Pioneer – The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (ACCNET) concluded a joint investigation Wednesday that led to a number of arrests and the seizure of 1,111 marijuana plants and 10.2 pounds of processed marijuana. The operation began after ACCNET received a report of suspicious activity from CHP officers investigating a possible stolen ATV in the Pioneer area. The ATV led to the discovery of irrigation and camping equipment. Upon further investigation, ACCNET personnel discovered a marijuana grow site on Bureau of Land Management land. They observed Gary Troung, 25, of San Leandro at the site. Through a joint operation with the Sacramento Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Bureau of Land Management, Federal Arrest warrants were issued and a search warrant was obtained for Gary Troung, Vi Troung, 29, of El Cerrito and for the grow site in Amador County. With the assistance of Amador and El Dorado County SWAT teams, DEA and BLM agents and an ICE helicopter, ACCNET secured the outdoor grow site. During the seizure they arrested Raymondo Ramos Pablo, 26, a Mexican National. 520 female marijuana plants and the stolen ATV were seized at the Pioneer grow site. Seized from Gary Troung’s residence was an indoor grow operation consisting of 44 cloned marijuana cuttings, $17,000 in cash, 2 ounces of marijuana bud, a Walter PPK pistol with 9mm ammunition, and Troung’s 2006 Ford F-150 used at the grow site in Pioneer. Seized from Vi Troung’s residence were 550 marijuana plants, 10 pounds of processed marijuana bud, 22 MDMA pills, 1.5 grams of cocaine and approximately $40,000 in cash. Gary and Vi Troung and Pablo were arrested on Federal charges and booked into the Sacramento County Jail. Immigration holds were placed on Vi Troung and Pablo. ACCNET is continuing to investigate this organization operating from the bay area. ACCNET is one of the 48 regional narcotic task forces that is operated by the Attorney General’s, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Story by Alex Lane, Staff Reports This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council on Tuesday took suggestions about Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort and things they should look at. Planning Commission Chairman Robin Peters said the commission “could not fully evaluate issues related to money, finance” and over-riding benefits, “as those are city council considerations.” He gave the council a list of considerations that remain, and suggested the council “focus its energy and attention on the fiscal components of the project.” That included making the development agreement “accurate and protective of the city,” by discarding the current draft “in favor of a document written (from the beginning) by the city and for the city.” The commission recommended the council assure that the city is “getting enough in return for locking in fees and providing the developer with long-term vesting” in the development agreement. Peters said the developer “prepared a long list of suggestions” for constructed improvements they thought were eligible for “parkland fee credits.” He said most of those, “the city team believes are inappropriate.” The commission also asked whether fire and school district impacts are “adequately mitigated,” or if the council should make additional requirements in the Development Agreement. Peters said “conditions of approval” include formation of a community facilities district with a “city-specific General Fund fiscal impact offset” and aimed at bridging “the gap between the anticipated cost of service and projected property tax revenues.” He asked if a “similar mechanism” should be sought for county services. Peters said the council should also consider if traffic mitigation is sufficient. Bunce said Gold Rush wants to participate on a fair share basis for traffic fees, and wants to be a part of ACTC’s Circulation Mapping Exercise tool, when it is implemented. He said “widening Ridge Road to 4 lanes would make it the largest road in Amador County,” but it would not get any more traffic because all other roads are 2 lanes. As far as the need for a new, “active park,” Bunce said “we’re all ears. We are not drawing a line in the sand.” But he said he would like to get some parkland fee credit for having a public golf course, and for the 17 acres dedicated to the school district, for a school and park site. He had support in his speech from School Superintendent Dick Glock said “Gold Rush met and exceeded all requirement.” Glock said if ACUSD cannot take the 17 acres, it will get $2 million from Gold Rush. Bunce said 60 percent of the project is open space, and he “will work with the city on this additional 15-acre park.” Bunce said “we will make the application consistent with everything we’ve said tonight.