget crisis is over, our proposed budget may be just paper”.

A multi-billion dollar claim has been filed against the State of California, the California Board of Equalization, and the State’s fifty-eight County Tax Collectors. On Tuesday’s Amador County Board of Supervisor’s Consent Agenda is listed a Referral pertaining to the lawsuit, which was filed in July by the law firm Bourhis & Mann, on behalf of San Francisco Homeowner Kriss Miranda. The Claim charges State and County officials with engaging in concealment and intimidation while collecting billions of dollars in excessive taxes from nearly three million California homeowners. The Claim seeks damages and refunds of over 2.6 billion dollars, and also calls for reformation of the property assessment process so that tax bills are automatically adjusted when future declines in the housing market occur. According to the suit, during the recent dip in the housing market, County and Tax collectors and appraisers ignored and denied property depreciations. Under the threat of fines and penalties for late payments, government officials went on to collect billions of dollars in unwarranted and illegal taxes. “They are playing hide the ball and hoping people won’t notice,” said Ray Bourhis, partner in the filing firm. State and County government representatives counter that they have already independently reassessed and lowered taxes for hundreds of thousands of residences. Amador County Assessor Jim Rooney has publicly encouraged local residents to request that their property be reassessed if they think they are paying too much in taxes. Amador residents can also make inquires into property assessments and assessor parcel maps online. To make an inquiry, go to www.co.amador.ca.us. Under the ‘Departments’ tab, click on the ‘Assessor’ link.

As most know from experience, summer sun can take its toll on your skin. Like people, fruits and vegetables can also suffer damaging effects from the sun. With climate change and drought facing several of the world’s major centers for agriculture, sun-damage is beginning to affect the quality, production quantity, and price of produce on a global scale. In response to this phenomenon, the California Company Purfresh is developing an SPF 45 “Sunscreen” product for fruits and veggies. The Sunscreen, known as Purshade, is currently being tested in Australia, Chile, and California, including Amador County‘s Shenandoah Valley. The product is composed of multi-crystalline calcium carbonate crystals, and is engineered to deflect ultraviolet and infrared light from the plants and trees on which it is sprayed. “We are where Silicon Valley meets the Central Valley,“ said Purfresh chief executive David Cope. “We are using technology to address food and water availability, which affects consumer prices.” Plants react to sun stress in a similar way to humans- they perspire. Plant perspiration, a process called transpiration, means that the more temperatures rise, the more water plants need. Sunspots on a fruit or vegetable can be the deciding factor on whether a farmer will sell the product for the lowest price to be made into juice, or will send it to the more lucrative fresh fruit market. In the Shenandoah Valley, Dick Cooper of Cooper Vineyards has been growing 100 acres of premium wine grapes since the 1980s. He normally uses vine canopies to shade his grapes, but this year is the second year he has sprayed Purshade sunscreen on several of his blocks of white grape varietals. Cooper says that during the crush the calcium carbonate crystals drop to the bottom of the fermentation tanks, so the delicate taste of the wine is not affected.

In National news, Oil Giant Exxon Mobile announced last week that, once again, it has broken the US national record for quarterly profit at $11.68 billion dollars. Democratic House member Maurice Hinchey spoke out against Exxon-Mobile’s massive profits. In response to the numbers, Hinchey stated, “We’re dealing with this at a time when the budgets of households across the country are being stretched out to the limit and that stretching out is largely due to these skyrocketing gas prices. The big oil companies just continue to break records for their profits.” The current national average for gasoline is $3.88 a gallon. California has the third highest gasoline price in the nation, behind Alaska and Hawaii, with a State average of $4.21 a gallon. In Amador County, Gasoline prices this week are averaging $4.35 a gallon. The cheapest gas in the County is $4.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded, and can be found at John’s Pit Stop in Martell, the Mirastar station at Walmart, and the Valero station in Pine Grove.

At a time when the nation’s economy is at a crossroads, Sutter Creek leaders are opting to invest in commercial modernization. Monday night, the Sutter Creek Planning Commission approved a proposal for the ‘Crossroads Retail Development‘, a project that has been marinating on the backburner for years. The site, located at the intersection of Highway 49 and Ridge Road in Sutter Creek, has been zoned for retail development since the proposal of the ‘Sutter Station Shopping Center’ in 1991. More recently, Sutter Creek business tycoon Dennis Griffin owned the property and had it approved for 139,430 square feet of retail space in 2004. Griffin sold the property to Petrovich Development Company, the City of Sacramento’s largest overall developer, in 2006. On Monday, the planning commission voted to approve Petrovich’s proposal for a 90,560 square foot shopping center in nine separate buildings. The anchor store, Walgreen’s, will be the hub of the retail space, but the proposal also includes 2 restaurants and a total of 381 parking spaces. Motorists will access the shopping center through two right-in and right-out only driveways off of Highway 49 and Ridge Road. In the long term, full access is planned off of Highway 104 as well as off of Bower’s Drive, with the construction of the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort. The Crossroads retail development is also notably the first commercial development that is subject to Sutter Creek’s recently implemented Architectural Guidelines. The easterly façade of Walgreen’s, which will face Highway 49, will incorporate false metal shutters, mimicking those gracing the façades of several of Sutter Creek’s historic downtown buildings. In addition, the development will include a courtyard “community space,” and will incorporate a total of 39 oak trees into the landscape plan. With the Planning Commission’s stamp of approval, the development plan will now be submitted to the City Council for final approval. Construction may begin sometime next year.