Amador County – The Amador Water Agency reported that the contractor for the Plymouth-to-Sutter Hill potable water pipeline is about 30 days ahead of schedule, with parts of the line ready to activate now. Agency Engineering and Planning Manager Gene Mancebo said the pipeline should get to Jackson in about 3 weeks. Contractor Mountain Cascade is now working in the area of Dry Creek, is laying around 800 feet of pipeline a day and “they are approaching 20,000 feet of pipe” already installed. Mancebo said Plymouth operates its water system on 3 wells, one of which “typically goes dry in the summer.” That well is dry now, he said, and if another well dries up, they man have to take drastic measures. Mancebo said “we could energize a portion of this using existing pipeline in Amador City,” and send water to Plymouth. But he said “Plymouth is used to existing on 2 wells.” But they could use part of the pipeline now in an emergency. I business not of the agenda, District 4 resident David Evitt asked the board why his request to be on an agenda was rejected and referred to a closed session. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said the request was to release water from Lake Tabeaud to flow down New York Ranch Gulch, to be used to water Russel Evitt’s alder trees. David Evitt said the trees are dying during the summer dry season, and his was a request, not a demand. Abercrombie said the board could talk in open session “about giving you free water,” but the board must be briefed in closed session about a settlement between the agency and the Evitts. Attorney Steve Kronick said: “I think it would be important for me to brief you on the litigation aspects of this.” Abercrombie said he thought the board needed to know the details of the settlement. Abercrombie said: “The agency doesn’t give free water to anyone. And if you choose to do that, I would be concerned with the gift of public funds.” He said “Evitt Ranch has a raw water service. They could just choose to water that themselves.” Kronick said the board could choose to discuss the settlement in open session, but should be briefed in closed session first. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – There is a buzz around Amador County around dusk this time of year, that is, a literal buzz from mosquitoes. And abating that problem might create the need for a trip to Calaveras County, as the Amador County Department of Agriculture is fresh out of mosquito fish. Patty Lesky, deputy agriculture commissioner for Amador County said Friday that the program has no funding this year, though last year many of the ponds around Amador were stocked with the fish. The program helps abate the mosquitoes because the fish eat mosquito larvae. The eggs are laid in stagnant water and also by tree mosquitoes in moisture deposits of all sorts. Lesky said anything that holds water or moisture, like a tree knot, a clogged gutter or a small flower pot, can be a deposit for millions of mosquito eggs. She said the Ag department has steered people to Copper Cray Fish in Copperopolis, a private residence and a fish farm. Lesky said the mosquito fish are for ponds and other large, nonmoving water deposits. She said they cannot be placed in a dog bowl. Instead, she said it is better to empty any stagnant standing water from yards. Dogs susceptible to mosquito bites can be given heartworm medication, for mosquito-bourn heartworms. The Amador Agriculture Department’s website notes the importance of eliminating mosquito breeding areas around the home, because “the species of mosquitoes most likely to carry West Nile virus can breed in your own backyard.” The site said “Ponds, reservoirs, or other large bodies of still water are potential breeding grounds,” and recommends stocking those with mosquito fish. The site gives notice that there are no mosquito fish available this season. It also tells about the fish, which can eat mosquito larvae as fast as they hatch. They also hatch live and require no special environment for reproducing. To contact Copper Cray Fish in Copperopolis to purchase mosquito fish, call 329-4311. For online information, see the Amador Ag Department link at www.co.amador.ca.us, or call the Ag office at 223-6487. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Buena Vista – An Arizona company hosted an open house Wednesday at the former Cogen wax plant on Coal Mine Road on what will be a $22.3 million capital funding drive to reopen the plant as a forest-waste-burning electric generating facility. Buena Vista Biomass Power company Managing Partner Mark D. Thompson told the dozens of people in attendance that the company has invested $2.3 million there, and was still assessing the project. He said: “We’re here very focused on getting this investment done.” He told attendees, including all 5 members of the Amador County Board of Supervisors, that they need about $20 million in capital investment to open the plant. He said it was 1 of 2 combustion electricity plants in California that would receive Federal grant funds, and it would be getting between $1.5 million and $3 million. Thompson said the plant will rely on biomass or wood trimmings from regional forests to operate 24 hours a day. Mechanical Project Manager Eddie Messinger said the plant would require 24.5 tons of wood chip fuel an hour to operate at full capacity, and run 7 days a week, generating 18.2 megawatts, to be sold on the open market. That would be 20 truckloads a day delivered to the site. The plant would keep on hand at the site 30 days’ worth of operating fuel, in 3-inch wood chips. Thompson said the project would help alleviate excess wood waste from forestry management, which could be stepped up after lumber mill closures slowed logging. The plant already has a forester on staff, and he has located 18 slash piles that they company could contract to pick up, rather than put a match to in the open air. He said to date this year 3,000 fires had been or were being fought in California, compared to 2,350 this time last year. CAL FIRE has spent nearly $10 million to fight the Stanislaus National Forest’s Knight Fire in Tuolumne County, which on Wednesday was 50 percent controlled, with 5,000 acres burned. Last year, Thompson said California spent an “unbudgeted” $800 million in fighting fires. He said removing biomass from forests reduces fire threat and eases pressure on watersheds. He said burning wood wastes there would help reduce emission in the region. With state-of-the-art filters, the plant will emit significantly less that the old plant and will try to be the best generating plant of its type in the state in emissions quality. Thompson said they were working with Amador Air District’s Jim Harris to modify the permit to remove lignite coal from its fuel list, and to have a program to pick up peoples’ biomass and lower the number of burn permits issued. He said last year, Harris issued 600 burn permits. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.

