Amador County - The 2009 Amador County Fair Destruction Derby on Sunday encourages drivers to put their American-made hard-top stock cars to the ultimate test. They will crash, smash, and ram each other to cartoonish crunched heaps of metal while trying to keep their own vehicle running. Would you be willing to climb into a car with all the glass removed, the doors chained or welded shut, and have a field full of other drivers do their best to wreck your car with you in it? Up to 36 brave men and women, youngsters and seasoned veterans, will pull on their protective helmets, squeeze in through the driver’s side window, gun their engines and take aim at each other in the mud of the Amador County Fair. Put on by the Jackson Rotary Club, the Destruction Derby is a major fund-raiser for the club who supports community services such as the Interfaith Food Bank. If you plan to attend the Amador County Fair Destruction Derby, get your tickets in advance as the lines form early for this sell-out event. Tickets are Reserved $15 all ages, General Admission $10, Children 6 and under $5, in addition to the Fair’s general gate admission. The event is slated for the Grandstands arena on Sunday, August 2, at 7:00 pm. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A big part of the annual Amador County Fair is the high quality musical acts it attracts. This year the fair will host a number of bands paying tribute to some of the biggest names in rock n’ roll. On Thursday, July 30th, Travelin’ Band will take the stage on picnic hill at 9 pm to pay tribute to rock royalty: Creedence Clearwater Revival. You’ll hear tunes that will take you rollin’ on the river to the heart of the Louisiana Bayou. No other group in pop music history achieved the crossover success that "CCR" did. On Friday, July 31st, 60’s Experience takes the Picnic Hill stage at 8 pm to revisit the summer of love and all the great music from the Woodstock Generation. On Saturday, August 1st, Journey Unauthorized will take the main stage for a tribute to one of the biggest bands of the 1970’s and 80’s. Journey’s music still remains very popular today. Journey Unauthorized performs the full range of Journey onstage, including the most complex and challenging songs that Journey themselves recorded in the studios and performed for live audiences. Finally, on Sunday, August 2nd, Briefcase Full of Blues takes Picnic Hill to pay tribute to the seminal blues act of the 1980’s: The Blues Brothers. The legacy left by John Belushi and those great Blues Brothers films will continue in this uncanny reenactment. Visit the Amador County Fair July 30th through August 2nd. For more details, contact the Fair office at 245-6921 or visit the Fair online at www.amadorcountyfair.com. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a presentation regarding the Local Governments for Sustainability Program, or ICLEI, and the latest findings on energy use and emissions output in Amador County. The board had previously approved participation in the program with an annual membership fee of $600, beginning in 2006. Jerry Scott, Director of Amador Citizens for Energy Conservation, made the presentation along with input from General Services Director Jon Hopkins. Hopkins said we are here to show you “what your $600 pays for every year.” Scott narrated a PowerPoint presentation detailing the results of an energy efficiency study conducted in cooperation with Mother Lode Energy Watch, a partnership between PG & E and the majority of counties in the Sierra Foothill Region. Scott said his group “volunteered nearly 150 people hours over the last year” for the study and “has probably given you a twenty-fold increase in your investment.” Scott said the goals of the study are to reduce Amador County energy use and costs in order to comply with state regulations. These are Assembly Bill 32, which requires a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2020, and Senate Bill 375, which provides emissions-reducing goals and incentives for local governments and developers. Chairman Ted Novelli pointed out that Senate Bill 375 did not apply to Amador County. Using statistic and polling software, Scott and his group concluded that solid waste and employee commuting accounted for over 80 percent of county generated greenhouse emissions. The county vehicle fleet and employee commute were 51 percent and 31 percent of the county’s energy use, respectively. Also beginning in December 2008, ICLEI put together a list of 97 energy savings projects, which was eventually narrowed down to 11 considered most feasible to receive federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Scott said “a lot of big jobs where engineering was involved got put on the back burner” in order to make way for jobs more likely to receive funding. Hopkins said projects as simple as changing light bulbs have reduced energy use in some areas by half. Scott said “we have an opportunity to reduce costs that we’ve identified as necessary.” Supervisor Brian Oneto expressed skepticism about the project and arbitrarily recalled a recent but unsuccessful attempt by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to negotiate emissions cuts with India. Scott said “India and China have been dragging their feet, but I don’t think they are going to last as long with their air quality.” The Supervisors approved the data presented by Scott 4-1 with Oneto opposing for undisclosed reasons. The Supervisors will raise the topic again on a future agenda. Supervisor Richard Forster said “our goal should be to try and become as energy efficient as possible. We should aim for those goals for the whole county.