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson- Jackson City Council conducted a second reading and adopted an ordinance Monday to extend the sunset date of the City’s mobile home park rent control ordinance for ten years, as well as other provisions that ensured consistency with state law. Residents of the Rollingwood estates mobile home park turned out in force to view the proceedings. The council first considered the extension after public comments from rent control advocates Shirley M. Dajnowski and Dennis Hern requesting the council extend Ordinance Number 662 an additional ten years beyond the pre-determined sunset date of July 12, 2010. The council previously adopted a rent control ordinance in 1995 set to expire July 12,200. In 1997, the sunset date was extended until July 12, 2010. In a letter to the council, Dajnowski and Hern said “homeowners in Rollingwood were being subjected to exorbitant rent increases and realized if this continued without some form of rent control we would lose our homes.” The letter included a petition signed by 145 Rollingwood residents. The advocates went on to write: “we are aware of the financial difficulties the city is facing, but extending the rent ordinance will not add any financial burden.” City Manager Mike Daly said that “After viewing the request for extension at the July 27 City council meeting, the council directed staff to prepare an amendment to the ordinance enacting the rent protection provisions in the Jackson Municipal Code.” Subsequently, the City also received petitions signed by residents of the Highlands Mobile Home Park requesting the same action. Also in question was the applicability of the City’s code to the newer section of the Rollingwood park, where 60 units have been added in the past seven years. California Civil Code exempts rent control from being applied to new construction after January 1, 1990. While reviewing the ordinance, City Attorney Andy Morris discovered several sections that were inconsistent with current State laws. Those updates were also included in the ordinance considered Monday evening. The council approved 5-0 to extend the rent control sunset date an additional decade beyond 2010. There were no objections from the public in attendance. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pioneer – The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (ACCNET) concluded a joint investigation Wednesday that led to a number of arrests and the seizure of 1,111 marijuana plants and 10.2 pounds of processed marijuana. The operation began after ACCNET received a report of suspicious activity from CHP officers investigating a possible stolen ATV in the Pioneer area. The ATV led to the discovery of irrigation and camping equipment. Upon further investigation, ACCNET personnel discovered a marijuana grow site on Bureau of Land Management land. They observed Gary Troung, 25, of San Leandro at the site. Through a joint operation with the Sacramento Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Bureau of Land Management, Federal Arrest warrants were issued and a search warrant was obtained for Gary Troung, Vi Troung, 29, of El Cerrito and for the grow site in Amador County. With the assistance of Amador and El Dorado County SWAT teams, DEA and BLM agents and an ICE helicopter, ACCNET secured the outdoor grow site. During the seizure they arrested Raymondo Ramos Pablo, 26, a Mexican National. 520 female marijuana plants and the stolen ATV were seized at the Pioneer grow site. Seized from Gary Troung’s residence was an indoor grow operation consisting of 44 cloned marijuana cuttings, $17,000 in cash, 2 ounces of marijuana bud, a Walter PPK pistol with 9mm ammunition, and Troung’s 2006 Ford F-150 used at the grow site in Pioneer. Seized from Vi Troung’s residence were 550 marijuana plants, 10 pounds of processed marijuana bud, 22 MDMA pills, 1.5 grams of cocaine and approximately $40,000 in cash. Gary and Vi Troung and Pablo were arrested on Federal charges and booked into the Sacramento County Jail. Immigration holds were placed on Vi Troung and Pablo. ACCNET is continuing to investigate this organization operating from the bay area. ACCNET is one of the 48 regional narcotic task forces that is operated by the Attorney General’s, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Story by Alex Lane, Staff Reports This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – As some schools in Amador County are struggling with losses of student bodies, the earliest students in the system are showing a boom. Amador State Preschools Director Dorothy Putnam-Smith said she has seen the biggest crowd of children ever in preschool this year, even before the first day of school. “I’ve never seen so many,” said Putnam-Smith, even with declining enrollment in other schools around the county. She said: “This is the first time ever that I was full before school started.” She said all 4 preschool sites in the county were filled before school started, August 19th. She said this year she has 96 kids to keep enrolled in the program. She said there are 3 or 4 children on a waiting list for the Ione Preschool, at Ione Elementary School, and 3 or 4 children on a waiting list for the Jackson Preschool, on the campus of Argonaut High School. Putnam-Smith tells parents about other options in the area, and it depends on if they are working parents or not. She said the preschool program tries “to take all the 4-year-old first that are going to go into kindergarten,” then they take the 3-year-olds. Other programs, once the preschools fill, include First 5’s Bridge To Kindergarten, the Head Start program in Ione, and in Jackson a few private preschools. There is also the Monarch Montessori in Plymouth, and parents can call the Resource Connection to be referred to some other private preschools. Amador Preschools include classes at Argonaut high, Ione Elementary, Plymouth Elementary School and Pioneer Elementary School. Putnam-Smith, is director of all 4 Amador County state preschools. She said: “If people want their child in preschool, get on the waiting list, because there is next year.” Kids that turn 5 by December will go into kindergarten. The waiting list might also get kids into preschool this year. Putnam-Smith said “people are moving because of the economy, so there might be openings in the middle of the year.” To contact Amador State Preschools, call (209) 257-5338. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson- Jackson City Council conducted a second reading and adopted an ordinance Monday to extend the sunset date of the City’s mobile home park rent control ordinance for ten years, as well as other provisions that ensured consistency with state law. Residents of the Rollingwood estates mobile home park turned out in force to view the proceedings. The council first considered the extension after public comments from rent control advocates Shirley M. Dajnowski and Dennis Hern requesting the council extend Ordinance Number 662 an additional ten years beyond the pre-determined sunset date of July 12, 2010. The council previously adopted a rent control ordinance in 1995 set to expire July 12,200. In 1997, the sunset date was extended until July 12, 2010. In a letter to the council, Dajnowski and Hern said “homeowners in Rollingwood were being subjected to exorbitant rent increases and realized if this continued without some form of rent control we would lose our homes.” The letter included a petition signed by 145 Rollingwood residents. The advocates went on to write: “we are aware of the financial difficulties the city is facing, but extending the rent ordinance will not add any financial burden.” City Manager Mike Daly said that “After viewing the request for extension at the July 27 City council meeting, the council directed staff to prepare an amendment to the ordinance enacting the rent protection provisions in the Jackson Municipal Code.” Subsequently, the City also received petitions signed by residents of the Highlands Mobile Home Park requesting the same action. Also in question was the applicability of the City’s code to the newer section of the Rollingwood park, where 60 units have been added in the past seven years. California Civil Code exempts rent control from being applied to new construction after January 1, 1990. While reviewing the ordinance, City Attorney Andy Morris discovered several sections that were inconsistent with current State laws. Those updates were also included in the ordinance considered Monday evening. The council approved 5-0 to extend the rent control sunset date an additional decade beyond 2010. There were no objections from the public in attendance. 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 on Tuesday took suggestions about Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort and things they should look at. Planning Commission Chairman Robin Peters said the commission “could not fully evaluate issues related to money, finance” and over-riding benefits, “as those are city council considerations.” He gave the council a list of considerations that remain, and suggested the council “focus its energy and attention on the fiscal components of the project.” That included making the development agreement “accurate and protective of the city,” by discarding the current draft “in favor of a document written (from the beginning) by the city and for the city.” The commission recommended the council assure that the city is “getting enough in return for locking in fees and providing the developer with long-term vesting” in the development agreement. Peters said the developer “prepared a long list of suggestions” for constructed improvements they thought were eligible for “parkland fee credits.” He said most of those, “the city team believes are inappropriate.” The commission also asked whether fire and school district impacts are “adequately mitigated,” or if the council should make additional requirements in the Development Agreement. Peters said “conditions of approval” include formation of a community facilities district with a “city-specific General Fund fiscal impact offset” and aimed at bridging “the gap between the anticipated cost of service and projected property tax revenues.” He asked if a “similar mechanism” should be sought for county services. Peters said the council should also consider if traffic mitigation is sufficient. Bunce said Gold Rush wants to participate on a fair share basis for traffic fees, and wants to be a part of ACTC’s Circulation Mapping Exercise tool, when it is implemented. He said “widening Ridge Road to 4 lanes would make it the largest road in Amador County,” but it would not get any more traffic because all other roads are 2 lanes. As far as the need for a new, “active park,” Bunce said “we’re all ears. We are not drawing a line in the sand.” But he said he would like to get some parkland fee credit for having a public golf course, and for the 17 acres dedicated to the school district, for a school and park site. He had support in his speech from School Superintendent Dick Glock said “Gold Rush met and exceeded all requirement.” Glock said if ACUSD cannot take the 17 acres, it will get $2 million from Gold Rush. Bunce said 60 percent of the project is open space, and he “will work with the city on this additional 15-acre park.” Bunce said “we will make the application consistent with everything we’ve said tonight.