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 - Stakeholders and a familiar lineup of concerned citizens from Amador County and beyond gathered at the County Administration Center last Thursday for the 2009 Housing Element Program Implementation Workshop. The meeting was hosted by Amador County General Plan Consultant Jeff Goldman and focused on streamlining programs decided upon in prior workshops, the latest being six weeks ago. Goldman said the meeting “is part of an ongoing conversation” to assess “current unmet needs and projected future needs” related to housing guidelines outlined in the proposed General Plan. He said “we are seeking to streamline the number of programs in place without sacrificing any of the substantive goals we are trying to achieve.” The county currently has fifty programs in its Housing Element, all of which were summarized, organized into themes and distributed to attendees in a packet titled “Summary of Achievements Since 2005.” The themes included providing adequate sites for housing, removing governmental restraints, creating new affordable units, encouraging special needs housing, providing housing assistance, conservation of existing housing and improving a jobs-housing balance. County Planner Susan Grijalva said “one of the challenges the county has had in obtaining affordable housing is that we’ve never had a developer come in to build that housing.” She said deals with developers often provide much of the affordable housing in a given area. Upcountry resident Sherry Curtis said she would like to see “affordable housing closer to where people can easily get to services like social services.” Curtis also criticized planners for not having more specific and up-to-date information available, like maps of lower income housing in Amador County. Art Marinaccio, a consultant for Amador Citizens for Responsible Government, said “workforce housing is equally important to (social needs housing) in Amador County.” Rancher and Vintner Ken Deaver agreed, and said that “at some point the lack of farm labor housing will create a backlash against the people who hire these workers.” Mel Welsh asked about the possibility expanding the Calaveras-based Habitat for Humanity to Amador County. Goldman said that would be helpful, although the group currently provides a relatively small contribution to Calaveras County housing. Goldman said another big variable in determining future housing possibilities is $50 million made available to California counties through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for energy improvements. In closing, Grijalva said “the duty of a county or city is to serve its citizens, and it’s important to bring the citizens to the table during the planning process.” Input from this meeting will be utilized in future General Plan discussions. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County –Sutter Creek City Council on Monday directed staff to work with Sutter Hill East Annexation property owners, to agree on fee amounts that will fund infrastructure. City Planner Bruce Baracco said they have to inform the Local Agency Formation Commission how infrastructure improvements would be funded. City Manager Rob Duke said he thought city staff and property owners in Sutter Hill East could come to an agreement, but it must satisfy LAFCO, and it was “hard to go against staff recommendations.” Baracco said: “We think we are being held to a higher standard here,” by LAFCO. In defense of LAFCO, Duke said the city “painted itself into a corner” by saying in its application for annexation that all infrastructure would be funded. Property owner Aaron Brusatori said new development cannot be charged for existing deficiencies. He has done traffic studies for his property and solved its problems, and now he was “being asked to solve those problems again,” by paying traffic fees. He said: “If the impacts are not being caused by development, they are being caused by existing conditions.” Councilman Pat Crosby said they should just “go ahead and run a sewer line to 2 developments that want it,” stop the full annexation and just annex “those 2 properties that want in.” Mayor Gary Wooten said that would be too easy, and the Brusatori's do not want to pay, but “will benefit.” The city also has a grant to straighten Old Sutter Hill Road, where collisions are prevalent. City Manager Rob Duke also said failing septic tanks on the hill are threatening public health by leaking into the creek. Duke said they are “probably 9 months away from going to LAFCO,” and if they “open it up again,” they will have to go back to Square 1. Baracco said they hope to get back to LAFCO by September and complete the annexation by November. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Cynthia Turner of Detailed Travel in downtown Jackson has made a difference in a Pioneer family’s fight to rebound from a fire that took their home Saturday (July 11th). Wendy Frachon said Turner had 75 people looking for someone to repair the cooling fan on the family’s van on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, Turner reported that she had found the Frachon family a house to rent. Turner’s program, the Wish Exchange, uses modern technology to help families in need in Amador County. Turner said she “started the Wish Exchange Program last year for our County. It was just a way for me to help out some of the families in our area.” The way program works is that she has boxes around the area in different businesses. People with wishes can write down 3 wishes as well as their e-mail address. Turner said: “Once a month I send out a mass e-mail to all of the people who are participating in the program and some close friends and family. Then as a team we can work together and make someone’s wish come true.” She said they range from needing socks for school to “wood to keep warm or even someone wanting to ride a tractor.” On Wednesday, she met Mike Frachon, of Pioneer, who was filling out a Wish Exchange form. He and wife, Wendy and 2 boys, age 6 and 12, lost much of their belongings Saturday night, when their rental house on Silver Drive was lost in a fire. Turner said Wednesday she was “working most of the last few days trying to help them out.” So far she’s accomplished a lot. Lori Bullock of Castle Oak Homes made a money donation, and is looking into a rental property for them. Wal-Mart was waiting for an OK on a donation for school clothes. Susan Manning at the Feed Barn donated cat food and other items for the family’s 3 cats. Hahn’s automotive offered to repair the family’s car for free. Jackson Cleaners donated dry cleaning of their clothes, and a special treatment for smoke. Heaven and Earth Consignment donated work clothes for Mike and some toys for the kids. The biggest news is that Turner was able to find them a furnished house to rent. She said anyone with item to donate and help can drop it at her office, at 30 Main Street in Jackson. She said also, Mike lost his job Wednesday. She said he is a handyman and carpenter. E-mail Turner at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. A Frachon Family Fire Victim fund account is also open at Wells Fargo in Jackson. To donate, call Lisa Jabs at 223-0113. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calaveras County - Another case of the H1N1, or “swine flu” virus has been reported in the Mother lode region. Calaveras County Public Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita confirmed Wednesday that a 16-year-old resident of Angel’s Camp “is recovering from the virus and did not require hospitalization.” This is the second case in Calaveras County. The new case was reported the day after Amador County Health Officer Dr. Robert Hartmann made a presentation before the Amador Board of Supervisors on county efforts to prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic. On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide Pandemic Influenza Alert Level to Phase Six, the highest such designation for a flu outbreak. The US now has 37,000 documented cases and 211 documented deaths from H1N1. As of July 9th, there were 2, 469 cases, 287 hospitalizations and 32 deaths from the virus in California. No deaths from the virus have been reported in Amador or Calaveras counties. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission decided Wednesday that it wanted to try to preserve oak trees and minimize grading in the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. In a 4-1 vote, Commissioners decided those issues were pertinent to their recommendation. Chairman Robin Peters asked lead consultant Anders Hague to “come up with a bulleted list of ways for us to implement those concepts.” That must be done in time for their next meeting, 6 p.m. Monday. Hague said it might mean that the commission has more than one meeting left, to get the issues handled and addressed properly. Commissioners took public comment on the Gold Rush Final Environmental Impact Report and took commissioner comments. Peters told the public not to “feel that if they are not prepared that this is the last opportunity to comment, because it is not.” The public may comment at later meetings. Peters said foremost for him was satisfying Goal Number 2.1 of the 1994 Sutter Creek General Plan. It was an issue in previous meetings they put aside to take up later. Goal 2.1 said the General Plan should “Allow the city to grow and prosper while protecting existing neighborhoods and the existing quality of life that is the essence of Sutter Creek. The existing quality of life includes the city’s rural small town atmosphere, its historic qualities and its current level of public services and facilities.” Peters said it was his intent to look at project’s General Plan consistency from the perspective of Goal 2.1. Hague said the Angels Camp housing development, Greenhorn Golf Course, was the model for Sutter Creek City Council and Planning Commission members in their vision of developing the city. Peters agreed, saying that Greenhorn had grading and tree removal done for roads only, and he wanted to apply that to Gold Rush as much as possible. Commissioner Frank Cunha said in the consistency analysis, “there’s at least a dozen policies that speak directly to Goal 2.1. And from the 1994 general plan to 2007 neighborhood meetings, everyone wants the same thing:” just like at Greenhorn, “we don’t want any mass grading.” Cunha said Greenhorn was built by a “handful of people who lived in Angels Camp.” It had “no grading or tree removal except for (building) pads, driveways or streets. I think this is what we’ve been moving toward for 2 years.” Commissioners Mike Kirkley and Robert Olsen agreed, while Corte Strandberg said he thought grading and tree removal were good concepts. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.