Amador County – Interfaith Food Bank Director Kathleen Harmon has pledged to spend today hosting a turkey drive for Amador County’s less fortunate. She plans to be at the Food Bank all day today to accept donations of turkeys to meet a deficit. The charity is struggling to get Thanksgiving dinners together in a season when needy families have nearly doubled over last year. Harmon said last year they had 500 applications for Thanksgiving dinners. This year the received 940 applications and two weeks ago were still 400 birds short of fulfilling those wishes. The number narrowed to about 300 by last Friday. She said they “don’t want anybody to not have a turkey on their table.” The Turkey Drive will start with Harmon’s appearance at 7 a.m. today on AM Live here on TSPN, then continue throughout the day at the Interfaith Food Bank at 12181 Airport Road on Sutter Hill. Harmon showed a filling warehouse Friday, with donations pouring in and 100 turkeys in cold storage, but all spoken for. They were being held for a local church. The economic downturn has sent people to the food bank who have never had to go there before. Harmon said “what has happened overwhelmingly across the country is that the demand is up and the donations are down.” She said the federal emergency food program normally gives out 15 to 20 items a month in Amador County. This month, it gave out 5 items. She said “As everybody gets that flurry and that fear, jobs start to go away.” Post-Christmas layoffs make January and February the Food Bank’s busiest months. She said the Food Bank is run by a staff of volunteers of all ages, including her parents and many others. And she had faith, saying “when you say something to this community, it gets the word out.” Donate a turkey at the Food Bank,, 12181 Airport Road, Sutter Hill. For information, call (209) 267-9006. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - A spell of warm, dry weather has forced two Sierra ski resorts to postpone their season openings. Heavenly and Kirkwood resorts had planned to open this week after a wet start to November. But a week of warm and dry weather during the middle part of the month has pushed back their opening dates to at least Thanksgiving weekend. Heavenly, which has Lake Tahoe's most expansive snowmaking operation, announced on its Web site that the resort will open when conditions allow. “The forecast for the next five days calls for a cooling trend that should give us better snowmaking temperatures,” said resort spokesman Russ Pecoraro. Kirkwood said it will open Thanksgiving weekend, conditions permitting. With the recent high temperatures, resorts have been unable to maximize their snowmaking capabilities. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The Plymouth City Council on Thursday voted to approve its potable water pipeline project and followed it by cancelling a plan to raise city water rates and also set staff to work studying the city’s current developer impact fees. The council directed staff to study the current fees and to bring back the findings with a recommendation on whether or not the fees were adequate. The pipeline was approved to be awarded to Mountain Cascade Inc., and City Manager Dixon Flynn recommended the council cancel a rate increase challenge meeting, and with it cancel plans for a rate increase. Flynn said “one of the items here tonight is to cancel that meeting. We don’t need it. Our current rate structure will pay for the project.” Instead, he urged that the city guarantee its 5 Million Dollar loan for the pipeline project with those developer water impact fees. Flynn urged approval of the pipeline before the vote, saying that the 10.9-Million-Dollar project would cost the city an estimated 3.8 Million Dollars. He said the water rates might be an issue for Plymouth ratepayers until completion of the project, but once it is completed, they can sit with staff and determine rates. Flynn said the rates may not come down but they may be able to delay or stop the future rate hikes in the current rate schedule, including the next hike, a 16 percent increase to take place in June 2009. Jon Colburn was the only “no” vote in the 4-1 passage of the Pipeline Project. Councilman Mike O’Meara said he was pretty happy with the numbers. O’Meara and Councilwomen Patricia Shackleton and Patricia Fordyce said they understood Colburn’s opinion, but did not back it. Shackleton said “We don’t have a choice. We need this project.” Story by Jim Reece

By Alex Lane -

The Jackson Civic Center, located next to the Jackson Police Department, was alive with activity Thursday afternoon as residents lined up to donate blood through the BloodSource blood drive. Community volunteers prepared the building by setting up chairs and tables before the drive opened its doors at 11am. The spacious room is also the home to Jackson City Council meetings. Volunteers from the hospital and other area health facilities were there to draw blood from donors who looked utterly content in relaxing, high-backed chairs. After they submitted to a relatively painless needle prick, donors were offered their choice from a number of blood sugar raising treats. “I’ve been on this earth some 64 years now, and this is the first time I’ve bothered to donate blood- I’m not going to make that mistake again,” said Bill, a resident of Plymouth. Established in 1948 as a not-for-profit community blood bank, BloodSource provides lifesaving services to millions of people in 25 counties throughout northern and central California. BloodSource was created entirely by community members in response to a growing need-the need for a safe and adequate blood supply. Through a network of 15 blood centers and over 40 hospitals in cities from Merced to the Oregon border, the BloodSource mission remains simple: To provide blood and services to those in need. To learn more about BloodSource, visit www.bloodsource.org.

