Amador County – An Amador County extension of Sacramento’s Consumes River College, or CRC, is gearing up for fall semester, and school officials are hoping for another successful turnout. That turnout will help determine the viability of a community college campus in Amador County says Amador Community College Foundation Vice-President Richard P. Vinson. He says that Amador County is only one of two or three counties in California not aligned with a Community College. Efforts to erase that statistic include an offer by Sacramento County’s Cosumnes River College, or CRC, to allocate 40 percent of its marketing budget towards advertising and promoting the newly established Amador Learning Center. Vinson called this “quite a generous offer”, considering that Amador County currently has approximately 1 percent of the student population of CRC. That’s roughly 140 students compared to 140,000. Stephen McGloughlin of CRC, speaking at an Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting last December, said “140 students may not seem like an awful lot, but from zero it’s quite an increase.” At that same meeting, Supervisor Richard Forster thanked Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for stepping up with the initial grants to develop a local college, saying “we hadn’t gotten any help or leverage before them.” County Grant Writer and Learning Center Co-developer Renee Chapman said that one of the first questions asked by businesses looking to develop a local presence is whether the County has a community college. Officially established last year, the “learning center will establish a formal community college presence in Amador County”, according to the Amador County website. CRC’s fall curriculum offers courses in Computer Information Science, Curriculum and Interactions in Early Childhood Education, Emergency Medical Technician Services, College Composition and Emergency Digital Technologies. Courses take place at the Amador Learning Center at Independence High School, 525 Independence Drive in Sutter Creek. Registration for the fall semester, which begins Aug. 22, is open until Aug. 21. The semester runs until Dec. 17. Efforts to establish an official college in Amador County are ongoing. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calaveras County – Rumors abound about the possibility of a community college campus in Calaveras County. The decision is expected at an early June meeting of trustees for the Stockton-based San Joaquin Community College. College President Raul Rodrigues gave the Calaveras County site an “80 to 90 percent” chance of becoming reality. Under consideration for the new satellite campus site are six acres on Paloma Road, northeast of Valley Springs. Supporters have been drumming up support for the idea, which they say will draw more than 500 hundred students to the area and bring much needed job training and employment to the county. Another benefit of the plan would be financial: a private donor has offered the six acres, and portable classrooms would come at no cost from the Calaveras County Unified School District. “We’re now in serious contention for a Delta College site in this county,” said county Supervisor Steve Wilensky, who represents much of northern Calaveras County, including Paloma. Other Supervisors are also in support of the project. Delta has considered this idea before. The college was close to buying 60 acres of land from property owner Tom Coe three years ago, but opted to focus on developing a satellite campus near Tracy, where funding came through a voter-approved $250 million bond measure passed in 2004. That project has since been sidelined because of escalating costs and delays. Currently, Calaveras and many Amador county residents commute to college in either Sacramento , Delta College’s main campus in Stockton, or Columbia College in Tuolumne County. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County School Board heard an emotional complaint Wednesday from Shelly Scott, who claims her daughter – a cheerleader at Amador High School - suffered “mismanagement and discrimination” because of her Type 1 Diabetes. The complaint was voiced during public comment and after her daughter, Lyndsay Gray, took the podium to read a poem she had written titled “ Distinguish.” Scott read a prepared statement that had been circulated amongst the media earlier in the week. In it she says “the (School District) administration and staff are ignorant and biased of the laws that protect my daughter for the discrimination she is suffering as a result of her disability.” She said the “Cheer Advisors and Athletic Director have not been adequately trained to care for a student with Type 1 Diabetes.” She also claims the school district “is allowing discrimination based on financial need” because staff fails to acknowledge that there are monies available to those in need for cheerleading costs, girls must pay out of their own pockets, and they cannot try out the following year unless “their cheer tab has a zero balance.” In her statement, Scott makes strong accusations against Superintendent Dick Glock, Amador High School Administration and the Cheer Advisors, claiming they have been uncooperative in her attempts to make accommodations on behalf of Lyndsay. While in tears, Scott told the board the safety and mental well being of her daughter has been compromised. The school board sat silently and voiced no opinion on the matter. When questioned by TSPN as to what she hopes to accomplish, she said “I want coaches and staff to respect my daughter and treat her the way she needs to be treated.” She said she is meeting with school officials to discuss the matter further and has complaints pending with various civil rights and equal opportunity agencies. School officials have so far issued no comment. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Amador County School Board surveyed an elaborate $5 million addition to Ione Junior High School during a special tour preceding Wednesday night’s School Board meeting. Led by Principal Bill Murray, the tour was designed to give an idea of the scope of construction and renovations that have taken place on the school’s grounds. In total, $5 million was spent to build a two-story classroom addition and a quad area with a clock tower. Additional funding will go towards the future home of the library. “I’ve overseen a fair number of projects in my career and this was a fairly easy one,” said Murray in reference to the speed of construction. The building of the basic structure for the two-wing addition took only two days. Original site work for the facilities began in June, construction began in August and the school moved into the facilities in November. The new buildings are designed to resist a 10.0 earthquake. They include six classrooms, four of which are science labs. All