Amador County – The Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel got into the holiday spirit recently in giving $15,000 to food banks in Amador and Calaveras counties. Jackson Rancheria Casino Vice President of Marketing Ron Olivero presented ceremonial checks of $7,500 each to Kathleen Harmon of Amador Interfaith Food Bank and Jeannie Hayward of Calaveras Food Bank. Carol Cook of the Casino marketing department said the “much needed funds” were the result of a recent promotion in which Jackson Rancheria pledged to donate $1 for every 25,000 points earned by Dreamcatcher’s Club members during a promotion period. The Jackson Rancheria Casino’s “Dreamcatcher’s Club” includes a reported 750,000 members, who accumulate points when they use their card at the casino. The Rancheria also has a “Shop Jackson” promotion, giving Dreamcatcher’s Club cardholders discounts at dozens of Jackson businesses. Harmon said the gift from the Rancheria goes toward Christmastime activities. She said what they work very hard at engaging the community, and some “donations are earmarked toward Christmas outreach.” Harmon has begun the annual turkey drive for needy families, asking shoppers at Safeway last week to purchase turkeys for the Interfaith Food Bank. Harmon said the “community is bringing turkeys that we can give out here,” at the Food Bank. She said Food Bank volunteers and its truck “were at Safeway last week because they were the ones that had them on sale.” They planned to do another turkey drive this Friday, with the help of members of the Amador County Board of Supervisors, but she expected to get rained out and she was not going to ask supervisors to work in the rain. Supervisors were going to help them load the truck on Friday. Harmon said the Food Bank this year is trying to get 1,000 turkeys to give to families in a “Thanksgiving Box” – a full meal for individuals and families who qualify. She said donations are still needed, in the form of shoppers purchasing turkeys for the Food Bank. She said “grocery stores want to be able to see that their customers are served with turkeys,” so Food Bank cannot purchase birds. Harmon said “Food Bank still needs the community involved because we are serving 4,000 people a month.” She said they are “still short 150 turkeys,” to get 1,000 birds this year, up 200 from what they gave out last year. The Interfaith Food Bank gets requests from families and individuals for thanksgiving dinners. She said they hope to serve them to “anybody that is income-qualified that asks for a thanksgiving box.” Local churches have adopted the community’s large families, and will give out 24-pound birds for family of 14 or more. Interfaith Food Bank is at 12181 Airport Road in Jackson. For information, call (209) 267-9006. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency discussed its Upcountry Gravity Supply Line last week, and a USDA Rural Development publicist said the project might be a likely candidate for federal recovery funds. USDA Public Information Officer Sarah Pursley said the Rural Utility Service department is “currently working with the Amador Water Agency on a few applications for projects in the county.” Pursley said there is a “project for a new gravity supply line that would be used instead of pumping water uphill to the treatment plant” in the Upcountry at Buckhorn. She said the “project would potentially create a significant savings for the district,” with “reduction of energy costs related to pumping the water uphill, and no longer subject to energy rate increases.” It would also “increase the reliability of service.” Pursley said the current proposed cost of the project is about $13.4 million, and RUS is “currently looking at an investment of around an $8 million loan and a $5 million grant.” She said AWA is also working with RUS on a new water tank and distribution lines project for Lake Comanche Improvement District. This project is estimated to cost about $1.8 million. Pursley said “It is likely that the funding for the new projects will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” District 3 AWA Director Don Cooper at the board meeting last week asked staff if they “need to do a rain dance” for the Gravity Supply Line. AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee said environmental documentation, with notices and public meetings must be carried out, possibly starting in January. AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said they are “waiting for RUS to say they are satisfied with the Draft (Environmental Impact Report),” then AWA can schedule meetings. He said “in order to complete the environmental documents, they need a public meeting and the board needs to approve a mitigated negative declaration.” AWA attorney Steve Kronick said federal and state governments must approve the plans under National EPA and California Environmental Quality Act laws, and one USDA OKs the GSL, AWA will circulate it for 30-day public review and comments. Kronick said they must evaluate comments. It also involves regulated time frames. Cooper said board talk about the GSL “can make it sound like it is happening tomorrow, but in reality we could be looking at 30, 60 or 90 days.” Kronick said with a mitigated negative declarations, AWA is “not obligated to respond to comments, but a lot of agencies choose to answer those comments anyway.” He said sometimes the issue brought up could cause reason for an EIR, or they “could find adequate mitigation.