A car fire on Hwy 88 at Hurricane Hill caused a Major Meltdown Sunday! A vehicle headed East on Hwy 88 caught fire and was fully involved in flames by the time firefighters arrived. The fire was extinguished and confined to the engine compartment and front end, but the car was a total loss. Witnesses say the driver stated that a friend had borrowed the car and caused front-end damage to the vehicle.  Firefighters suspect that damage caused an electrical short, which in turn caused the battery to overheat and the car’s wiring to catch fire. There were no injuries. CHP was still investigating. A Bill Lavallie story         

On Saturday afternoon, a Pioneer woman was seriously injured when her speeding car ended up in a parking lot. Upon arrival at the scene, Jackson police discovered a late model Ford Explorer belonging to Ruth Neal, 74, of Pioneer, in the parking lot of the Jackson Auto Body Shop, where the Explorer had collided with two parked cars. Neal was found inside the vehicle at the very back of the car above the right rear wheel-well. She appeared to have suffered major head injuries and had to be extricated from the vehicle by Jackson Fire Department, Cal-Fire, and American Legion Ambulance medics.

There’s lots of interest and talk about foreclosures in Amador County – but how bad is the situation here? There’s a mix of statistics, but generally the news is not so good. Foreclosures are on the increase in Amador County, but we are faring much better than surrounding communities, according to Cathy Yochheim of Realty World Motherlode in Jackson. Yochheim said that Stockton and Sacramento areas are some of the worst hit areas in U.S. Stockton was rated #1 in foreclosures nationwide, while Sacramento was rated #6. Current foreclosures in northern Sacramento County alone are over 1,950, and Stockton is reporting 1,040. Amador County, on the other hand, has only seen 40 foreclosures for the year to date.

State Senator Dave Cox will be the opening speaker at Wednesday night’s session of Amador Government 101 the ongoing workshop series being offered by decision and policy makers to help the general public better understand Amador County Government. Senator Cox was so impressed by the workshops being held to allow local citizens an opportunity to hear how our local government works, he asked to be able to speak at this week’s informative event.

Water and Sewer rates have dominated discussions throughout the local government meetings and tonight’s Jackson City Council meeting is not exception. On the agenda, at the request of Citizen Marilyn Lewis, is an item on the proposed water and sewer rate increase. The request is in response to the City’s notification, dated September 25, 2007 that a public hearing has been scheduled on November 13th to consider rate increases for the City of Jackson’s water and sewer system. The notification cites the proposed increase as being 8.5% for all water customers and 17.5% for residential and commercial customers.

At approximately 12:30pm last Friday reports of a fire in the area of Amador Lane and Tabeaud Road were reported. Initial reports stated that it did not appear to be an oversized burn pile but an uncontrolled grass fire. A quick check for smoke in the area, had units responding code 3 to the fire and they soon realized an accident. Crews arrived on scene and immediately started working on the small grass fire, while the CHP questioned what appeared to be an intoxicated man.

The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors will be honoring soon to be former Director Dan Brown at their Thursday meeting. Director Brown just recently resigned when he announced that he would be moving out of his district and could no longer hold the title of Director of District 4. The Board of Directors will be adopting a resolution both highlighting and honoring his achievements while on the Board of Directors. Also to appear on the agenda is a presentation by Stantec Consulting Inc. on the proposed Tanner Water Treatment Plant expansion. The Board has identified the expansion as a positive one in previous meetings. The following agenda item before the Board is whether or not to authorize Jim Abercrombie, the General Manager, to enter into a contract with Stantec Consulting to explore the project and all that is involved.

Amador County Waste Management Department is offering special one-day waste tire collection events at three convenient locations. The first is Saturday October 27th from 10am to 12pm at Plymouth Elementary School. The second, Saturday, November 3 from 10-12 at Airport Road in Jackson and the last on Saturday, November 10th from 10-12 at Howard Park in Ione. Amador County residents may bring up to nine passenger or light truck tires without rims to one scheduled collection event for proper disposal and recycling. Space is limited, therefore, industrial, farming, or heavy equipment tires will not be accepted. This event is for residential use only and not available to tire dealers, shops, or other commercial businesses. Sorry, there are no exceptions to these restrictions.

In other Recycling news, the Amador County Waste Management Department and local students are teaming up in a fun and innovative project. In observation of America Recycles Day, November 15th, the Waste Management Department has invited county students to participate in an art exhibit using only recycled materials.  The project, called “The Art of Recycling” presents a fun, completely free, creative way for students to help educate the community on the benefits of recycling in Amador County. Students must have their artwork completed by the end of the school day on Friday November 9th. All the creative artwork will be displayed at "The Art of Recycling" exhibit available for public viewing at the County Administration Center at 810 Court Street in Jackson on November 15th.  If you have any questions or would like to become involved, please contact the Waste Management Department at 223-6429.