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The unofficial tally topped $90,000 Wednesday as volunteers continue to count the proceeds from last weekend’s Camp Out for Cancer. The totals were tallied and the 6th Annual Amador County Camp Out for Cancer did an amazing thing, said event Chairwoman Ginger Rolf. She said more than “$90,000 were raised, in our little, tiny community, even during these tough economic times, and the donations are still coming in.” She said “people in Amador County, believe in Amador (Support Transportation and Resource Services) and in serving our local cancer patients on their cancer journey.” She said together, we can make a difference in the life of a cancer patient and their family.” She thanked Amador County “for believing in local funds for local cancer patients. Rolf and the volunteers saw a cloudy start to the event Saturday, when wind gusts blew a few small tents away from their camp sites. Rolf opened the festivities with a $20,000 check that she gave to Dr. Vincent Caggiano of the Sutter Cancer Research Center. Rolf said the $20,000 donation is the percentage from the previous two Camp Outs, and it was donated to research. She said the $90,000 counted as of Wednesday was money raised from just this year’s volunteer work. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – Vandals struck twice in 3 days at the Sutter Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant last week, damaging 4 city-owned trucks and an old police car. Public workers arrived Friday morning at the plant, at the end of Mahoney Mill Road and found windows broken an out-of-service police car, which previously had been wrecked. They also slashed all 4 of its tires. They found a building’s window opened and a screen removed, and called the Sutter Creek Police Department. City Manager Sean Rabe said the perpetrators took keys to 2 city public works trucks, Dodge and Chevy half-ton trucks. They drove one through a locked gate, and then drove both down a dirt road. They left the trucks, about ¼ mile down a dirt road, a service road to the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority system. Rabe said the vandals broke a windshield on a GMC dump truck, using a rock, a tree branch and a car battery. Rabe said vandals went to the wastewater treatment plant sometime Saturday night and drove a different truck, through the locked gate. They left the 2-ton sludge truck by the gate. Damage estimates were not yet made. Rabe said “the police car was already wrecked, but it had not been declared ‘totaled’ by the insurance company.” The gate was damaged, repaired, then broken again Saturday night, so it had to be repaired again. He said vandals stole the keys to the trucks, and city workers could only locate one truck’s keys, so it will have to be rekeyed. Rabe said police are still investigating. He said the “good thing is, they did not do any damage to the actual sewer treatment plant.” He said the vandals “gained access to the whole plant by going through that gate.” So far, the city found no damage to the plant. The first day’s damage was found early Friday, September 11th, and the second day’s damage was discovered and reported by the public works crew Sunday morning, September 13th. Rabe assumed the vandals could face charges of breaking and entering and vandalism. They caused mild to moderate damage on 4 trucks and the police car. They caused pretty good sized dents on the front of one truck and the door of another, but both are still drive-able. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – Pioneer resident Kerry Lynn Cook, 45, was sentenced to state prison Tuesday for 16 years and 4 months after violations of probation for a previous conviction of vehicular manslaughter, according to a release from Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe. The initial incident took place on April 28, 2004. According to reports from the California Highway Patrol, Cook, then 39, was travelling westbound on Highway 88 when she collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Amador school teacher Suzette Arnese. It was later discovered that Cook had drifted into oncoming traffic while under the influence of prescription medications. Cook, who suffered a fractured leg, was flown via air ambulance to the University of California, Davis, Medical Center and subsequently listed in fair condition. Her five-year-old daughter was also in the vehicle and survived the crash. Arnese, who died shortly after the crash, was popular and well-known throughout the community. She taught English at Jackson Junior High school for 26 years. After pleading guilty, Cook was sentenced to 13 years and 8 months in state prison, but her sentence was suspended and she served only a year in county jail and was placed on probation. Cook was arrested again on June 18, 2009 in Sonora for suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. She again pled guilty, this time for the transportation of a controlled substance and felony DUI, as well as admitting to a prior strike under California’s Three Strikes law. Amador’s Probation Department filed a revocation of Cook’s probation and Cook admitted in court that she had once again violated the law. According to Riebe, Chief Deputy District Attorney Melinda Aiello told Amador County Superior Court Judge Susan Harlan on Wednesday that Cook had “blown her opportunity to change her criminal behavior and, to protect the public…requested that Judge Harlan lift the suspension and sentence Cook to the maximum sentence allowed. Riebe said Cook sat “impassively with her attorney.” Arnese’s twin sister read a poem written by Arnese and reminded the court of the “positive impact that her sister had in shaping the lives of so many people.” Judge Harlan said the only good thing resulting from this matter was that Cook will be taken off the streets for a long time. Harlan lifted the original prison sentence suspension and re-sentenced Cook on her convictions in Sonora, resulting in 16 years and 4 months in prison. Cook must serve 85 percent of that sentence before she is eligible for parole. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.