classrooms are equipped with state-of –the-art LCD projection systems designed to cut down on paperwork and enhance the interactive learning experience using ready access to technology and the internet. Murray said the new elevators are used for emergencies or for students who “break their legs, which happens quite often.” Bathrooms are equipped with energy-saving motion sensors. Out of the total cost, $3 million came from local developer fees and $2 million came from matching funds given to districts through the state. The new clock tower and its handsome brickwork accounted for $1.4 million of the total cost, while the classrooms were closer to $2.94 million, Murray said. The School Board met for their regularly scheduled meeting in the future home of the library, which is a replica of one of the original school house buildings on campus. According to Terri Crain, Superintendent’s Assistant, the local booster club bought the carpeting and the library is scheduled to be moved into this summer. Terry Porray, School Board representative for the Ione district, called the new classrooms and structures “a great investment for our community, our teachers and our students.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - NFL Football Official Pete Morelli spoke to a full house at the Sutter Creek Community Center Wednesday evening as part of a scholarship benefit for the Sutter Creek Women’s Club. Morelli, who is considered the cream of the crop among NFL officials and fans, is also the 20-year Principal of St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. He has served 6 years as a white hat and 6 years as a field judge in the National Football League. A crowd of professional football fans and curious newcomers to the game listened intently as Morelli regaled them with tales of his career refereeing famous and word-renowned athletes. Morelli is a product of Stockton and said he was always interested in becoming a professional official since his high school days. He was discovered by NFL scouts while reffing college games in the late 1980’s and recruited into the NFL in 1989. Besides requiring at least 5 years of near flawless refereeing at the college level, the NFL puts each potential referee through a rigorous series of tests to even be considered. These include a psychological test, an FBI background check, cholesterol and health tests and a physical. Referees well into their sixties are regularly timed in sprints and sustained running to make sure they can handle the physical requirements of running alongside professional athletes. He said refs typically run six miles in a game. His first game was the Oakland Raiders versus the Dallas Cowboys, and he recalled an amusing story where running back Emmett Smith crawled between his legs, tied his shoes almost without him knowing it, and said “welcome to the game, rookie.” Morelli said, “We consider ourselves the third team on the field.” His obvious ambition and great success resulted in being selected as a top referee for the 2002 Superbowl. His Super bowl ring received many compliments from the audience. “Success is a measure of time, energy and commitment,” said Morelli, adding that he is proud of what he has achieved. All donations from the event will go to benefit the Sutter Creek Women’s Club scholarship program. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A spending bill making its way through the U.S. Senate could authorize nearly $240,000 in funds to bolster Amador County’s fledgling Community College program. “This appropriation would provide a significant shot-in-the¬ arm to the ongoing and long term process of establishing a community college presence in Amador County,” said Amador County Administrative Officer Terri Daly. She has been working closely with the Amador Community College Foundation throughout the two-year effort on public outreach and encouraging local and regional support. “Senator Dianne Feinstein spearheaded this effort, and we owe her many thanks,” said Daly. The Democratic Senator has made it a priority of her office to secure federal funds through the College Preparation Initiative to provide local educational programming. The request was also strongly supported by Senator Barbara Boxer, who has previously assisted with efforts to enhance the community college presence in Amador County. Last July, College Foundation president and former Supervisor Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Richard Vinson stated, “Senator Feinstein recognizes the importance of higher education opportunities for California's rural communities and has long been supportive of Amador County's educational initiative. We are grateful for the leadership and involvement of Senators Feinstein and Boxer and their professional staff on this issue of great importance to our region.” Progress so far has resulted in a cooperative effort with Consumnes River College, which currently supplies instructors to teach in classrooms belonging to the Amador Unified School District and supplied to the Amador Learning Center. The ultimate goal is to rectify the fact that Amador is the only county in the state not to be associated with any community college district. Learning Center officials say this denies higher education opportunities and provides little incentive for young adults to remain in the area. "Outward migration of students to colleges and workers to jobs outside the county economically drains resources in, and shifts tax-based income away from Amador County,” said center officials through their website. The Amador Community College Foundation and Amador County urge residents to enroll in the currently offered classes to demonstrate local interest and a need for a formal community college presence. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Board of Supervisors last week heard a presentation on what progress has been made towards developing a community college program in Amador County. Amador Community College Foundation Vice-President Richard P. Vinson gave a brief history of development, describing it as “a long and arduous journey.” He said Amador County is only one of two or three counties in California not aligned with a Community College. Efforts to erase that statistic include a generous offer by Sacramento County’s Cosumnes River College, or CRC, to allocate 40 percent of its marketing budget towards advertising and promoting the newly established Amador Learning Center. Vinson called this “quite a generous offer”, considering that Amador County currently has 1 percent of the student population of CRC. That’s roughly 140 students compared to 140,000. Stephen McGloughlin of CRC said “140 students may not seem like an awful lot, but from zero it’s quite an increase.” Officially established last year, the “learning center will establish a formal community college