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – Amador Water Agency attorney Steve Kronick and Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo gave information on the history of the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority last week as the board considers whether to join that group. Kronick began a series of 3 meetings delineating ARSA, with the goal to fully inform the board about ARSA so it has the information needed to decide whether to move in the direction of a regional approach to wastewater service, or whether it would wants to join ARSA. Director Debbie Dunn asked if the briefing had the “ultimate” goal of making the board “able to make a request to be on the ARSA board.” Kronick said the goal instead was to have information sufficient to decide whether or not to join ARSA. Kronick said ARSA’s agreements in its system include a state diversion right allowing diversion of Sutter Creek water to dilute its discharge. He said it requires minimum and maximum diversions. Mancebo said in winter, water is stored and law prohibits disposal at the system’s spray fields in Castle Oaks, which use Mule Creek Prison wastewater. He said the tertiary plant, at the golf course, is only used during irrigation season. Director Gary Thomas, District 2, said Ione owns the golf course and leases it to Castle Oaks. Thomas said the Mule Creek supply also includes wastewater from the Calfire training facility, and Preston School, “so they have an abundant supply of waste.” Mancebo said ARSA accepts wastewater from Sutter Creek, and its primary storage lake, Henderson Reservoir “is in need of additional capacity,” and it needs “improvements for long-term viability.” Thomas said: “That whole system needs improvement.” Mancebo said a study of replacing all pipes and conveyances in the ARSA system found it could cost $30 million to $50 million to make those upgrades. Kronick said the status of the system and its conditions are “not addressed by (his) presentation” and the AWA board “may want a separate study and presentation” on the condition of the ARSA system. He said the state of repair of the system “does play a significant role in how to proceed.” Thomas said AWA needs to develop a wastewater master plan, with involvement of local cities and the county. Ione is one of the ARSA members, along with Amador City, Sutter Creek, and Amador County. AWA District 1 Director Bill Condrashoff said the AWA board should probably first decide on whether it wanted to participate in ARSA. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged voters Monday to approve the $11 billion bond referendum he signed last week that will dramatically shape the future of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. The measure will be included on next November’s ballot. The package of five bills was passed by lawmakers earlier this month to modernize and expand California’s water system by saving up water in dry years. It will finance $40 billion of projects such as new dam construction and below-ground water storage and a new canal to circumvent the Delta, which supplies water to an estimated 36.7 million Californians. The water plan includes creation of a seven-member governing council to oversee the construction of a peripheral canal from Northern to Southern California, where most of the state's population lives. The package was pushed through the legislature with the support of Democrat and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who claims the legislation will “ensure the restoration of the Delta’s fragile ecosystem while enhancing water reliability for all Californians.” In a press conference in front of a shrinking Fresno County dam, Schwarzenegger credited bond supporters with “setting forth a bold vision of the future.” “For decades, Californians have been fighting about water,” Schwarzenegger said. “I've heard the pleas of the people here from this valley, I have heard the pleas of the people of the state of California, and I think the legislators have heard those pleas as well. So I am here to tell all of you help is on the way.” Despite the inclusion of funds to promote and restore fragile Delta regions and monitor groundwater, some environmentalists remain critical of an additional $3 million set aside for the possible construction of new dams and underground water storage in the future. Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, whose district includes Amador County and portions of the Delta, said the package “creates a new layer of bureaucrats who will make decisions on water that will impact the communities I represent,” referring to the 7-member governing council. Fiscal conservatives are critical of nearly $2 billion in earmarks which lawmakers admit were added in order to gain votes in the Legislature. These earmarks include $250 million for dam removal on the Klamath River to help restore salmon runs, $100 million for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program for watershed restoration, bike trails and recreation projects, and $75 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to fund education and “community stability” projects. The governor predicted that neither the earmarks nor the price tag will discourage voters from supporting the bond, “because the people of California have a high interest in rebuilding our infrastructure.” “I hope the people are going to be with us in passing these bonds,” he said. Locally, the Amador Water Agency will address the issue today in a special meeting at 1:00 pm in the Amador Water Agency office regarding the Association of California Water Agencies' support for the Delta Legislation. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council passed a resolution Monday honoring longtime Amador County journalist Marcia Young Oxford, 73, who passed away October 11th in Drytown. The resolution recognized and appreciated “all the contributions Marcia Oxford gave to Amador County and the city of Sutter Creek.” The Sutter Creek resolution noted “that the city recognizes all Marcia’s accomplishments over her lifetime and years she spent in the county of Amador.” Oxford was a volunteer and director of the Sutter Visitors Center, and worked at the Amador Ledger Dispatch newspaper as a business columnist. She also was a long-time reporter for the River Valley Times. The resolution noted that Oxford was the great-granddaughter of the Mormon pioneer, Brigham Young. Oxford grew up in Chico, and lived throughout the world, including Baghdad, Iraq, and Beirut, Lebanon, “before graduating from an extension of the California education system in Baghdad.” Oxford “attended U.C. Bekeley and received a degree in journalism, where she also worked on the Daily Cal Newspaper.” After graduating, Oxford worked in radio, newspaper and