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

Members of the Amador County Regional Planning Committee met earlier this month and received updates from some of its membership. Ione City Manager Kim Kerr told of progress in Ione, including the opening of Clark’s Corner, owned by Ione Mayor and committee member, Andrea Bonham. Kerr said the city was also applying for 4 Community Development Block Grants, to look at police station work, revamping Evalynn Bishop Hall, and attracting commercial, retail and industrial newcomers to Ione. Kerr said one approach was “data mining,” which uses company credit card information for purchases in specific zip codes to attract businesses to areas. Instead of focusing on getting customers, the study brings particular businesses to areas based on real needs and buying trends. She said the company produces a list of industries, then produces data to help recruit them. She said they take the radius of the client and figure the businesses. Kerr said the research could be something done in conjunction with the other cities and the county in Amador, to share costs and benefits. Jackson Councilwoman Connie Gonsalves, a committee member, said Jackson had formed an Economic Development Committee, with subcommittees, and was formed in partnership with Shannon Lowery and the Amador Community Foundation. Gonsalves said the work led to the formation of the Jackson Revitalization Committee, which recently added a 12th member, District 1 Supervisor Elect John Plasse, who will allow the JRC to have direct contact with the county. She said the aim was to promote Main Street, which is done with a newsletter to merchants, that keeps them informed and gives positive messages. Sean Rabe, Assistant City Manager of Sutter Creek talked about economic development there, where Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort was in the middle of testing its EIR against the Sutter Creek General Plan. Rabe said the Allen Ranch Road area was going to be a Highway 49 Bypass access road, and it was the area preferred for a possible community college. Story By Jim Reece.

When Jennifer Sergent’s 13-year old daughter came home from Ione Junior high the day after the election and said her teacher called her a racist, the Ione mom and Mule Creek Correctional Officer was floored. But she was even more shocked to learn of her and her daughter’s “unfair” portrayal in Friday’s edition of the Ledger-Dispatch, which stated that school officials said the girl had a history of behavioral problems. When contacted by phone, the school’s principal, Dr. Bill Murray, says the “behavioral problems” comment did not come from the school and also indicated that he had taken steps to resolve the issue with the teacher. It all began with a complaint to Murray on November 5th, that the girl’s computer class teacher, Kelleen Farrell, had called her a racist in regards to the girl’s questions about why people were crying over Barack Obama’s win. Additionally, the girl claims that Farrell made inappropriate comments in relation to the girl’s support of Proposition 8, the controversial item that will now ban same-sex couples from legally marrying. The 13-year old told her parents that Farrell said, “I hope you grow up to be gay so I can laugh at you when you can’t be with the one you love.” The girl’s parents, Steve and Jennifer Sergent, say they only want the situation to be resolved, and say that other children from Farrell’s class have reported similar situations to their parents. Murray claims that he did arrange for the student and teacher to have a meeting at lunch-time, but since that meeting did not involve the principal or a parent, the girl felt uncomfortable attending the meeting by herself. Sergent says because the principal, nor the teacher, returned her calls, she went to the school last Monday to resolve the issue, which ultimately ended in Sergent being escorted off school grounds by an Ione police officer. The girl’s father, Steve Sergent, relayed the entire story at last Wednesday’s school board meeting, but feels it didn’t do any good as he was only directed to fill out a complaint form. By Jen Wilson.