presence in Amador County”, according to the Amador County website. Vinson said the much-needed funding will be used to grow and promote the local community college presence. He said it is essential that they fill classes. Currently, Learning Center classes are being held in temporary classrooms by Independence High and in Sutter Creek. Vinson said the developers behind the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort had made an informal offer to donate 10 to 20 acres for a community college campus. Discussion of that donation is ongoing, as the Gold Rush Resort has not been finalized. Supervisor Richard Forster thanked Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for stepping up with the initial grants to develop a local college, saying “we hadn’t gotten any help or leverage before them.” County Grant Writer and Learning Center Co-developer Renee Chapman said that one of the first questions asked by businesses looking to develop a local presence is whether the County has a community college. The Supervisors took no action but thanked the presenters for their hard work so far. Story by Alex Lane

Amador County - A GMC panel van stolen recently from an Amador County business and used for suspected burglaries was recovered Tuesday. The van was recovered along with a Chevrolet pickup from a Chico air conditioning company on a remote road in the town’s Butte Creek Canyon area. Police suspect that both vehicles were used over the last week to break into an ATM and cart off another in the Chico area. Police said the white panel van was seen at a Shell gas station early Sunday morning, where an automated teller machine was removed from the business after burglars smashed out a plate glass window. Investigators believe the stolen pickup was used by burglars when they smashed their way into Cal Skate on Carmichael Drive in Chico about 11 p.m. on New Year's Day and broke into an ATM there, emptying it of cash. "They used a grinding wheel to get to the money," said police Lieutenant Linda Dye, adding: "It was a very fast job." On Monday, after removing the ATM from the Shell station, police believe the same suspects used the van to haul it up a nearly impassible road known as Old Highway 32, where they used the grinding wheel and other tools to break into the ATM, removing an unknown number of $20 bills. The ATM, the van, the pickup, and several items from the two vehicles were abandoned at the scene. Police said the suspects left the area in a third vehicle, and believe at least four people are involved in the burglaries, based on the effort it took to move and break into the heavy ATM device. Investigators said they have no leads on suspects, but hope to lift fingerprints on some items found in the Butte Creek Canyon area. Similar crimes are suspected of being committed by the stolen vehicle suspect who fled from police Saturday near Plymouth. Staff Report with Alex Lane

Amador County - Sutter Amador Hospital staff in Jackson officially welcomed the first baby of the new year, while at the same time celebrating new equipment for making that birth safer. Avery Leann Uselton arrived at 5:27 pm on January 2nd, weighing six pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 18 inches. She is the first child of Chandra and Nicholas Uselton of Pioneer. Her birthing process was made more effective through the use of a new Central Monitoring System obtained with the assistance of matching grants from the hospital. According to Laurie Chaveon, Sutter Amador Hospital Foundation Manager, the new equipment was needed in part because of the increasing average number of births taking place at the hospital. The birthrate at Sutter Amador has more than doubled from 15-18 births per month in 2006 to between 30 and 40 per month in 2008. When questioned why the birthrate has risen so dramatically, Chaveon credits a number of factors. “A couple of years ago we recruited a very popular OBGYN team of Dr. Robert Young and (Nurse Midwife) Christine Sullivan,” she said.  She also credits the anesthesiology group that recently expanded their staff to be available 24/7. “Now that there are (anesthesiologists) available for full-time coverage, people who want pain management like epidurals can get them at any time and don’t have to travel long distances for hospital treatment,” Chaveon said. Most families in the area who are expecting usually come to birthing classes at the hospital and learn about Sutter Amador’s expanded programs. In addition, Mark Twain Hospital in San Andreas stopped delivering babies last year. “We have a highly dedicated, highly skilled staff…they consider babies they deliver as an extension of their own families,” she added. The new Central Monitoring System will allow a nurse or doctor to link individual monitoring units together and measure each mother’s wellbeing from one central location. The total cost of the system cost approximately $200,000, over half of which was obtained through local fundraising.  Chaveon called the new system “a great way to be prepared”, adding, “babies never tell you when they’re coming.” Story by Alex Lane

Amador County – Amador is one of 36 counties that are eligible to get part of $10.9 million in funds to improve air quality. The funds, which are about a third of the federal 2008 farm bill, will help farmers and ranchers come into compliance for particulate matter and 8-hour ozone levels. Most of the counties included in the grant are situated along the Central Corridor, a region notorious for heavy smog and consistently low air quality. In a report released last year by the American Lung Association, the organization found that in 32 of 58 counties, residents were being exposed to air pollution at levels considered unhealthy. Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama and Tuolumne counties were some of the places with the unhealthiest air. In March of 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency launched a set of multibillion-dollar smog restrictions it called "the most stringent standards ever." The new, primary eight-hour standard is .075 parts ozone per million and the new secondary standard is set at a form and level identical to the primary standard. The funds will be administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, the USDA agency charged with providing technical and financial conservation assistance to private landowners. Funds will be made available through the popular Environmental Quality Incentives Program that has been operating in California since 1996 and last year provided $54 million in cost share assistance. Ed Burton, State Conservationist of NRCS in California, said that “while we don't know all the details on how the program will be administered, we do hope to augment our strong history of air quality work with new and innovative methods.” Story by Alex Lane