A recent court ruling on home schooling has the state in an uproar.  On February 28th, a Los Angeles appellate court upheld a 1950’s law that says children age 6 to 18 must be enrolled in public or private school, or taught by a credentialed tutor.  This law was never really enforced until the recent ruling, which was in regards to a Los Angeles-area couple that home-school their eight children.  According to the Los Angeles Times, there were claims of abuse with two of the children, and their lawyers requested the court to rule that the two children physically attend school.  That request was denied, but upon being heard by the 2nd District Court of Appeal, the appellate panel decided to uphold the 1950’s law, apparently in order to force the children to attend school, where they could be monitored. 

 Richard Anderson, the Administrator of Mountain Oaks Charter School in Calaveras County, suggests that the appellate court upheld the ruling as a means to protect the children, a move he claims is “in the wrong direction.” Indeed, the ruling initially sent a wave of unease and confusion throughout California, and prompted a flurry of  online blogs and backlash from the home schooling community. According to Anderson, this ruling does not affect charter schools, as students meet with a credentialed teacher on a regular basis.  A local Pioneer mother who home schools her nine-year old daughter through Mountain Oaks charter school wasn’t worried about the ruling.  Her daughter meets with a credentialed teacher on a regular basis and participates in standardized testing.  The local mom says that she prefers home schooling because “I can design her education around her learning style” and “focus on areas that she enjoys.”  As part of her education, her daughter attends workshops and field trips, and is also involved in extra-curricular sports.

Preliminary results from DNA analysis of wolverine scat samples collected on the Tahoe National Forest do not match those of historic California wolverine populations, according to U.S. Forest Service scientists. Geneticists with the agency’s Rocky Mountain Research Station recently began analyzing samples, when wildlife biologists with the Tahoe National Forest and California Department of Fish and Game began sending hair and scat samples they collected from wolverine detection sites on the national forest to a lab in Montana.

The interagency effort began in March after an Oregon State University graduate student working on a cooperative project with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station photographed a wolverine, an animal whose presence has not been confirmed in California since the 1920s. DNA analysis is critical to scientists working to determine if the animal first photographed on February 28 and in later detection work is a wolverine that dispersed from outside of California, escaped from captivity or is part of a historic remnant population. Key findings from the preliminary analysis indicate the animal in the photographs is a male wolverine that is not a descendent of the last known Southern Sierra Nevada population, said Bill Zielinski, a Forest Service scientist with the Pacific Southwest Research Station and an expert at detecting wolverine, marten and fisher. It also does not genetically match populations in Washington, he said.

Yesterday marked the 3rd in a series of educational yet entertaining performances by Amador High School’s “Earth Club”. Preschool and Kindergarten aged children sat watching in fascination as half a dozen high school students performed an ecological fable about the negative effects of deforestation. Members of the Earth Club developed a performance that will promote the Waste Management Department’s guiding priorities:  REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE, or the 3R’s. The performance told the story of a group of woodland creatures whose habitat is threatened by a greedy developer. The children’s reaction was anything but negative, however, as they enthusiastically asked questions about trees and recycling after the show. The children were then invited by the cast to help pick up cans and bottles.

 

The Earth Club’s two remaining performances will take place at Pioneer Elementary at 8:15 a.m. on April 8th, and Pine Grove Elementary at 9:30 a.m. on April 8th. Teacher Joe Anooshian and Waste Management Staff Leader Anne Short discussed the need for a campus beautification make-over at Amador High School.  Over the years, the landscaping has deteriorated, while littering and vandalism on campus have increased.  Since high school seniors are required to complete 10 hours of community service, they could apply the hours earned from the project towards their credits. For more information, please contact the Amador County Waste Management Department at 223-6429.

It’s been an on-again, off-again measure on the state ballot, but backers of a high speed rail project in California say this November voters will decide once and for all whether to approve billions in bond funds. The high speed train proposed for California could run at speeds of over 200 miles per hour and would eventually go from San Diego to San Francisco. The bond to help fund it had been scheduled to appear on two previous ballots—in 2004 and 2006.  Although the vote has been delayed in part over concerns about the state’s fiscal condition, members of the California High Speed Rail Authority say this is the year.

David Crane, an advisor to the Governor and Authority board member, says the majority of funding - almost ten billion dollars—will come from the state bond if approved. “The balance will come from the federal government and the private sector and the local sector—in many segments there’s a lot of local activity,” says Crane. But the bond also has its critics. Legislation introduced in the state Assembly addresses some concerns raised by Governor Schwarzenegger.  The Governor would require that areas whose rail segments need the smallest amount of bond funds be given priority. Others question whether the train will really attract enough riders to sustain it. Over the next several months, supporters will form a committee to run the campaign.  They say if approved, the project would be on-line by the year 2020.