By Jennifer Wilson -

It was standing room only at the Pine Grove Town Hall Wednesday evening, where over 150 residents came to hear speakers from Caltrans and the Amador County Transportation Commission, or ACTC, give an overview of what happened to the Pine Grove Bypass. Together, Charles Field, Executive Director of ACTC, and Dan Brewer from Caltrans, gave a six-year history of the events leading up to the decision to scrap the bypass option. Originally, in 2002, a series of town halls were held, at which residents narrowed about a dozen options down to three: a northern bypass, a southern bypass, or widening Highway 88 through Pine Grove. According to Field, the two predominant choices were the southern bypass and the Highway 88 widening. Field reported that in 2002, the cost of a southern bypass was estimated to be about 22.5 million dollars, and that after a 2007 Caltrans study, that amount climbed to 45 million. Latest cost estimates put the southern bypass option at over 83 million dollars, a cost that the State of California called “unrealistic.” According to Field, the bypass was voted down by ACTC this summer due to the “lack of funding” and “high cost” of that option. Their plan now is to conduct a series of public workshops beginning in late January of next year, where they hope to find out “what (Pine Grove) wants to look like, feel like, and be like,” says Field. Many citizens had comments and questions. Carmen Enyeart questioned the state’s motive in upgrading the highway 88 corridor. “Isn’t this just a way to get the skiers up to Kirkwood?” This inquiry sparked others, including a request for data on the ratio of locals and tourists traveling through Pine Grove. Field indicated that as of 2004, a little more than half was local county traffic. Although questions were posed relating to the cost and purpose of the proposed projects, many of the concerns centered on safety. “Where’s the school going to go? Where are the safe zones?” asked one Pine Grove Elementary mother. This prompted more comments, one of which was that the primary concern should be the safety of pedestrians crossing Highway 88. Andy Byrne, Chair of the ACTC board, assured the public that “all of these concerns will be covered in an environmental impact report.” All in all, over twenty people spoke from the audience, some of which requested copies of maps and other data. Lynda Burman, President of the Pine Grove Civic Improvement Club, volunteered to post the specific Caltrans web links on their website at www.PineGroveCA.com. The next step in this process will be the series of public workshops early next year, and TSPN will bring you more information as details develop.

By Jim Reece -

Potential zoning changes across the county will be the subject of a 3-day hearing to map out land use for the new Amador County General Plan. Amador County supervisors and planning commissioners will host the hearing October 14, 15 and 16 to discuss the General Plan Land Use Map and its affect on land use zoning throughout the county. The Amador Planning Department Land Use Agency sent a notice of the hearing last week to all property owners in the county. The public hearing is the first in a series that will “begin the process of developing a Preferred Alternative Land Use Map for Analysis in the Environmental Impact Report” of the General Plan. With the letter came a list of 20 descriptions of particular or general zoning area changes that could affect many different properties around the county. The letter indicated that “this is not a complete, or detailed, list,” and urged property owners to visit the county website to “view and obtain the written information and maps that have been developed to this point.” Paper copies are available at the Planning Department at 20 cents a page. The letter said “because all of the various changes currently under consideration cannot be set out in this notice, we urge you to contact the Amador County Planning Department at (209) 223-6380 to personally discuss with staff the potential effects the proposal may have on your specific property.” The department said the list is subject to change throughout the process of the public land use map hearings. Specific areas mentioned included approximately 800 acres in the Martell area; 18,000 acres northwest, west and southeast of Ione; the Camanche Village area; property just northwest of the intersection of Camanche Road and Camanche Parkway North; Open High Country east of Dew Drop; Open Forest west of Dew Drop; River Pines; Rabb Park; an area at the southeast corner of the western most junction of Highway 88 and Jackson Valley Road; and parcels on the southwest and southeast corners of the Highway 16 and 49 junction.

