Amador County – Barely more than two weeks into the 2008/09 season, Kirkwood Mountain Resort is holding true to the resort’s long‐standing “America’s Deepest Snow” moniker. With nearly ten feet of snow in just as many days over last weekend, the resort has seen an incredible transformation in a very short time period. “We have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of winter since those early ‘teaser’ snowfalls of November,” said Tim Cohee, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the resort, “and are incredibly enthusiastic with this recent storm cycle.” This weekend is expected to be clear and sunny, allowing the opportunity for more people to visit the resort, but also meaning slushier snow in the afternoons. Early season storms pummeled the Tahoe Basin, sending snow to several Lake Tahoe resorts. Webcams in various parts around the lake told dramatically different stories over the holidays, as several showed signs of rain while just a handful of others – such as the one at Kirkwood – showed heavy snowfall. “Looking at webcams from around the lake, we don’t have to convince you that what’s happening here is more than just a phenomenon – the difference in the weather Kirkwood receives is reality,” said Cohee. Pass holders and ticket purchasers alike arrived to the mountain in droves to test new equipment and get their bodies ready for the new season. Launching this winter, Kirkwood promises to deliver same day video footage all season. Visitors to the resort’s website, www.kirkwood.com, can view footage recorded each morning by 11:00am to experience the mountain’s conditions. For the latest in snowfall totals, call Kirkwood’s Snowphone at 877.KIRKWOOD. Story by Alex Lane

Amador County – A massive federal infrastructure stimulus package made its way to the Amador Water Agency Thursday morning, at least in discussion. The AWA board and staff discussed fast-tracking a Gravity Supply Pipeline Project to have it ready to qualify for federal stimulus funding in as soon as 3 months. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said that could cost $20,000 to $30,000 to get considered, and $500,000 to $1 Million to qualify. He said the supply line would enhance a pump system that serves customers in the Central Amador Water Project, in upper Amador County. Those members are in Pioneer, Mace Meadow, Rabb Park, Pine Grove, Ranch House and other communities. The system currently pumps water up more than 1,200 feet from the Tiger Creek Afterbay to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. AWA now pays $300,000 annually in electrical costs just to pump water to Buckhorn plant – or about half of the Central Amador Water Project’s annual budget. The gravity supply line could divert water at a higher elevation along the PG&E hydropower system above the Tiger Creek Powerhouse and the pipeline would eliminate pumping costs, which have doubled in the past 15 years. Objectives of the Gravity Supply Pipeline are eliminating dependency on power, improving water quality, providing a renewable raw water supply and reducing operation costs. Abercrombie said the 12-inch pipeline now in use was installed in an emergency during a drought in the 1970s. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said the cost of building the gravity supply line was estimated in-house to cost between $10 Million and $12 Million to build, but the estimated lifetime of the pipeline would be 70 to 100 years. Board Member Don Cooper said he thought the $12 Million cost estimate was questionably low. He also urged more PG&E involvement. Abercrombie said the agency would “sharpen its pencil” on the estimate, which was made with older studies. Chairman Terence Moore said the agency saving all that electricity goes over very well for project support and qualifying for funding. Agency Attorney Steve Kronick said the agency should ask for the entire cost of the project from federal stimulus sources, not just a portion of the cost. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – State funding freezes have affected several Amador County agencies and projects in the last few weeks, and prompted various political bodies to gather lists of the more fund-able projects. New Amador County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ted Novelli gave a board of supervisors update to the Upcountry Community Council and 15 of its attending board members last Thursday at the Pioneer Veterans Hall on Buckhorn Ridge Road. He said Upcountry’s representation was looking up, with himself and his Planning Commission appointee both taking leadership roles recently in the county government. Denise Tober, Novelli’s appointee in the District 3 was selected by the Planning Commission as its chairwoman. But as talk looms over bailouts and the expected federal infrastructure care package on the horizon, he asked, “Is little Amador County going to get any of this? That is my question to the newly elected administration, President Elect Barack Obama.” Council member Nina Machado, representing Williams Road Tract, asked if any of the money would be earmarked for rural projects. UCC Co-chair Debbie Dunn said the local lobbyist in Washington, D.C., said there is going to be some rural consideration, with the determination yet to be made on the state agencies to distribute funds. Novelli said in the ballpark of $700 Million to $1.5 Billion, “how much does Amador get?” One among 58 counties in the state, Novelli said California is third largest geographically, and Number 2 in forest lands. Dunn said the Fed is “looking for projects ready to go now,” for bridges, pipelines and the like. Novelli said the Amador Water Agency’s Gravity Supply Water Line is one of those projects and something needed in the Upcountry. “We need this water to be gravity-flowed down to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant,” Novelli said. The gravity flow supply line would operate solely on gravity and eliminate the need for electric pumping of water to Buckhorn, erasing half of the annual budget of the Central Amador Water Project. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County - In these tough economic times, organizations that cater to Amador County’s large senior population are feeling the pinch. The Meals on Wheels program, which for the last eight years has served hot meals to seniors with limited or little mobility, has been forced to make some cutbacks. Frozen meals have replaced hot meals on Ione and Pioneer routes. “Frozen meals are not as beneficial because they get harder to prepare as you get older, and there quality is not as good,” said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of Common Ground Senior Services. The non-profit organization has the Meals on Wheels contract for Amador and Calaveras Counties. In addition, “well-being” checks have been cutback to one day a week from there previous five. Thompson said “well-being is an important factor that benefits seniors in these hard economic times.” The reason behind cutting back these routes is a transportation issue. The price of gas is rising, there has been much difficulty in finding drivers and there is no funding available towards buying an additional truck. The trucks used to deliver meals in Jackson, Sutter Creek and Pine Grove are called “hot shot” trucks and have compartments for both hot and cold meals. They run about $40,000 a piece. Despite the cutbacks, Thompson says Amador County’s program is in better shape than neighboring Calaveras County. “Amador County is more of a giving County, as far as people supporting their neighbors,” she said. She said there are reserves in place to help weather the recession, but those funds are dwindling. Story by Alex Lane

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council hired a water and wastewater engineer to help meet state standards Thursday. City Manager Dixon Flynn recommended hiring consultant and engineer Richard C. Prima Jr., and making him Deputy City Manager for Development. The council decided to approve a contract with Prima minus the title of deputy city manager, and made other minor changes. Flynn said Prima was helping the city by training city personnel to handle water and wastewater plant operations on the way to helping the city meet stringent state standards. Flynn said he needed “continued assistance and support” for “complicated engineering and planning issues to come together” – though Flynn said that was not to diminish the work done by the city planner and engineer. Councilman Mike O’Meara asked how the city would pay Prima’s $92 an hour rate. Flynn said the city was due to be reimbursed between $400,000 and $600,000 for work already done on the Plymouth Pipeline Project. He said the USDA was now working on paperwork for the city’s grant funding on the pipeline. Flynn said the city expected a reimbursement check by the end of February, saying “whenever we get the money related to the sewer treatment plant, we will be reimbursed.” Councilwoman Patricia Fordyce said she was against the hiring, calling it fiscally irresponsible, and voted no in a 4-1 passing of the contract to hire Prima. Vice Mayor Greg Baldwin asked how much money the city had paid the Amador Water Agency last year and this year in trying to stay up to state standards, but City Finance Director Jeffry Gardner was unable to find the numbers before the vote. Baldwin said he looked “forward to Richard Prima coming on board” and he asked if developers could be asked to help in paying Prima, as they had offered such help in the past. Baldwin asked if developers could be “hard pressed” to help. Flynn said that could be “part of the reimbursement agreement,” used with developers, in bringing the plant up to state standards. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – One final reminder…residents of Amador County are invited to a rally at noon Saturday to show support for Prospect Motors and to encourage GMAC, the corporation that finances the Jackson dealership, and General Motors to allow the business to continue. Frank Halvorson, owner of the three new car dealerships operated by Prospect Motors, announced in December that he would close because GMAC, formerly known as General Motors Acceptance Corp., decided to halt the lines of credit needed to finance inventory and other parts of the operation. Jamie Lubenko, executive director of Amador Vintners, said in an e-mail that the rally is intended to show support for Prospect Motors in hopes of influencing GM and GMAC and to show support for other businesses in the area affected by the economic downturn. The rally will be in the dealership parking lot, 11361 Prospect Drive, just off Highway 49 near Ridge Road. Staff Report

Amador County – The Ione City Council passed a resolution Wednesday supporting Amador County’s continued legal fight against the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians’ Flying Cloud Casino. The vote was 4-1 with Mayor Lee Ard voting against the resolution. He said he spoke with District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster about his qualms in the legal fight, but Forster could not be at the meeting Wednesday. Ard said “I don’t want casinos, but I feel that this one will go in.” He was worried about the management of the county, seeing “people doing litigation out the back door, then layoffs out the front door” of Amador County. He said it seemed that the board of supervisors showed bad management when it voted to keep an agreement with the tribe. That occurred when the board voted 2-2, with an abstention by Supervisor Brian Oneto, in effect failing to reject an agreement with the Buena Vista Band. The agreement was then enacted by an arbitrator. Ard said “the Supervisors should know when to cut their losses and run.” Former Ione city administrator George Lambert and local activist Jerry Cassesi both urged the council to pass the resolution. The resolution requests that Amador County continue its legal challenge to the casino compact between the state of California and the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians regarding the Buena Vista Casino. It notes that the suit was dismissed by a federal judge, who determined that the county has legal standing to bring the lawsuit, and supervisors must determine the next steps in the legal challenge to the casino compact and “may accept the decision, appeal the decision, file another action, or seek leave to amend its complaint to challenge the Buena Vista Casino compact.” The resolutions also states that “any decision by the board of supervisors not to pursue further legal steps to seek review of the challenged components of the compact would be a great disservice to the citizens of Amador County.” Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council two weeks ago assigned committees for council member, while last week the Planning Commisison agreed to resume regular business in its first meeting this month. Planning Commissioner Bob Olson pointed out last week that a placard sign that normally sits on the Main Street sidewalk near Gopher Flat was an illegal sign. He said the sign, which points to and advertises Chaos Glassworks, took up about half of the sidewalk and cause pedestrians passing more than two abreast to have to walk in the street. He hoped that a future Planning Commission agenda would have that item on its agenda. The commission agreed to resume its regular business at its Monday, February 9th meeting and then get back to the Gold Rush Rach & Golf Resort’s Specific Plan, at its 23rd meeting. The City Council in its January 20th meeting selected Mayor Gary Wooten and Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth to remain as mayor and vice mayor for 2009. They council also welcomed new Councilwoman Sandra Anderson and made committee appointments for the year. Wooten will sit on committees for the Air Quality Control Board, Amador Disposal Rate Increase, Amador Regional Sanitation Authority, Central Sierra Resource Conservation & Development, East Ridge Annexation & Company Tax Split, Finance, Fire District, Gold Rush General Plan, Local Community Benefit and Personnel. Hepworth will sit on committees for the Amador County Recreation Agency, Kennedy Mine Foundation, and Promotions & Public Relations. Councilman Pat Crosby will sit on the Amador County Transportation Commission and committees for Amador Water Agency sewer, Development Review, East Ridge Annexation, Finance, Planning, Promotions & PR, Sewer Public Works and Sutter Creek Crossroads. Councilman Tim Murphy will sit on committees for the Airport, Disposal Rate Increase, AWA Sewer, Development Review, Gold Rush Ad Hoc and General Plan, LAFCO, Regional Oversight, Sewer Public Works and Solid Waste. Anderson will sit on committees for ACTC, Airport, ARSA, Gold Rush Ad Hoc and Personnel. Sutter Creek council meets at 7 p.m. tonight. The agenda includes clarification of Finance Director Jeffry Gardner’s duties, a request for proposals for solid waste and refuse services, and City Manager Rob Duke’s financial recommendations and an action plan for 2009. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County - Amador County is onboard with support for a new veteran’s nursing home and expanded medical facility located in French Camp near Livermore. Democratic Congressman Jerry McNerney of Pleasantion and Chula Vista Democrat Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veteran Affairs, submitted a letter to General Eric Shineski, President-elect Barack Obama’s designee to serve as Veteran Affairs Secretary. Both men outlined their recommendation for the new facility, which would also serve Veteran’s in Livermore’s aging current facility if it closed. Shishenki is considering a decision by his predecessor to transfer the nursing home and outpatient care center off the Livermore campus and into San Joaquin or Stanislaus County. Veterans Affairs is studying various sites for a new hospital and will make a decision within 60 days. The letter reads, “America's veterans made a solemn promise by wearing the uniform of the United States and serving in harm's way overseas…we owe it to them to do everything we can to provide adequate health care when they return home.” McNerney stressed that he would like the current facility to remain open, but felt French Camp would be ideal for an additional hospital because it meets or exceeds selection criteria. Approximately 42,000 veterans live in San Joaquin County alone. The facility is located at the nexus of two major freeways, Interstate 5 and Interstate 205. Amador County is also home to a large number of Veterans. Supervisors and many Veterans in Amador County have endorsed the idea of a hospital located nearby. “Veterans in California's Central Valley deserve French Camp to be selected as the location for a new medical center and nursing home,” said McNerney. If approved, the new facility would open in 2015. Story by Alex Lane

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council last week approved advertising to find qualified operators for its 1853 Arroyo Ditch, after learning that people are interested in the long-time water source that once linked Pokerville with the Cosumnes River. City Manager Dixon Flynn said city staff heard “some interest expressed in the development of the Arroyo Ditch,” from a “wide range of people,” and he encouraged giving the private sector a chance to take on the project. Flynn said the ideal candidates would need to have expert financial capacity, legal experience with water rights and the technical ability to make the earthen berm ditch operational. He said the city council can also waive any requirements it chooses. He said qualifications should include having the legal ability to “address the questions about our water rights.” Flynn in a staff report said the advertisement would seek “proposals to develop the Arroyo Ditch at ‘no’ or ‘little’ cost to the city.” He said the city “anticipates that after the qualified individuals and firms are selected, a future date will be selected to accept proposals that satisfy the city’s goals of developing the Arroyo Ditch as a long-term source of water.” The report told the history of the ditch, developed in 1853 to bring water for mining from the Cosumnes River to Plymouth. The city took ownership in the early 1900s and it was Plymouth’s primary water source until 1987. Flynn said “there is a wide range of opinions on the city’s water rights … a pre-1914 water right and the estimated right ranges from approximately 23,000 acre fee to approximately 500 acre feet.” Plymouth signed a 2006 agreement with the Amador Water Agency to build the Plymouth Pipeline Project and now faces development of about 2,500 homes and 27 commercial buildings over the next 20 years, along with the possibility of a casino, proposed by the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, to be built adjacent to the city. Qualifications must be submitted to Flynn at Plymouth City Hall by 4 p.m. Friday, January 30th. Story by Jim Reece