Amador County – The California Department of Fire Protection last month announced a plan to have prescribed burns on 10-acre blocks of land this fall, after the first rains and the burning season opens. The Amador-El Dorado unit CALFIRE Forester Patrick McDaniel in September gave a “smoke notification we'd like to get out to the public right now. More specific details about the exact dates, sizes and locations will be available later as this is going to depend on the weather.” McDaniel said during October and November, the Amador-El Dorado unit of CALFIRE plans to conduct a “prescribed burn live fire training exercise” on private properties located along Shake Ridge Road and Fiddletown Road in unincorporated areas of Amador County. The burns are part of CALFIRE’s “Vegetation Management Program,” of the Alpine-Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento Unit, based in Camino. The burns will not be conducted until the start of burn season, which was announced this week, after Tuesday’s regional storm. McDaniel said residents of Shake Ridge Road and Fiddletown Road should be aware of the “Shake-Fiddletown vegetation management plan,” which will be a live fire training exercise. People who are sensitive to smoke are requested to contact CALFIRE Forester Patrick McDaniel at (530) 647-5288. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell - Effective October 26, 2009 the Amador Air Pollution Control District Office will relocate to 12200 Airport Road in Martell. The telephone number will remain the same at 209-257-0112. The department said they appreciate your patience with any minor disruptions in phone service that may occur during the transition. For information or additional questions please contact Mike Boitano at 209-223-6481. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell - Effective October 26, 2009 the Amador Air Pollution Control District Office will relocate to 12200 Airport Road in Martell. The telephone number will remain the same at 209-257-0112. The department said they appreciate your patience with any minor disruptions in phone service that may occur during the transition. For information or additional questions please contact Mike Boitano at 209-223-6481. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell – The American Legion Hall will be abuzz this weekend with the Friends of the Amador County Library Used Book Sale, which runs Friday through Sunday this weekend. The sale will have thousands of books, in every category, and proceeds will benefit the libraries of Amador County. The 4-8 p.m. Friday sale is open only to members of the Friends of the Amador County Library, and open to new member sign-ups. The book sale is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Hall, 12134 Airport Road in Martell, off Highway 49 at the Airport Road intersection. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell - The Amador County Republican Central Committee (ACRCC) announced this week that Pacific Legal Foundation President David Stirling will be the special guest at their upcoming meeting on Wednesday, October 21 at 7 p.m. Stirling, described as “an expert on the history of the legal challenges to our personal and community property rights from environmental activists,” will discuss his new book, “Green Gone Wild: Elevating Nature Above Human Rights.” The book takes an in-depth look at government confiscatory regulation of private property in order to protect endangered plant and wildlife species. It examines the green movement and the affect it has had on many Americans. “Stirling's book is a crucial and long-overdue effort to shine a spotlight on this most burdensome of federal statutes, and the extreme green movement that propels it,” said Hugh Hewitt, national radio talk show host and Constitutional Law Professor. Walter Williams, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, said “Stirling's book makes a strong case that the federal government's confiscatory regulation of private property in the name of protecting so-called endangered plant and wildlife species is another step in trampling our Fifth Amendment guarantees.” Stirling will have copies of his book for sale at the event to sign for attendees. A donation of $5 to the ACRCC to support advertising and expenses would be appreciated at the door. The ACRCC thanks Rena Bartolero for facilitating Stirling’s visit. The presentation takes place on October 21 at 7 p.m. at the ACRCC Headquarters, located at 12275 Martell Road, Suite #11, in Martell. For more information on Stirling’s book, visit www.greengonewildbook.com. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – A local business owner took the top prize in a giveaway at the grand opening for the new Kitchen Store last weekend, which also gathered more than a ton of food for charity. A $500 grand prize winner, came from all the way across Main Street. Jim Burgess won the $500 prize, after the spin of the TSPN wheel. Burgess works across the street at JB’s Awards & Engraving, 170, Main Street. Co-owners Janie Williams and her son Travis Williams gave the check to Burgess, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Lori Thomas. Janie Williams said there was a great turnout, a lot of people came and some stayed all day for live music and wine tasting. The event also gathered a lot of food for charity. Part of the Grand Opening was a request for donations of food items for the Interfaith Food Bank. Williams was not exactly sure how much food was gathered, but at one point it was between 1-and-a-half and 2 tons, and they still have some more of the donations that need to be transported to the Food Bank. Other stores on Main Street, in welcoming the Kitchen Store, also collected food for the Food Bank, including Hein & Company Bookstore, Amador Fireside Center and JB's. George Erdosh, food author of “Alphabet Soup,” said the new Kitchen Store has lots of space between the isles, a food demonstration station and a selection of kitchen equipment that’s hard to believe” The store is family owned and family operated. The Kitchen Store moved to its new location, 165 Main Street, earlier this year. It is now the second store from the fire station on Main. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson - Gas prices are dropping across Northern California, according to AAA of Northern California’s latest price survey. This is against the trend, as the national average is heading in the opposite direction. Many other western states, including Arizona and New Mexico have seen similar declines. The survey found that California prices have slowly dropped to the current average of $3.01, 9 cents lower than last month. The national increase is in part due to rising crude oil prices and cutbacks in gasoline production by refineries, according to Linda Gorman, Public Affairs Director for AAA. AAA officials say western sates have not been impacted by these market forces as much as other areas of the country. Nationwide, the average rose almost 2 cents in the past week to $2.47. Here in Amador County, many gas stations are displaying prices that are lower than they’ve been in almost a year. Visitors to the Jackson Rancheria gas station on Thursday were pleased to see the cost of unleaded was $2.92 per gallon. The popular Safeway gas station in Martell featured a low of $2.84. And at Jon’s Pit Stop on Highway 88 in Jackson the pump price was only $2.79 per gallon. “I make sure to fill up every time I come to the casino, win or lose,” said Sherri Buckingham, a Calaveras County resident, adding: “The prices here are pretty good, all considered.” When compared to AAA data, the price for gas at Jon’s Pit Stop ties the lowest recorded cost in the state, also seen in Marysville. Yreka and Eureka are tied for highest, at $3.29, AAA reports. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – Customers of Pacific Gas & Electric were still awaiting repairs in at least 137 cities across Northern California early Thursday, with remote customers told to expect a wait, possibly a few days. Thursday morning, PG&E listed 3 outages in Amador. That included 2 outages in Jackson, each affecting between 1 and 50 customers, and 1 outage in Ione, off Highway 104, affecting between 1 and 50 customers. The reasons were not listed, but falling trees created multiple emergency calls during the storm Tuesday, for both blocked roads and crossed and broken power lines. PG&E’s website said that people who are without power for more than 48 hours can qualify for reimbursement payments. Sacramento reported 49 outages affecting less than 50 customers. In Stockton, there were 40 outages Thursday, with 16 of those each affecting between 1 and 50 customers each, located in 10 different sections of town, many caused by fallen wires. One Stockton neighborhood had 24 outages, each affecting between 50 and 500 customers. PG&E in a release Wednesday said the first major storm of the season left nearly 3 quarters of a million customers without. The company said crews “made significant progress in making repairs to the utility’s electrical system” and as of noon Wednesday had “restored power to 91% of the more than 700,000 customers impacted by power outages by the storm.” The utility said it “mobilized all available crews to restore power to the remaining 63,000 customers as quickly as safety allows.” The release said that “while PG&E expects to have power restored to the vast majority of those customers (Wednesday and Thursday), some customers in the hardest hit areas of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, Sierra Nevada foothills, and central coast should prepare to be without electricity for a few days.” PG&E’s Mark Johnson, vice president of electric operations and engineering said: “PG&E crews will remain mobilized as long as necessary to restore power to all customers.” He said: “Restoring power safely and quickly is our number one priority. We are working hard with all available resources, including contract crews, to limit the number of customers who experience extended outages.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson - The Amador County Public Health Department is reporting an increased incidence of influenza like illness in the past week, according to a release on Thursday. An increase in activity has also been reported by Sutter Amador Hospital’s Emergency Department and local healthcare providers. Amador County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann said his department is “considering these cases to be H1N1 influenza, based on information from the California Department of Public Health and their surveillance activity.” Amador County Unified School Districts are closely monitoring students and keeping records for absenteeism, which are reported daily to the public health department.While individuals reporting they have H1N1 are typically diagnosed based on symptoms of influenza like illness, there has been no laboratory testing performed. The release said the State Department of Public Health guidelines dictate that specific testing for H1N1 be reserved for “hospitalized patients and deaths due to influenza like illness.” “It…remains, for the majority of people, a mild illness similar to seasonal flu,” said Lori Jagoda, Public Health Nurse. Hartmann said the best prevention for H1N1 and seasonal flu remains vaccination, washing your hands frequently, covering your cough and your sneeze and staying at home if you are sick.” To stay up-to-date on current flu and H1N1 virus and vaccine information and recommendations, visit the Amador County Public Health website on your screen. For more information, contact them by phone at 223-6407. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.