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 – Hundreds of California High School rodeo riders and their families and fans filled the Plymouth arena at the Amador County Fair Grounds last weekend for three days of championship competition. The 2009 Challenge of Champions Rodeo opened 7 a.m. last Friday and contestants from the 9 high school districts around the state competed in 12 different categories of rodeo. The Challenge of Champions is the annual sanctioned championship of the California high School Rodeo Association, and has been in existence for 36 years, including the last 12 years in Plymouth’s Benny Brown Arena. The event was sponsored by major Amador County local sponsors, the Jackson Rancheria Casino Hotel & Conference Center. Craig Williams of Plymouth was rodeo director of the Challenge of Champions. Each year, competitors fill the 49er Village campsites, and camp out in the back parking areas of the fairgrounds. The competitions included boys and girls cutting, bull riding, steer wrestling, pole bending, barrel racing, tie down roping and goat tying. Other categories were breakaway roping, saddle bronco riding, bareback riding and team roping. Incahoots Barbecue Restaurant catered the rodeo. Amador County Fair CEO Troy Bowers offered a “salute to the parents, officials, friends, sponsors and relatives who give of themselves to help our youth.” He said: “As everyone knows, the fast times and high scores don’t just happen. So to those behind the scenes who don’t get the buckle, a tip of the hat.” CHSRA President Deston Dishio gave a thank-you to Challenge Rodeo Director Craig Williams for “countless hours of hard work to make this rodeo happen.” She also thanked the Jackson Rancheria, and at of the riders’ personal sponsors and their parents, who probably made the trip a possibility for many of them. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The still undecided race for Assembly between Republican Jack Sieglock and Democrat Alyson Huber is too-close-to-call, despite over two weeks passage since the November 4th election. As of Wednesday, the two candidates were separated by 1,007 votes. Sieglock maintained his lead and increased it slightly since the last vote count tally on Monday. At that time Sieglock led by 946 votes over Huber, and both had lower overall vote totals. Today, Sieglock has 46.9 percent of the votes over Huber’s 46.3 percent. One voting official said there are still thousands of ballots left to be counted in the District, although no one seems to have an exact number. Progress has been slow - officials appear to have counted only a few hundred votes since Monday. Despite Sieglock’s lead, officials are saying this race is too tight to claim a victor. Many of the remaining votes that are left to be counted are from parts of Sacramento County where Huber held a healthy 12-point lead going into the election. Vote tallies in the other areas indicated margins in favor of Sieglock. Sieglock’s lead was anywhere from 9 percentage points to 25 percentage points in San Joaquin, El Dorado and Amador counties. “Jack Sieglock gained 2,500 votes over his opponent in Amador County alone. Amador County could be the determining factor in all this,” said Jim Rooney, head of the local Republican Central Committee. Amador County voted predominantly for Sieglock, 54.55 percent over 37.50 percent. “I don't think anyone is surprised that it's a close race. Maybe six months ago, people didn't think it would be this close. They thought it would be a safe Republican seat,” said Huber. Sieglock has expressed no concern over the possibility of a Huber win. Assembly District 10 includes four counties, including parts of San Joaquin and Sacramento counties. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

News of a court ruling in favor of West Point’s Fire District came last Wednesday after more than a year of litigation, ending a lawsuit that forced dramatic cuts in fire department staffing and service. The lawsuit tied up revenues collected by the fire district through a voter-approved tax assessment in April 0f 2007. Judge John Griffin ruled that plaintiffs Concerned Citizens for Responsible Government and William Doherty failed to prove any wrongdoing when the West Point Fire officials began collecting an assessment that was approved by 62 percent of voters. West Point District Board Chairman Al Arieta was reportedly “ecstatic” when asked to comment on the legal victory. The small district was forced to lay off its paid firefighters after the district froze money in an account because of the uncertainty of the lawsuit. Despite the victory last week, the case is far from over. Doherty and his attorney, Bob Reeve of Valley Springs, plan to appeal the case to the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. Doherty believes the tax is illegal because it taxes the owners of rural land already covered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Reeve also believes that taxes were not proportionate to the properties being protected. But the fire district’s attorneys say rates were carefully considered and meet all legal requirements for proportionality. Resident reaction to the lawsuit has been overwhelmingly negative- barbeques and fundraisers were held in order to raise money to pay off legal costs. Story by Alex Lane