advertising; in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Hawaii” and elsewhere. She met her late husband, George Oxford, in 1968 and they were married, and they moved to Amador County in 1976. Oxford worked for the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, Fun Times magazine, Sunset magazine, and the Sutter Creek Visitors Center. Oxford’s Celebration of Life was held last Saturday at the St. Sava Mission in Jackson. Oxford was predeceased by her husband of 25 years, George Oxford, is survived by her goddaughter Claire Murphy, Paul Gunselman, the Murphy family of Sutter Creek, and countless friends. Oxford’s obituary said that “When George and Marcia moved to Amador in 1976, her first job was selling rocks and minerals in a Volcano shop. A $70 shortfall in the till, on a day when one buyer stopped by the shop, validated her decision to continue with writing.” Hospice of Amador has been a tremendous part of her peaceful passing from this life and APAL has always been a cause near and dear to her. Cards can be sent to Claire Murphy at 282 Foothill Drive, Sutter Creek, CA, 95685. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to A-PAL of Jackson or Hospice of Amador and Calaveras Counties. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council came to a 4-1 consensus Monday to allow 1,334 units in the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. The council also discussed and accepted fiscal committee phasing recommendations and moved closer to a final decision on the project, expected at its next regular meeting December 7th. The council and consultants discussed the number of housing units for Gold Rush, and reached a 4-1 consensus, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy against. Murphy in the past has recommended the number of units be cut in half. Mayor Gary Wooten and Councilwomen Linda Rianda and Sandy Anderson were joined by Councilman Pat Crosby in the majority of the consensus. Crosby was against that number in the last council meeting, but after fiscal and traffic impact studies, he changed his vote. Charles Field, Amador County Transportation Commission executive director, highlighted traffic mitigation fee recommendations from the ad hoc traffic committee, of which Crosby was a member. Field said he would like to take the mitigation package for approval by the ACTC board and “on to Caltrans” for state approval. Field said a Martell area improvement plan will have computer aided designs over high resolution aerial photos, to show various roads projects proposed as mitigations. Field said recommendations included having Gold Rush pay both local and regional traffic fees. It also included “Day 1 requirements,” to be built prior to issuing the first building permit. That included constructing an improved intersection at Highway 104 and Ampine/Allen Ranch Roads. Another would be extending Allen Ranch Road to Valley View Way, and a third would be construction to align Bowers and Prospect Roads and make an intersection with Highway 104. Consultant Anders Hauge said the council – if it so chooses – will have the ability to approve the Gold Rush specific plan, Environmental Impact Report and related resolutions and documents at its December 7th meeting. Those would include city council amendments to the specific plan and large lot tentative maps, and the Planning Commission’s recommended changes to those, and General Plan and zoning amendments. Hauge said the council must certify the EIR and it would approve the development agreement and a set of conditions of approval that is built into the specific plan. Also included is a “mitigation monitoring program,” with a $15,000 annual budget, through which developers pay city hall staff to monitor the implementation of mitigation measures. Huage recommended that the council get quarterly reports on mitigation measures from developers, but it could be annual reports. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council came to a 4-1 consensus Monday to allow 1,334 units in the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. The council also discussed and accepted fiscal committee phasing recommendations and moved closer to a final decision on the project, expected at its next regular meeting December 7th. The council and consultants discussed the number of housing units for Gold Rush, and reached a 4-1 consensus, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy against. Murphy in the past has recommended the number of units be cut in half. Mayor Gary Wooten and Councilwomen Linda Rianda and Sandy Anderson were joined by Councilman Pat Crosby in the majority of the consensus. Crosby was against that number in the last council meeting, but after fiscal and traffic impact studies, he changed his vote. Charles Field, Amador County Transportation Commission executive director, highlighted traffic mitigation fee recommendations from the ad hoc traffic committee, of which Crosby was a member. Field said he would like to take the mitigation package for approval by the ACTC board and “on to Caltrans” for state approval. Field said a Martell area improvement plan will have computer aided designs over high resolution aerial photos, to show various roads projects proposed as mitigations. Field said recommendations included having Gold Rush pay both local and regional traffic fees. It also included “Day 1 requirements,” to be built prior to issuing the first building permit. That included constructing an improved intersection at Highway 104 and Ampine/Allen Ranch Roads. Another would be extending Allen Ranch Road to Valley View Way, and a third would be construction to align Bowers and Prospect Roads and make an intersection with Highway 104. Consultant Anders Hauge said the council – if it so chooses – will have the ability to approve the Gold Rush specific plan, Environmental Impact Report and related resolutions and documents at its December 7th meeting. Those would include city council amendments to the specific plan and large lot tentative maps, and the Planning Commission’s recommended changes to those, and General Plan and zoning amendments. Hauge said the council must certify the EIR and it would approve the development agreement and a set of conditions of approval that is built into the specific plan. Also included is a “mitigation monitoring program,” with a $15,000 annual budget, through which developers pay city hall staff to monitor the implementation of mitigation measures. Huage recommended that the council get quarterly reports on mitigation measures from developers, but it could be annual reports. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged voters Monday to approve the $11 billion bond referendum he signed last week that will dramatically shape the future of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. The measure will be included on next November’s ballot. The package of five bills was passed by lawmakers earlier this month to modernize and expand California’s water system by saving up water in dry years. It will finance $40 billion of projects such as new dam construction and below-ground water storage and a new canal to circumvent the Delta, which supplies water to an estimated 36.7 million Californians. The water plan includes creation of a seven-member governing council to oversee the construction of a peripheral canal from Northern to Southern California, where most of the state's population lives. The package was pushed through the legislature with the support of Democrat and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who claims the legislation will “ensure the restoration of the Delta’s fragile ecosystem while enhancing water reliability for all Californians.” In a press conference in front of a shrinking Fresno County dam, Schwarzenegger credited bond supporters with “setting forth a bold vision of the future.” “For decades, Californians have been fighting about water,” Schwarzenegger said. “I've heard the pleas of the people here from this valley, I have heard the pleas of the people of the state of California, and I think the legislators have heard those pleas as well. So I am here to tell all of you help is on the way.” Despite the inclusion of funds to promote and restore fragile Delta regions and monitor groundwater, some environmentalists remain critical of an additional $3 million set aside for the possible construction of new dams and underground water storage in the future. Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, whose district includes Amador County and portions of the Delta, said the package “creates a new layer of bureaucrats who will make decisions on water that will impact the communities I represent,” referring to the 7-member governing council. Fiscal conservatives are critical of nearly $2 billion in earmarks which lawmakers admit were added in order to gain votes in the Legislature. These earmarks include $250 million for dam removal on the Klamath River to help restore salmon runs, $100 million for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program for watershed restoration, bike trails and recreation projects, and $75 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to fund education and “community stability” projects. The governor predicted that neither the earmarks nor the price tag will discourage voters from supporting the bond, “because the people of California have a high interest in rebuilding our infrastructure.” “I hope the people are going to be with us in passing these bonds,” he said. Locally, the Amador Water Agency will address the issue today in a special meeting at 1:00 pm in the Amador Water Agency office regarding the Association of California Water Agencies' support for the Delta Legislation. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – Amador Water Agency attorney Steve Kronick and Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo gave information on the history of the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority last week as the board considers whether to join that group. Kronick began a series of 3 meetings delineating ARSA, with the goal to fully inform the board about ARSA so it has the information needed to decide whether to move in the direction of a regional approach to wastewater service, or whether it would wants to join ARSA. Director Debbie Dunn asked if the briefing had the “ultimate” goal of making the board “able to make a request to be on the ARSA board.” Kronick said the goal instead was to have information sufficient to decide whether or not to join ARSA. Kronick said ARSA’s agreements in its system include a state diversion right allowing diversion of Sutter Creek water to dilute its discharge. He said it requires minimum and maximum diversions. Mancebo said in winter, water is stored and law prohibits disposal at the system’s spray fields in Castle Oaks, which use Mule Creek Prison wastewater. He said the tertiary plant, at the golf course, is only used during irrigation season. Director Gary Thomas, District 2, said Ione owns the golf course and leases it to Castle Oaks. Thomas said the Mule Creek supply also includes wastewater from the Calfire training facility, and Preston School, “so they have an abundant supply of waste.” Mancebo said ARSA accepts wastewater from Sutter Creek, and its primary storage lake, Henderson Reservoir “is in need of additional capacity,” and it needs “improvements for long-term viability.” Thomas said: “That whole system needs improvement.” Mancebo said a study of replacing all pipes and conveyances in the ARSA system found it could cost $30 million to $50 million to make those upgrades. Kronick said the status of the system and its conditions are “not addressed by (his) presentation” and the AWA board “may want a separate study and presentation” on the condition of the ARSA system. He said the state of repair of the system “does play a significant role in how to proceed.” Thomas said AWA needs to develop a wastewater master plan, with involvement of local cities and the county. Ione is one of the ARSA members, along with Amador City, Sutter Creek, and Amador County. AWA District 1 Director Bill Condrashoff said the AWA board should probably first decide on whether it wanted to participate in ARSA. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.