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A 21-year-old Galt man apparently drowned while wading off the North Shore of Camanche Lake Saturday afternoon. Sheriff’s divers searched for nearly 2 hours before locating the body. Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner said Amador Sheriff’s Office and other personnel responded to a report of an apparent drowning, first reported at 5:53 p.m. Frank Prado Junior, 21, of Galt, was wading in the water when he went under and disappeared. Wegner said Amador Sheriff’s personnel had a boat in the water and 4 divers searched in 2-person teams for Prado in the area where he was last seen, in North Shore Camanche Lake’s Day Use Area. Wegner said Prado’s body was located by a dive team just before 8 p.m. He said forensic testing will determine the cause of death, but the apparent cause was drowning. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Sutter Creek police confirmed for TSPN Monday that yet another robbery has taken place at the Sutter Creek Trading post on Old Highway 49. This is the second robbery in four days. The last incident occurred Thursday evening. The holdup took place at approximately 9:30 pm on Sunday night. Reports say the robber was wearing sunglasses and a hood to disguise him. He used a silver-plated revolver and demanded money from the store clerk. Similar to last Friday’s robbery, the suspect fled into the neighborhood behind the store. Sutter Creek Police made no comment as to whether they suspect the robberies are related. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - A $183,000-combination of revenue decline from sales tax and state funding elimination for transit operations has prompted the Amador County Transportation Commission board of directors to cut service on three Amador Regional Transit Service routes and absorb another route’s service effective August 3. The board passed the service cuts at its regular meeting, June 17. ARTS Interim Transit Manager Joyce Jones said ARTS has discontinued four routes from the system’s 31 routes, making the move a 13 percent reduction in service. Amador County public transportation is not alone in facing service reduction due to tax revenue loss. Amador joins Calaveras County in transportation funding cuts. The Calaveras County board of supervisors voted June 3 to eliminate four routes, reduce service on several others and increase fares. Calaveras was faced with a 40 percent transportation budget cut. Because ARTS provides Motherlode service to Sacramento via transfers from public transit systems in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, the Amador agency has agreed to continue a cooperative, on-demand service from Mokelumne Hill to Jackson. In fiscal year ending July 2008, Amador County revenue from the transportation portion of local sales taxes was nearly $980,000, and this fiscal year the number is expected to drop to $807,000, said Jones. “We lost revenue when the large car dealerships closed and there has been a general decrease in sales tax revenue because of the economy,” she said. “Additionally, State Transportation Assistance funding has been eliminated and that provided $30,000 in funding last year.” ACTC executive director Charles Field explained that .25 cents of sales taxes collected in Amador County goes to support public transportation, and the commission predicts a reduction this fiscal year of $250,000. Approximately $100,000 of that amount will be absorbed by ACTC, with the remainder falling on ARTS. He said a budget shortfall in fiscal year 2008-2009 was absorbed by state transportation funds that had been set aside for that purpose. “Now, for fiscal year 2009-2010 there is another reduction in sales tax revenue and there are no more contingency funds and no more coming, as far as we know,” he said. The cancelled ARTS routes are Mace Meadow Route M5, Plymouth Route P4 and Ione Route I5. One route, Ione Route I3, will be absorbed into Ione Route I2. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Plymouth City Council will host a public hearing today on the city’s General Plan update and its Final Environmental Impact Report. The meeting, 6:30 p.m. today at Plymouth City Hall, opens with a presentation from Plymouth veterinarian Elida Malick, who will talk about “General Plan Issues and Concerns.” The council will give her 10 minutes to make the presentation, after Malick requested extra time. City Manager Dixon Flynn told the council June 11th that Malick wants to give her side on issues she considers important in terms of development, and she felt she was not adequately able to address the issues in the council 3-minute public speaking time limit. Later, the council will open a public hearing on the General Plan Update, take a staff report and hear public comment on the plan and its Final EIR. The topic is for discussion only and no action will be taken. The agenda lists a continuation of the public hearing to a certain, unlisted date. In other Plymouth news, City Manager Dixon Flynn said rumors that the city was intending to sell its water rights to the Arroyo Ditch were unfounded. Flynn said city staff is still negotiating with Shenandoah Water Company on operation of the ditch and legal rights to its water. “We are not going to sell our rights,” Flynn said Tuesday. He said Shenandoah Water is “still in their homework stage,” gathering information, looking at the facilities and plans and trying to understand the rights before making a decision. Flynn said the company has until the fall to make a deal and decision with Plymouth on operating the Arroyo Ditch. Mayor Jon Colburn said water is still trickling into town in the ditch, and workers for Shenandoah Water will try to use a different diversion fork, from one that is now running too low to divert. Colburn said also that there is no intention of exporting the water from the ditch. Also today, the council will consider an extension of professional services with Development Impact, Inc., for community development director services. Staff will also report on oversight committee confirmations of the Community Mapping Tool and consider the 2009-2010 fiscal year draft budget. The council could also designate voting delegates and alternates for the League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 16th to 18th in San Jose. