The Amador Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is looking for a volunteer to be appointed as an Alternate Public Member to the commission. This is a 4-year term, running from January 2007 to February 2011. Applicants must be a resident and registered voter in Amador County and cannot be a city, district or County official of any public agency within Amador County. Those seated on LAFCO are subject to the Fair Political Practices Act and…
Local fire departments are reporting their February call totals and there is no let up in sight for the increasing numbers. The Amador Fire Protection District reports their volunteer crews reported to 137 incidents in February. 86 of the calls were medical aids. Those combined with 17 vehicle accidents to account for 75 percent of the incident totals for the month. 5 calls were fire related including 2 structure fires, 2 chimney fires and 1…
Hwy 88 near Peddler Hill was the sight of quite a mess Saturday afternoon. California Highway Patrol Officer Mike LeMasters reports that at approximately 12:15 pm Saturday afternoon a 1999 Peterbuilt with a trailer full of 45,000 pounds of corn grain became separated when the trailer broke away from the cab causing the vehicle to jack knife blocking the east bound lane. LeMasters states the situation only became worse after the heavily traveled road started…
A popular recreation site in the Pine Grove area is closed to the public until April. According to the AWA’s General Manager Jim Abercrombie the water agency has asked that Tabeaud Lake remain closed to the public for the public’s own safety as the agency works in the area to complete the Amador Transmission Pipeline. A sign at the entrance says access to the lake and its recreational activities will not be open until sometime…
A state lawmaker wants to reduce the number of unwanted animals in local shelters by requiring California pet owners to spay or neuter their dogs and cats. Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, is carrying legislation that would require dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered by four months of age, otherwise their owners could face potentially steep fines. "It's a huge problem," Levine said. "My legislation will help by turning off the spigot so…
This week, on Thursday March 8th a trial readiness conference will be held in Amador County Superior Court in the matter of the people of the state of California versus Zachary and Starlene Taylor. The Taylors stand accused of a violation of penal code 597b, a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge. The indictment stems from an incident on July 5, 2005 when the Taylors allegedly subjected their pet, a growing dog to “needless suffering” according to…
The Jackson Hills Golf Course Community will appear before the Planning Commission tonight. The much debated project has been in the works for over 5 years. The last time the project appeared before the Commission they asked that staff develop facts and findings for the project and suggested that a special meeting be held to solely discuss Jackson Hills. Staff is expected to return with their findings of fact and the Commission could possibly make…
The Central Valley Region Water Quality Board has notified the City of Ione through a correspondence dated February 20th that the City's submission of their waste water discharge report required under a cease and desist order from the state agency is incomplete. The Regional Board's environmental scientist Scott Kranhold writes to the city that there are 15 items of concern to the Regional Board that the city must respond to in a revised Report of…
