Today is Super Tuesday – 24 states including California will cast ballots for presidential primary candidates, and in California, we’ll vote on a handful of propositions. In Amador County, 20,638 people are registered to vote – 9,562 Republicans, 7,232 Democrats. 2,770 are registered as Decline to State – Decline to State voters can ask for Democratic Party or American Independent Party ballots, but they will not be able to cast votes for Republican Primary candidates. Amador County Elections Department says that about 500 more voters are registered in the county since November of last year. That mirrors statewide registration figures – the California Secretary of State reports that 240,000 Californians signed up to vote just since early December. The polls open at 7 am this morning and stay open until 8 tonight.

If you ask California’s high school students, candidates Barack Obama and John McCain should be their parties’ presidential nominees. As reported on TSPN, more than 240,000 students from 450 middle and high schools across the state took part in a mock election to vote for the presidential nominees – including students at Amador High School. The 2008 MyVote California student mock election was sponsored by the Secretary of State’s office and the state superintendent of schools. In the election, students received one ballot that listed all 48 of the candidates that Secretary Bowen has certified for today’s election.

Two major vehicle accidents occurred over the weekend, with one ending in a fatality. The first occurred early Sunday afternoon on Stoney Creek Road north of Buena Vista Road. According to the California Highway Patrol, a 38-year old Stockton man was riding his motorcycle at about 35 mph when he saw gravel in the road, applied his brakes hard, causing his motorcycle to swerve in front of a car driven by a 26-year old Valley Springs woman. She was unable to avoid hitting the motorcyclist head-on – the Stockton man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second accident occurred on Sutter Creek Volcano Road late Sunday afternoon. According to witnesses, the driver of this car drifted off the side of the road east of Greenstone Road, over the embankment until it struck a tree. The driver was said to have been unconscious for some period of time and medics called for a helicopter which took Patricia Jolley, 57, of Sutter Creek to Mercy San Juan Hospital. CHP later arrested Jolley for driving under the influence of alcohol. pm Bill Lavallie contributed to this story. 

 

Revitalization of small historic downtowns is not unique to Amador County. At last Thursday night’s Sutter Creek Business and Professional Association meeting, Murphys Business Association Member Michael Purcell gave a presentation on how the town of Murphys has been revitalized.  Ironically, he stated that 15 years ago, the Association studied Sutter Creek to determine the reasons for the success of its downtown economy. According to Purcell, San Francisco Magazine now calls Murphys “the Sweeter Napa without the attitude,” and he said the New York Times calls Murphys “the best place to retire.”

The Foothill Conservancy is asking for your support in designating a 37 mile stretch of the Mokelumne River as a National Wild and Scenic River. Draft legislation by the Foothill Conservancy has already been prepared in conjunction with Dan Lungren’s office to introduce a US Congressional Bill. The Foothill Conservancy has hired Debbie Dunn as their outreach consultant to inform the public of the impact of the Designation and garner local support to enhance the potential of passing the bill. When asked about the concerns of citizens, Dunn said there were some misunderstandings about what the designation actually means.

The Amador Branch of the American Association of University Women is inviting citizens to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a mother we all can love – Mother Earth. The “Have A Heart” Program, hosted by three local women, is designed to inform citizens on everyday actions that can make our collective footprint on the planet a bit smaller. Michelle Grondin, Manager of the Amador Farmers Market, will discuss how buying local products effects personal, community and global health. Anne Short, a Solid Waste Program Specialist, will give an overview of our county’s solid waste management. Gwen Starrett, Educator with the Amador County Unified School District, will address water issues including landscapes, and what we can do in our backyards, communities and county. The program takes place Thursday, February 14 at the Sutter Creek Community Theatre between 3 and 5pm. The “Have A Heart” program is free and open to the public.

Police in Gilroy arrested two men for arson, burglary and vehicle theft in connection with a crime spree that included a burglary and high speed chase in Amador County in mid-October. According to a story in the Gilroy Dispatch newspaper, Joseph Uvalles, 21 and Robert Cuevas, 32, were arrested Thursday after the Santa Clara County Crime Lab confirmed that DNA evidence linked them to a fire at a Gilroy Budget Rental Car location. They are suspected of burning the car rental office and making off with 2007 Ford F150 last October, Gilroy police detective Mitchell Madruga said.

Ione City Council held a special workshop last Wednesday afternoon to discuss and review the Proposed Pedestrian and Bikeway Projects, which were originally outlined and evaluated in 2005 by the county. The project list however was called into question and the Bike-Ped Pathway Committee of Ione asked that certain projects be re-evaluated and reprioritized, including such items as the Church Street project,(adding sidewalks, widening the paved shoulders, and a multi use path adjacent to Howard Park as many students are utilizing this area) which was given a low priority title but was a very important to the citizens of Ione because of safety issues .

The January survey of the Sierra snowfall season shows the Echo Summit area’s snow pack water content to be about 75 percent better than this time last year. January is typically the wettest month of the water year and this month’s storms have been an excellent shot in the arm to the State’s water supply. According to the Department of Water Resources, January’s precipitation has bolstered the snow pack and made up for a sub-par December. Water Resources reports Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 119% of normal for this date, in the Central Sierra -- 102%, and Southern Sierra -- 122%. The January snow survey is one of five taken throughout the season. Snow-water content is important in determining the coming year's water supply. The information is used by water agencies, hydroelectric power companies, farmers and the recreation industry. The next manual survey is scheduled for early March.

 

Tired of the snow yet? Summer seems like a distant dream during this unusual winter season. More low elevation snow is expected across Northern California this coming week. The Motherlode is expected to see snowfall levels as low as 2,400 feet. One report indicates snowfall as low as 1,500 feet north and just east of the Sacramento Valley. Somewhere between 2 to 5 inches of snow was predicted between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. 

The Amador County Board of Supervisors has revised the public workshop schedule regarding the proposed Buena Vista Rancheria Casino. The Board announced last Tuesday that they have reached a crossroad on the issue and want the public to weigh in on whether to approve the tribe’s proposed agreement or continue to litigate. Workshops will be held in various locations to present the county’s options and get public input. The revised schedule for the Buena Vista Rancheria Casino workshops will be held Wednesday, Feb 6, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Evelyn Bishop Hall in Ione, CA; Wednesday, Feb. 13, 6:30-8:30pm at the Oaks Mobile Home Park  in Buena Vista; Saturday, Feb 16, 1pm-3pm: Amador County Administration Building, Board Chambers in Jackson; Tuesday Feb. 19, 6:30pm-8:30pm:  Pine Grove Town Hall in Pine Grove and on Wednesday Feb. 20, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Plymouth City Hall in Plymouth.