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Also at the Supervisors meeting, Towner-Yep discussed funding through the Proposition 40 Bond Act of 2002, which has made $1.2 million available for Amador County capitol improvements through the sale of general obligation bonds by the state. Of that amount, nearly a million is allocated to seven projects throughout Amador County. $150,000 will go towards a River Pines Park renovation and upgrade, $250,000 will be used for ADA accessibility at Pine Grove Town Hall, $325,000 will be used for ADA Accessibility at Volcano Armory Hall, $45,000 provides ADA accessibility for Plymouth Restrooms, and $100,000 goes toward a Pioneer Park Vets Hall re-roofing, facilities and plumbing upgrade. Another $50,000 will build restrooms at Pioneer Park. $297,500 available for projects through Prop. 40 have not yet been allocated. “They called and said they wanted the money they already forwarded to us back and we said no,” said Towner-Yep, referring to the Department of Parks and Recreation. Funds had already been frozen earlier in the fiscal year when the budget didn’t pass, and there is concern they’ll be frozen again unless they are spent soon. Prop. 40 projects are initially paid for by the county with the understanding that they will later be reimbursed by the state. “I don’t trust the state, but it’s probably safer at this point to play Russian roulette and spend,” said Supervisor Louis Boitano. The other Supervisors agreed and encouraged Towner-Yep and her staff to continue with planned spending. “The projects will create jobs in our community and we need to keep moving forward,” said Towner-Yep. Dana Jorgensen, District Director for Senator Dave Cox’s office, said the funds will be there. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Region - Representatives of the El Dorado National Forest reported late Friday that nine local projects were selected to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As announced by Secretary Tom Vilsack, these projects include road maintenance and decommissioning and associated watershed restoration. Projects specific to Eldorado’s include road decommissioning; road storm proofing, chip sealing, and surfacing. A variety of road restoration and decommissioning projects were funded in Amador County and a variety of chip sealing projects will be funded in Alpine County. “The road maintenance projects selected for the Eldorado National Forest will improve public health and safety, resource protection, and access to lands in the National Forest,” said Villalvazo. “The rehabilitation of roads will improve water quality by reducing sediments in nearby streams and help to restore natural resources and habitat for fish in areas impacted by deterioration and erosion of road surfaces.” Villalvazo says that in some cases multiple projects were lumped under one project title. As a result, the name of the project may include more than one activity. Vilsack said that nationally a total of 106 projects on National Forest Lands in 31 states were funded for more than $228 million. The amount of funding available for El Dorado Forest projects is unknown and will depend on bids received for the projects and the contracts awarded. The Forest Service manages almost 370,000 miles of road and 143,000 miles of trails on the 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. The Forest Service transportation system is a key element that supports the businesses and activities that occur within or adjacent to these lands. Story by Alex Lane, Staff Report

Amador County - Jackson’s True Value Hardware became one of 13 stores recently selected by its parent company as winners of the second annual “Best Hardware Store in Town” nationwide recognition. Owners Chris Fragapane and Dan Sneed were honored to be among stores selected from each of the company’s retail regions to be recognized at True Value’s 2009 Spring Market held in New Orleans in March. “It’s no surprise Jackson True Value has been recognized with such a great distinction. Ever since its establishment in 1993, the store has been renowned for providing Jackson and surrounding communities with top-notch customer service,” said True Value Representative Britt Svendsen. In 2008, the local newspaper named Jackson True Value as offering the best customer service in town. “A lot of shoppers start their journey at big-box stores, and then realize that the products they want are actually here,” Fragapane said. Fragapane and Sneed remodeled the store in 2005, resulting in additional shelf space and more relevant departments. Fragapane says that customers appreciate the True Value Rewards program, which allows them to earn points for their purchases, translating into coupons and cash discounts. Sponsored by the independent hardware cooperative, the ‘Best Hardware Store in Town’ program is designed to recognize True Value stores that exemplify successful retailing. Jackson’s True Value Hardware Store is located at 520 Sutter Street, Highway 49 in Jackson. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.