Amador County - The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors approved a contract for the Plymouth Water Pipeline Project yesterday afternoon and also approved the financing to get the project started. The board voted 5-0 to authorize General Manager Jim Abercrombie to execute a notice of an award for construction of the project, pending approval of the contract and project by the Plymouth City Council later last night. Results of Plymouth City Council’s decision were unavailable at press time this morning, but should be available in the noon report. The AWA board also voted to amend the agreement to note financial obligations. Finance Manager Mike Lee broke down costs, noting Plymouth would pay a 1.34-Million-Dollar participation fee to the AWA, and receive 200,000 dollars in reimbursement from the USDA for the reservoir project, a Community Development Block Grant of 874,000 dollars and 4.25 Million Dollars in federal USDA grants. Plymouth’s consultants, however, said Wednesday that another 1.25 Million Dollars in grants had been attained, for 5.1 million dollars in grants. The city will also get 5 million dollars in USDA loans. Lee said the breakdown formula had Plymouth paying 74.5 percent of the total actual project costs and the AWA paying 25.49 percent. Easement costs of the various project segments came out with Plymouth paying 5.79 Million Dollars and the AWA paying 1.9 Million Dollars. Loan attorney Jim Boyd introduced two documents for separate USDA loans of 3 million dollars and 2 million dollars each, which the board approved as the AWA Financing Authority. Lee said the AWA will pay 800,000 dollars at the outset of the project, using reserve funds. District 1 Board Member Elect Bill Condrashoff asked why that was paid up front. Abercrombie said the amount could have been financed, but the payment up front avoided financing fees. Lee said in the long run, the agency would benefit more from Plymouth water payments over 40 years in the contract than the 800,000 dollars would earn in the bank at 4-and-1/8 percent interest. The four new board members elect all attended the meeting, during which the sitting members elected District 5 Board Member Terence W. Moore as the new board president. The other four board members, Condrashoff, District 2’s Gary E. Thomas, District 3’s Don Cooper and District 4’s Debbie Dunn likely could take the oath of office in the first week of December. The election results must be certified by Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson, and then the Amador County Board of Supervisors must also certify the results before elected politicians can take office. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County - The City of Jackson will be mailing out a notice this week on a proposed water and sewer rate increase. Due to a dramatic increase in their wholesale rates from the Amador Water Agency, and a failed attempt to raise the rates last year, the City formed a Water & Sewer Rate Committee this past January to analyze the AWA wholesale rate increases and water and sewer budgets. The committee includes Joe Assereto, Bill Condrashoff, Kathy duBois, Judy Jebian, Jim Laughton, Ron Regan, and City Council Representative Wayne Garibaldi. After reviewing budgets and the tiered wholesale water rate increase from the AWA, the committee voted last week to recommend increasing the city’s rates for both water and sewer. The decision to raise rates stems from two issues. The AWA wholesale rate increase will put the city at a projected deficit of nearly 180,000 dollars, and the City must conduct further studies of Jackson Creek and Lake Amador as potable water supplies due to State Department of Public Health concerns. The latter issue will cost the city an additional projected amount of 300,000 dollars. The city will raise both water and sewer rates in two phases. Effective February 1, 2009, water service charges will increase from 12.98 per month to 14.80 per month, with the average sewer bill increasing from 23.87 to 27.69, and then effective July 1, 2009, water service charges will increase by another 1.18 per month, with sewer jumping another 1.66 per month. Proposition 218 requires that ratepayers be provided with a written notice detailing the increases at least 45 days prior to the public hearing, which is in this case, can be no earlier than Monday, December 29, if notices are mailed today, Friday, November 14. City officials plan to hold the public hearing at their city council meeting on Monday, January 12, 2009 at 7 pm at 33 Broadway in Jackson. Jackson residents may protest the increase by submitting a written protest letter to the City Clerk of Jackson. For more information, call 223-1646. Story by Jen Wilson

Amador County - The Amador County General Plan panel decided to have the planning commission take a closer study of the City Spheres of Influence and land designations in those spheres. County Planner Susan Grijalva said cities were worried about the designation of lands in their spheres of influence. She said the county can mimic the cities’ general plan designations; designate areas as Agriculture General; create an “Urban Reserve” or similar designation; or do something else. Some designations, she said, like AG, could preserve buffers around cities to curb development. Grijalva said dropping commercial areas in residential areas “isn’t playing nice.” District 1 Supervisor Richard Escamilla said he thought they should leave it alone and make decisions case-by-case. Supervisor Chair Richard Forster said he thought keeping development closer to infrastructure and city centers would keep other unincorporated areas from getting developed. Grijalva said Roseanne Chamberlain, director of the Local Agency Formation Commission, said she would not change any current Spheres of Influence unless requested to do so by cities. Escamilla said any city will take development if it can get it, and urged to keep designations as they were and handle them individually. County Counsel Martha J. Shaver said making no change may have the effect of having the incompatible designations that cities have problems with. The panel decided to send the issue to the Amador County Planning Commission, to discuss at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 18th. The panel and Forster directed staff to invite cities to the planning commission meeting, to be able to answer questions about their spheres of influence. The planning department e-mailed invitations to the cities and by Thursday, Jackson City Planner Susan Peters had responded, saying she would attend. Forster adjourned the serial meeting to November 19th, from noon to 4 p.m., noting that they had about 40 minutes of work left and then they would take more public input to close out the next meeting. Story by Jim Reece

