Amador County – City Manager Dixon Flynn this week said work has begun on the Arroyo Ditch, which a contractor believes will be a renewed water supply for the city of Plymouth. Flynn last week reported that Mayor Jon Colburn expects water to be again flowing down the ditch and into the city’s system by the middle of this month. Flynn said he had not talked to Colburn this week and heard his latest prediction. “The Mayor loves this project,” Flynn said, “so he goes every day I suspect.” The mayor has been to the site to monitor progress, and city engineer Richard Prima also has gone to the work site, along the miles of the ditch, which links the city to the Cosumnes River, on the Amador-El Dorado county border, through a system of earthen ditches, and even a bridged pipeline that crosses over another waterway. Flynn said Shenadoah Water Company has been working on the ditch for 3 weeks, since the city granted them an encroachment permit. The company has been working with a crew of 5 to 12 people, and 3 excavators, to remove weeds and rocks from the ditch in order to get water flowing again. Flynn said Plymouth City Council and the Shenandoah Water Company have “an agreement to talk about an agreement,” and the company has permission to clear the ditch with the encroachment permit. While doing so, they are working on costs and seeing who will do what in an agreement. The company can afford a bigger crew and the equipment, while the city could only afford a 2-person crew to try to keep the ditch operational. He said Shenandoah Water Company actually feels “that they could get water out of the ditch as a supply for Plymouth.” Mayor Colburn thinks Plymouth “will have water by mid-May” coming from the ditch. Flynn said the company is “prepared to spend several million dollars to do it, if we get to an agreement. And that’s a big if.” The city council took requests for proposals and the company was the best qualified, having restored rights to and water flow from another ditch, in Sonoma. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Dave White, Chief of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, announced yesterday the availability of $20.9 million in funding to help California counties improve ambient air quality standards. White made the announcement during his first visit to California to chair the national Agricultural Air Quality Task Force meeting in Fresno. Amador County is one of those 36 counties that regularly fail to meet standards set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The funds are available to qualifying farmers and ranchers interested in “reducing air quality emissions from off-road mobile or stationary agricultural sources.” The funds will share the costs of practices that have been shown to reduce ozone precursors and particulate matter. “These funds should help California producers comply with local and state regulations,” said White, adding: “We believe agriculture can be on the leading edge of setting a cleaner, greener example for protecting the air we all breathe. We're doing what we can to help in that pursuit -- technically and financially.” Funded practices include the NRCS' combustions system air emissions management practice to improve high polluting, fully functional engines with newer, reduced-emission technologies that meet or exceed current emission standards. The first allocation of $10.9 million was announced last week, and an additional $5 million was allocated upon White’s visit. According to Ed Burton, California State Conservationist for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, “producers in all California counties will continue to be encouraged to do air quality conservation, working through the Agency's technical assistance and regular (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) allocation.” NRCS and agricultural producers in California have spent over $73 million on air quality projects funded through EQIP since 1998. Interested farmers and ranchers are invited to apply between April 30 and June 26, 2009, for funds made available under a new air quality provision of the 2008 federal Farm Bill. Interested applicants in eligible counties should contact their local NRCS service center. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County could become part of a regional grant application for money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to upgrade its technology infrastructure. The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors indicated Wednesday that they are preparing to file a grant application to be released June 10 from the National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Administration for e-government projects. Tuolumne is considering filing a joint application with five other Mother Lode counties, including Amador, Alpine, Calaveras and Mariposa. Supervisors said this joint effort could help improve the chances of receiving funds. Tuolumne County will be applying for just under $2 million in grants to improve the Sheriff’s radio system, the document management system, website replacement, an agenda management system and the addition of a mobile trak and E-Trakit system. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Pine Grove Community Council discussed Amador County Transportation Commission membership Wednesday, and District 4 Amador Water Agency board member Debbie Dunn said they need to get on the agency’s agenda. Dunn said “regional traffic mitigation fees are getting kicked out to Ione” and “it could be the direct result of not having representation on ACTC.” Dunn said if one person on the Pine Grove Council in the last 6 years sat on ACTC, it would benefit Upcountry. She said Sutter Creek has 3 representatives on the board, with District 4 Supervisor Louis Boitano, Sutter Creek Councilman Pat Crosby and public member Dave Richards. Boitano, current ACTC Chairman, said Richards does not live in Sutter Creek. He also said he offered his ACTC chairman position to District 3 Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli, who declined. Novelli said he “would love to be on ACTC, but not as chairman, because I don’t have the knowledge of ACTC.” Novelli said he told ACTC Executive Director Charles Field he thought Upcountry, Camanche and western Amador County areas needed ACTC representation. John Carlson said ACTC’s Neil Peacock reported that $480,000 dollars for studying “Pine Grove Corridor” traffic were still in the hands of feds and CALTRANS, because paperwork had not been properly completed. Dunn said Peacock told the council paperwork was filed months ago. Byrne said all the money is “pork barrel earmarks,” from “out-of-county.” Boitano said Congressman Dan Lungren earmarked the funds for the Pine Grove Corridor, and “if you don’t take advantage of it, it will go to Alaska to build another bridge to nowhere.” Dunn said Field advised that membership discussion was tabled, and Dunn said “we need to get back on ACTC’s agenda to talk about the (Joint Power Authority), to get Upcountry representation.” Byrne said he wants “someone rabid” to talk to the ACTC board about membership, and they discussed attending ACTC’s next meeting, 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20th. Dunn said “2/3rds of the county” is not represented because they live in the Upcountry. Election office records show that 4,044 registered voters live in District 3, the fewest in any district. District 5 has the most voters with 4,517; District 2 is a close second with 4,408; District 4 has 4,236; and District 1 has 4,087. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Renee Chapman, “at-large” representative on the Amador Regional Planning Committee, attended the Pine Grove Community Council meeting Wednesday, saying she was trying to get in touch with “at-large” areas of the county. Attendees suggested Chapman invite the Planning Committee to meet at Pine Grove Town Hall. Council member Andy Byrne said the regional committee was formed “for the very same reasons why we exist as a council.” Chapman said she had an idea for the county as a whole, to invite someone from the Economic Development Administration to “look at Amador County on a more regional level.” District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli said he had discussed this with the Amador County Business Council, and he is planning to meet with them, representatives from the five cities in Amador, county representatives and county businesses. He said he hoped that a regular bi-monthly or quarterly meeting of those groups could be established. Supervisor Louis Boitano said corporations, such as PG&E, have endowment grants to finance such meetings. Byrne asked about the possibility of forming a “Council of Governments” with the Regional Planning Committee. Boitano, a founding 2-year member of the committee, said there may be interest “as time goes on.” A majority of the Regional Planning Committee members oppose a Council of Governments. Debbie Dunn, District 4 Board member of the Amador Water Agency, said Pine Grove and Upcountry residents have “no representation on the Amador Regional Planning Committee,” and it is “leaving 2/3rds of this county out.” Dunn said “the fact that they picked Renee (Chapman) as the at-large member is a good move in that direction.” Dunn said she “went to whine about representation” at a past meeting and Sutter Creek Councilman Tim Murphy told her he did not think the Regional Planning Committee was “going in that direction.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Ione City Council discussed a Community Preservation Committee at its regular meeting Tuesday. And some of the council members attended a town hall meeting Monday centered on the committee’s formation. Mayor Lee Ard said Monday’s meeting showed him that the committee wants to hear from the public about what the city wants. He said he wanted the city council to guide the group, like a ship. And he said the people should decide what they want to do with downtown, and if they want to increase traffic to historic downtown, do they really want to bring people to a “block full of nothing?” He said a string of Main Street empty buildings might be in irreparable condition, and the “dirt” at the location might be worth more than some of the buildings. Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said the meeting Monday confirmed for her that the public wanted to have “grassroots” control over the Community Preservation Committee. She said they wanted to lead the committee, and preferred not to have the council lead it. City Manager Kim Kerr said Monday’s meeting drew about 20 people, including 7 business owners who wanted to participate. Councilman David Plank said council members would volunteer to recruit members in the community to help lead the committee, and he said they should urge each business member to help encourage at least one other business owner to join. Vice Mayor Skip Schaufel said downtown businesses should try to coordinate with and serve the crowds that come to town for special events, like this weekend’s Ione Homecoming. He said one business that serves food is normally closed on Monday, which last year was the day on which the July 4th holiday fell. The business was closed and he said he was a bad business move. Ard said he thought the council should lead the committee, or guide it, for a year, then a director could be hired. The other council members urged to have community leadership. Councilman Jim Ulm said he knew there were experts in town that could help with financing and business plans. Ard said 3 members of the council have retail business experience, which he thought could help. He said the main thing is to have a downtown that offers good and services that people want. Committee sign-up forms are on the city’s website, or can be found at City Hall. The council set another meeting, for 5 p.m. Monday, May 11th at City Hall, for the Main Street Program, to educate people about the program, so they can learn about it and decide if they want to be involved in helping run it. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A joint meeting of the Ione City Council and Planning Commission opened the city’s Draft General Plan Update to the public on Tuesday, with little public comment. Joyce Stone, a Castle Oaks resident and president of the Amador Childcare Council, said she wanted to work with the council to get childcare added to the General Plan. She said she saw childcare as an economic challenge and factor. Commission Chairman Joe Wylie and others commended Pacific Municipal Consultants for their work. Wylie said “they told us last year that they were going to have this done in a year,” and they seem to be on track to do that. He said that came last year, even as other cities in Amador County were in the second or third years of their General Plan updates. Commissioner Mike McDermed said besides some items Wylie pointed out, he was very impressed with PMC’s work. Wylie brought up some wording he did not like, such as changing the “single woman head-of-household” to the “single person head-of-household.” He also thought parts conflicted in the Open Space and Conservation element. He said preservation of agricultural land was a big priority, but it also “limited leapfrogging.” PMC’s Daniel Hamilton said leapfrogging was skipping a parcel and extending services beyond it to develop another parcel, non-contiguous to infrastructure and developed land. He said it encourages the development of the leaped-over land and causes it to increase in value. Commissioner Mark Hopkins asked how old the FEMA maps were in the General Plan. City Planner Christopher Jordan said that was an “excellent point” and they were working to update those. City Manager Kim Kerr said they anticipated changes with FEMA’s update, which after it takes effect would not have to be implemented until 6 months later. The council and commission will still need to host a public hearing on the remaining 2 elements of the Draft General Plan, on traffic circulation and on land use. The next meeting was set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 19th, and will be part of the regular city council meeting. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County’s struggling hungry and homeless population can now benefit from an award from the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program of $25,667 for expanding efforts to provide shelter, food and support services. These funds are in addition to $33,178 received last year, bringing the total share awarded to Amador County up to $58, 845. The award was presented last week by representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was appropriated by Congress to help expand and strengthen food and shelter programs in high-risk and rural areas throughout the country. Amador’s local FEMA board is in charge of overseeing which local agencies will receive the funds. This will be decided when the FEMA board meets on Monday, May 11 at 11 am at the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency office in Jackson. The board consists of representatives from local law enforcement, the Interfaith Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Amador County Social Services, ATCAA, the American Red Cross and some local faith-based organization. Under the rules of the grant, local organizations choosing to receive funds must meet a number of requirements. They must be a non-profit or government entity, have an accounting system that conducts annual audits, practice non-discrimination, have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs, and be a private voluntary organization with a voluntary board. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County Recreation Agency this week announced that it has won a grant of $2,500 dollars that will be used to hold a free flag football tournament at Howard Park in Ione. CRA Recreation Specialist Matt Nestor said the grant is from the National Recreation and Parks Association for a flag football program, and it will help ACRA bring a Youth Flag Football Tournament to Howard Park on Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd and 24th, starting at 10 a.m. each day. Nestor said the double-elimination tournament was made possible by the grant from NRPA and USA Football. ACRA’s application was one of more than 450 agencies from parks and recreation departments, schools and independent youth associations seeking a NRPA/USA Football Youth Football Grant. Each applicant submitted details on “the state of youth football in their community” in order to qualify for funding through this competitive process. Both tackle and flag football programs were considered for support across the country. Of the 450 applicants, 126 received funding totaling $300,000, the NRPA said, “to enhance programs and create stability for the future of youth football at the grassroots level.” ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep said the $2,500 dollar award “will allow us to offer local youths age 8 to 16 a chance to participate in a team sport opportunity free of charge.” She said ACRA is “looking forward to a weekend of fun, teambuilding, and good competition. This can only serve to have a positive effect on the youths of our community.” USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck said “millions of American youngsters, like those in Amador County, weave flag football into the fabric of our cities and towns. The game brings us together and instills team-first values for the kids who love to play it. USA Football and NPRA grant “financial help for equipment, uniforms and other needs to keep America’s favorite sport and its character-building qualities thriving.” For more information about the youth flag football tournament, visit ACRA’s new Web site, www.goacra.org, or call (209) 223-6349. E-mail Nestor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – An outpatient program at Sutter Amador Hospital in Jackson received national recognition recently for educating patients about diabetes. The Outpatient Diabetes Education Program at Sutter Amador Hospital was recently awarded continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association. Jody Boetzer of Sutter Amador Hospital said the program was originally recognized in May 2000, and it offers high-quality diabetes education services to patients from Amador County and surrounding areas. She said such programs apply for ADA recognition voluntarily, and the “ADA Education Recognition Certification assures that education programs, like the one at Sutter Amador Hospital, have met the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs.” SAH’s program director, Dr. Geraldine O’Shea said: “Through our diabetes education program, patients with diabetes are taught the skills they need to manage their own diabetes.” She said “because we are recognized by (ADA), patients and providers can be confident knowing they are being cared for by professionals who have met and comply with National Standards.” Kim Vagt, director of the program and Food and Nutrition Services said: “Assuring high-quality education for patient self-care is one of the primary goals of our program. With the knowledge, expertise, and commitment of our diabetes educators, patients are increasing their knowledge and awareness of diabetes allowing them to assume a major part of the responsibility for their diabetes management.” Patients from both Amador and Calaveras counties can take advantage of SAH’s ADA-recognized diabetes program by being referred by their health care provider. A monthly diabetes support group, which meets the fourth Thursday of each month at the hospital, is also available and is offered free to all members of the community. The program offers the newest up-to-date information on how to manage diabetes. For more information, call (209) 223-7448. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.