Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe has filed first degree murder charges against William Garrett Oaks, 46. Oaks, an inmate at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, is accused of strangling his cellmate, Lee B. Merrill, 59, who was found dead in the prison cell Oaks and Merrill shared on September 29. According to Riebe, the murder occurred about 11 p.m. on September 28, about 12 hours after Oaks was assigned to Merrill’s cell. The…
Road conditions got the better of two drivers on Tuesday. According to the California Highway Patrol, Ryan Thornberry of Ceres was driving west on Hwy 88 east of Mormon Emigrant Trail at a reported speed of 35 miles per hour when his vehicle hit a patch of ice. Thornberry attempted to brake, causing his 2006 Chevy Avalanche to slide off the road, into a rock embankment and roll over, blocking a lane of the highway.…
Amador County Board of Supervisors heard an appeal Tuesday by Shenandoah Valley man who wants to open a winery and tasting room on Shenandoah Road. Iscander Borjon was appealing a county Planning Department condition of his Use Permit that requires acceleration and deceleration lanes at the entry of his property – a requirement that Borjon said was physically problematic in several ways and one that has not typically been required of wineries in the area.…
The Supervisors also heard a request from Sutter Gold Mining Company to extend their hours of operation for exploration drilling. Sutter Gold Mine is located east of Hwy 49 between Sutter Creek and Amador City, and conducts drilling for core samples related to gold exploration. The company’s current use permit has allowed the drilling Monday through Friday, 7 am to 4 pm. In August 2007, county planning staff visited the site to evaluate the proposed…
After a brief reprieve from gas prices over $3 per gallon, prices at the pump have crept back up 20 cents a gallon over the past month and now top the $3 mark in most communities in Northern California, AAA reported Tuesday. Statewide, the average cost is $3.07 for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel. In TSPN’s informal survey of gas stations in the Jackson, Martell, Sutter Hill area, most offered regular unleaded at about…
Amador’s wine grape harvest began late this year, but the quality is expected to be high. With the harvest almost complete, Montevina wine maker Chris Leamy would have preferred a couple more weeks of warm dry weather to finish the harvest, but recent light rains interfered with that wish. Chris said the crop may be a little smaller this year than most, but it was looking like the harvest was going to be great for…
A complete overhaul of the River Pines Park is possible now with the infusion of $150,000 in state funding. The Amador County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a lease agreement between Amador County Recreation Agency and Amador County that will allow the use of Proposition 40 “Safe Neighborhood Parks” funding for a complete renovation and upgrade of the three-acre park.
The City of Jackson has a new flag. Jackson City Council chose the flag design after opening the design contest to city residents. A committee of city officials and community members chose the design submitted by Jana Davis, a mail carrier in the City of Jackson. The Council agreed that Davis’s winning design represents the City “very well.” Her design divides the flag into halves of green and maroon with a circle of stars in…
CALFIRE will be conducting a prescribed burn in the Lily Valley area east of West Point. Over 6,000 acres of the Winton-Schaads Prescribed Burn will be divided into 10 to 20 acre areas which will be treated over a 3 month period starting this fall and concluding late spring. One to two CAL FIRE engines along with personnel from Sierra Pacific Industries will conduct the burn. This understory burn will treat bear clover, small conifers,…