Amador County - A head-on collision in the Pioneer area Thursday morning backed up traffic for miles and injured two. According to preliminary reports, a car and a white van collided after one of the vehicles crossed the center line, although it is unclear who is at fault. The van was headed eastbound and the car was headed westbound. The female driver of the car was seriously injured and transported to Mercy San Juan Hospital by helicopter. The male driver of the van was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The collision was strong enough to rip the entire wheel off the front of the car. Police are still investigating. Story by Alex Lane

Amador County – Those familiar with the landmarks that pepper the panoramic of downtown Jackson may notice one now shines just a little bit brighter. The steeple of Saint Patrick’s Catholic Community Church, located in downtown Jackson, is in the process of receiving a new paint job. The landmark is visible from many different angles in Jackson. Painters have spent hours atop a lift applying fresh coats of golden yellow paint to the steeple, which shines like a beacon in the midday Jackson sky. Saint Patrick’s was established in Jackson in the 1800s and is one of the areas oldest churches. Reverend Thomas Seabridge, also known as “Father Tom”, serves as Pastor of the Amador Catholic Community, comprising of Saint Patrick Parish, serving Jackson, Volcano and Pioneer; Immaculate Conception Parish, serving Sutter Creek and Plymouth; and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Ione. Painting and other general repair work on the church will continue throughout the week. Story by Alex Lane.

An experimental airplane crashed last Thursday night after an apparent medical collapse of the pilot that sent the plane flying unguided until it crashed on the shore of Lake Camanche in Calaveras County. Authorities discovered the wreckage in a desolate area near the shore of Lake Camanche after a nearly 12-hour search. Calaveras County Sheriff’s Officers identified the deceased pilot as Walter Guy Boeck, 67, who was owner of the plane, a Globe GC1A. Captain Jim Macedo of the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office said that 30 personnel from various agencies and two search planes also assisted in the search. Macedo said the search began around 9 p.m. last Thursday when authorities received a report of the aircraft falling off of an area radar screen. Boeck reportedly had been doing maintenance on his aircraft with a male friend, then the two took off together from the Rancho Murieta airport, each flying in their own airplane. Later in the flight, the other man reportedly saw Boeck’s plane flying erratically and he flew up next to Boeck’s plane and saw him slumped over the steering wheel. He could do nothing for Boeck and could not stop his plane, and when he ran low on fuel, he flew back to the Rancho Murieta airport and reported the incident. Macedo said the search line was from the Camanche Lake in the North Shore to Highway 4 near Stockton in the south. At about 9:30 a.m. Friday, a fixed-wing search plane spotted the wreckage in a low area near Lake Camanche’s shore in Calaveras County. Boeck’s body was removed from the wreckage. The family arrived at the scene Friday morning and confirmed that it was Boeck’s airplane. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration had been called in to assist in the investigation. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

After tallying more than 1,000 absentee ballots Friday, a couple of very close races took shape in two Amador County cities with another 261 provisional ballots yet to be considered. Plymouth Incumbent City Councilman Greg Baldwin climbed from 2 votes behind Maria Nunez to reverse that for a 4-vote lead, with those 261 provisional ballots potentially adding more to either campaign. The winner will get the third remaining seat on the Plymouth City Council. Mayor Jon Colburn and Patricia J. Shackleton took the other two seats, finishing 1-2 in vote counts. Baldwin ended on election day with 179 votes, to Nunez’s 181 votes. On Friday, George Allen said the Amador County Elections Office verified the signatures on the 1,142 absentee ballots that were either brought to polling places or arrived in the mail too late to count last Tuesday. The absentee vote tallies gave Baldwin 20 more votes for 199 total, while Nunez gained 14 votes for 195 total. In another close race, Jackson City Councilman Alfred A. Nunes trailed challenger Marilyn L. Lewis by 6 votes at the end of election day but Lewis widened the margin by getting 44 more votes after the absentee tallies. Lewis held a 13 vote lead. Nunes received 33 votes from absentee ballots and trailed Lewis 757 votes to 774. The winner gets the third and final Jackson Council seat. Wayne Garibaldi had the most votes with 1,253 and Keith Sweet was second with 850 votes. George Allen of the election office said the 261 provisional ballots, from different precincts around the county, will be counted this week or possibly next week. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).