At Monday night’s Jackson Planning Commission meeting, Amador Citizens for Smart Growth, or ACSG, provided recommendations to the commission on possible additions to Jackson’s draft Land Use Element. Some of these recommendations include preserving historic buildings, requiring a certain design for new downtown projects, managing growth, and allowing for small ancillary dwellings in rear yards. One recommendation that drew some discussion was providing for mixed-use structures downtown, which would allow a second story on a commercial building to be used as residential. 

Some members of the commission suggested that having mixed-use structures might cut down on gas consumption, and therefore pollution. Other recommendations drew intense opposition from several members of the community.  One subject of debate was a proposed 150 foot-wide urban agricultural transition area that would be required for developments that were on the edge of the city limits.  Jim Laughton, a city of Jackson landowner, asked that the commission not put restrictions on his property.

Laughton has been involved in the development of the Land Use Element for the past ten years, and questioned why Amador Citizens for Smart Growth were getting involved “at the eleventh hour.” Laughton added that he thought that the city had “a pretty good land use element.” On the other side of the fence, Joani Bailey, who owns land just outside the city limits, adjacent to the proposed Jackson Hills parcel, said that the 150 foot buffer “looks good” to her, referring to the  possible close proximity of residential homes to her property. All suggestions agreed upon by the Planning Commission will be incorporated into the draft General Plan, which will eventually go before the Jackson City Council.  The Planning Commission will continue their review until the next scheduled meeting on April 21st.

Friday marks the first time the Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet in closed session to interview candidates for the Superintendent opening. Interviews of the top candidates will commence around 8am. The School District Board assembled a committee of eight community members last month to assist in the Superintendent selection process. After interviewing candidates for the superintendent position, the committee then provided input to the Board on which candidates they felt were the most qualified. Current Superintendent Mike Carey has announced his retirement for the end of the year.

Young people from the Amador County Youth Coalition joined thousands of kids across the country for Kick Butts Day (KBD), a nationwide initiative that makes kids leaders in the effort to stop youth tobacco use.  As part of the local Kick Butts Day event, Youth Coalition members created a dynamic display illustrating the 1200 deaths that occur every day in the United States to tobacco related diseases. Tobacco statistics indicate that, here in Amador County, at least 1 person loses their life each week due to smoking.

The dynamic display made a striking impression on passing motorists, and one witness said it reminded him of modernist “physical art”. Throughout the year, these young advocates take part in a variety of activities to promote healthy living in our community, including working to develop policies that reduce youth tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke and educating their peers about tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing practices.

New Jackson Ford Mercury generously donated a portion of their fence line yesterday along Highway 49 in Martell for the 17 member Youth Coalition to construct a display.  Youth Coalition members from Ione Junior High, Jackson Junior High, Amador High School and Argonaut High School have worked with many local agencies and businesses to collect the 1200 pairs of shoes. After school, on the afternoon of April 2nd, Youth Coalition representatives will be along the fence line beside their display showcasing their message with youth-created banners and signs.  Each empty pair of shoes represents a life lost every day. For more information about the KBD display along Highway 49 in Martell, contact Diana Evensen at 223-6638 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

When a well-established local gas station like the Beacon on Highway 49 in Jackson closes down, residents take notice. It turns out the closure is only temporary. According to John Luy, the station’s owner, the station is undergoing renovations and is set to reopen as an unmanned station providing 24 hour service to credit card only customers.

Gasoline prices in California are on the rise again after subsiding for a couple of weeks, but a leading consultant is backing away from an earlier prediction that the average price in California will hit $4 this spring. The statewide average did hit an average $3.65 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA. The Sacramento and Amador areas paid $3.65 as well, also a record for the region.

The most expensive gas, among the 25 California markets surveyed daily by AAA, was found in San Francisco and San Luis Obispo: $3.78 a gallon on average. Consultant David Hackett, of Stillwater Associates in Irvine, said gas prices continue to be hostage to the cost of crude oil. The price of crude oil had dipped to around $100 a barrel, leading to a pause in gas prices, but is now going back up again. He noted that California's gas consumption continues to fall, which also takes the edge of prices. Gas sales fell nine-tenths of a percent in 2007, and 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.