Plymouth – There’s a reason the Destruction Derby is scheduled for the closing night of the Amador County Fair. The highly anticipated event is one of the most popular attractions to the annual fair and draws participants and spectators from far and wide. The theme of this year’s Derby was “Destroy or be Destroyed” and Sunday night’s event in the main arena lived up to its name. At least 30 vehicles entered the mud soaked arena in heats that stretched between 7 pm and didn’t end until 10 pm. Perhaps the most dramatic crash of the night took place just after the horn sounded to signify the start of the opening heat. A vehicle was wedged between two other cars and righted onto its side. Event crews entered the arena to put the vehicle back on its wheels. No one was injured. Ryan Duke, a resident of Ione, was the ultimate winner. The Destruction Derby is a major fund-raiser for the Jackson Rotary Club, which supports community services such as the Interfaith Food Bank. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The 2009 Amador County Fair – A Grape Time To Hukilau – saw an increase in some of its numbers, including an 18.1 percent increase for the Arena events, such as the rodeo, the destruction derby, and the tractor pull. Fair Board CEO Troy Bowers that Arena attendance was up 577 attendees over the 2008 Fair, but the numbers did not count reserved seats. Bowers said paid attendance was down slightly, 96 tickets shy of last year’s attendance, for a 7/100ths of a percent decrease. Gate attendance – not including passes, and comps – was down 466 tickets, or 2.8% compared to ’08. Total gate revenue was up $5,007 dollars, a 3.64% jump over 2008. The Junior Livestock Auction grossed $283,370 dollars, with 229 lots sold. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County Historical Society officially opened its downtown office and Visitor Center Saturday, with an aim to make the history of Amador and the region more accessible. ACHS board member Jerry Chaix and 2 other volunteers were in the office Friday, at 1 Main Street, a street-level storefront that looks out onto the historic National Hotel, and is a few doors down from Wells Fargo Bank. They had a row of boxes from Amador County Archive founder Larry Cenotto, and illustrations of local and regional landmarks. Those include a drawing by Amador artist Larry Schuman, which Cenotto helped in designing through research, to depict the city of Jackson after the fire of 1862. Cenotto’s book, Logan’s Alley, Volume 2, describes the illustration and the few surviving buildings in downtown Jackson. Another remnant is a poster from the 1969 Gold Rush Rock Festival at Lake Amador. The concert featured Santana, Ike & Tina Turner, Taj Mahal and Bo Diddley, with a reported turnout of 50,000 people. The shelves include books on local history, and the computer includes a searchable PDF file indexing historical documents in the Archives. Chaix said “to me, this is the most important thing we have.” Chaix said people can search names and find document numbers, then make an appointment to visit the archives. Judy Jebian, volunteer office manager said the long-range goal of the Amador Historical Society is to get the archives online. Volunteer Marian Randolph said “everything was thrown in the basement of the museum (and) Larry’s the one who set up the archives.” It is now operated by volunteers, after the county government stopped funding it. Chaix said “this index is what makes it accessible, and the county stopped running it, so we’re going to start.” He said the society’s “major focus is getting the museum open and supporting the archives.” Jebian said they are trying to build up their membership now, so they can fundraise for the Museum. She said they “just got permission to access the building with consultants,” so they can assess what needs to be done. The historical society has more than 200 members, and a 15-member board, which recently was expanded to be a 25-member board. The visitor center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For information, call (209) 625-0658 or see amadorhistoricalsociety.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – A special meeting has been called by Amador Water Agency Board President Terence Moore to again discuss the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Water Supply Assessment, approved in January 2008 by the past AWA board. The agenda includes a closed session discussion with legal counsel regarding “significant exposure to litigation.” Another item on the agenda is the Amador Water System, including “discussion and direction regarding the Gold Rush Water Supply Assessment.” The agenda also includes a closed session for a “public employee performance evaluation” of the general manager position. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said the evaluation was requested to be placed on the agenda by 2 members of the board, though he was not sure which 2 because he was not at the July 9th meeting. He said his usual evaluation typically comes at the end of his contract period, at the end of July. Regarding the rest of the meeting, he said “staff is looking for board direction on the Water Supply Assessment (WSA) that was approved for Gold Rush.” He said he could not release any other information. The AWA board discussed the WSA in closed session for nearly 2 hours at its July 9th meeting, then emerged announcing only that it had given confidential staff direction. In the regular meeting, Director Bill Condrashoff presented an analysis he made of the assessment and said he found the needed water flow was 42 cubic feet per second to serve Gold Rush and the rest of the Amador Water System. Condrashoff said in comparison, AWA’s assessment found it would take 30 cubic feet per second of flow to serve the agency’s Tanner Treatment Plant customers, a flow shortage he said was 4,000 to 5,000 gallons a minute short. Staff engineers and Abercrombie said they addressed Condrashoff’s analysis in the approval process of the WSA, and in the July 9th meeting, Abercrombie said “staff believes Bill’s analysis of Wicklow and Gold Rush is incorrect.” Condrashoff and Director Debbie Dunn asked legal liability questions at the meeting, and AWA Attorney Steve Kronick said those are things he would like to discuss in closed session. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said Condrashoff’s 42 cfs demand assumes incorrectly that residential usage is the same as commercial. He said in the summer, home use of water may be double, while at a restaurant, the opposite may be true. Condrashoff said most of the development is housing. Mancebo said AWA’s analysis took actual residential, commercial and industrial usage and amplified it to get its numbers. The special meeting is 1 p.m. Tuesday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County Public Works in a mid-July mailer announced an upcoming public hearing as the Amador County Board of Supervisors will be asked to raise garbage service rates for about 6,100 customers in the county’s three franchise billing areas. ACES Waste Service Incorporated is looking to raise rates for 5,200 customers in the Upcountry. Jim McHargue, Program Manager of Amador County Waste Management, said that includes a 7.75 percent hike for 4,400 total ACES customers in Franchise Area 3. ACES also seeks supervisors’ approval of a 4.83 percent rate increase in Franchise Area 2, which has about 800 customers. The other county hauler Amador Disposal Service Waste Connections, will be seeking a rate increase of 3.91 percent, in its only service zone in Amador, Franchise Area 1, with approximately 900 customers. McHargue said all rate increase requests will be handled in public hearings Sept 15th. McHargue announced the hearings in letters to customers July 17th. The ACES rate increase request notice includes the reason for the proposed increase. Franchise Area 3, in Amador County, includes Pine Grove, Pioneer and Upcountry areas and the eastern section of the county, McHargue said, “essentially everything east of Jackson and Sutter Creek city limits (and) up Shake Ridge Road”. McHargue in a letter said Area 3 rates were last increased October 1st, 2008, when rates went up 10 percent. The letter said of the 7.75 percent hike proposal, 5.4 percent of it “is due to an increase in ACES waste disposal costs at Kiefer Landfill in Sacramento County.” In Franchise Area 3, residential rate increases would be between $2 and $2.70 a month, depending on receptacle sizes; and commercial rate increases would range from $7.80 a month, up to $41.95 a month, also depending on bin sizes. If approved by supervisors, the rate increases would take effect October 1st. The public hearings are set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 15th, at the supervisors’ chambers at 810 Court Street in Jackson. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County Waste Services last month announced rate increase possibilities for Franchise Areas 1, 2 and 3 in the unincorporated areas of Amador County, and set a public hearing for September 15th. ACES Waste Service Incorporated will look to raise its rates in the Upcountry, and Amador Disposal Service Waste Connections will seek in increase for its customers. The ACES rate increase request notices included its reasoning for the rate increases, along with protest procedures. Supervisors will accept written comments or protests of the rate increase until the close of the public hearing. Amador Waste Service Manager Jim McHargue said “if written protests against the proposed rate increases are received from a majority of owners affected, then the board of Supervisors shall not impose the rate increases.” Documents supporting the increase are on file at the office of the clerk of the supervisors. Rate increases would be between $2 and $2.70 a month for residential service customers in Area 3, depending on the size of their receptacles. For commercial service, the rate increases would range from $7.80 a month, up to $41.95 more per month, also depending on bin sizes, between 1 yard and 7 yards sizes. ACES made its adjustment using indices on labor, diesel fuel, vehicle replacement, vehicle maintenance and the Consumer Product Index. Written comments or protests should be addressed to Amador Supervisors, 810 Court Street, Jackson, CA 95642. Protests must be submitted in writing by the end of the public hearing. McHargue said a written protest must include “your original signature; identification of the parcel by parcel number or address; whether you are the owner of the parcel or the person receiving the service for which the fee is charged; and your statement that you protests the proposed rate increases.” McHargue said “written protests will not be accepted by e-mail or fax” and “oral protests will not be counted.” The public hearings are set for September 15th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – The Amador Regional Planning Committee agenda next week includes “future agenda items.” The regional planning committee meets 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the Sutter Creek civic building on Church Street, and will get a report from Sutter Creek on its wastewater plant and operations. The agenda includes discussion and possible action on all items listed. The only item listed under the agenda was a presentation by the city of Sutter Creek on the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority Master Plan. Sutter Creek City Manager Rob Duke reported on ARSA’s Master Plan to Sutter Creek City Council in early July meeting, saying its Environmental Impact Report will “hit the streets in about 60 days.” Duke said unsatisfactory rating of the plant due to flooding was addressed in the master plan. He said: “Up to a 125-year flood level, we have protection.” ARSA’s new plant will be located “above ground,” with 17-foot tall walls, and will be improved by developers of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. Three issues were listed under future agenda items. They include: Recirculation of an updated MOU; presentations on General Plan updates and “current and proposed wastewater treatment and recycled water distribution facilities and programs.” They will also see a “draft of a program document supporting the sharing of revenues from major new and relocated commercial developments, and establishing a system to share personnel and material resources between jurisdictions.” Dates for those agenda items were not yet listed. Regional Planning Committee members are Sutter Creek Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy, Jackson Mayor Connie Gonsalves, Amador County Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli (District 1), Amador Supervisor Brian Oneto (District 5), Ione Councilwoman Andrea Bonham, Plymouth Councilwoman Pat Fordyce, and public member at large Renee Chapman. The meetings are open to the public. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Modesto – Thanks to a mutually beneficial partnership with the Calaveras County Board of Education, the Yosemite Community College District is one step closer toward a permanent Columbia College site in Angels Camp. The Calaveras County site is a project identified in the District’s Measure E bond which passed in November 2004. Earlier this month the Yosemite Community College District voted to approve the site acquisition, conditioned upon Calaveras County Board of Education approval. That approval was given Monday night. The District’s goal to create the foundation to expand its presence in Calaveras County made its first real progress. Columbia College currently offers classes out of renovated space at the Glory Hole Shopping Center in Angels Camp. There is little flexibility and no room for additional growth. With the construction of a new complex, the college will have an opportunity to slowly grow its offerings over time and respond to the educational needs of the Calaveras County area. YCCD Trustee Pat Dean, who resides in Sonora said, “I’m really glad that we’re beginning…there are many of our young people who will be able to take advantage of Columbia College’s Calaveras facilities.” The initial plans for the Angels Camp property are to construct classrooms, offices and labs. YCCD Chancellor Roe Darnell said, “This is part of our effort to provide long term and permanent educational opportunities for students in Calaveras County and Angels Camp area.” Calaveras County residents represent roughly 20% of the enrollment at Columbia College. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.