Local fallen soldier Private First Class Jay-D Ornsby Adkins will be returning home this Saturday afternoon. Ione Mayor Jerry Sherman and Police Chief Bob Olson will be accompanying the family of Ornsby-Adkins to Mather Air Force base in Sacramento where the family will bring Ornsby Adkins home for burial. Please join the community, family and friends of Private First Class Ornsby Adkins in honoring him with a procession down Main Street Ione at approximately 12:30 pm Saturday. Services for the soldier will be held at 10 am on Wednesday at the Church of the Nazarene on Ridge Rd in Sutter Creek. Because of the crowds expected to honor Ornby-Adkins, parking will also be offered at the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, also located on Ridge Rd. The Jackson Rancheria Casino will provide busing between the churches beginning at 9am. Burial will follow the service at the Garden of Valor at the Sunset Cemetery. A reception will then be held at the Evalyn Bishop Hall in Howard Park, Ione for a celebration of Ornsby-Adkins life.

A local teen has made a boisterous proposition – to bike ride 100 miles around Lake Tahoe. According to those who know her best, she is fully capable of doing so. Amador County resident Krysta Dremel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in 2003, when she was only 16. In her words, “I was just a regular kid at Argonaut High School; cancer was the last thing on my mind. I did most things other high school kids do, until I got sick.” When she was first diagnosed she had already developed many complications. “I was on a roller coaster of chemo for three years after that,” she said

The draft 2008 – 2009 Amador County Unified School District calendar is available for review. An earlier draft of next year’s school calendar was roundly criticized by teachers and parents at a recent school board meeting – for starting too early in August, for a 24-day-long winter break and too many multiple day weekend holidays that critics said would disrupt classroom teaching and learning.

Yesterday, with a heated discussion, the Board of Supervisors considered their membership and funding of the Amador County Chamber of Commerce. The agenda item was prompted, according to Supervisor Forster because “this is the third time that the Chamber has taken an action that is contrary to the board’s position on the validity of (the) Buena Vista (Tribe’s) efforts to build a casino.” Forster elaborated on the situation later by saying, “One was the vendor fair held by the tribe that (Executive Director) Jacqueline Lucido helped to organize and sponsor even though she claimed to have not.” He said Lucido, on the contrary, was very public and seen in pictures as being a part of the function.

Tonight’s scheduled Sutter Creek City Council and Jackson Planning Commission meetings have been cancelled, but Ione City Council will be working on a full agenda Tuesday night. Michael L. Johnson has been selected to fill the position of chief of police for Ione. The City conducted a nationwide search for police chief and received 23 applications. Seven applicants were offered interviews and six applicants attended the interview. After being selected by the interview committee, Johnson passed the necessary background investigation, psychological and medical evaluations. Johnson currently is a K-9 officer and is a certified narcotic detective. City Council is expected to approve the appointment of Johnson and the terms for his employment agreement Tuesday night.

Sutter Creek held its 1st Christmas "Parade of Lights", on Saturday. Main Street Sutter Creek was a spectacle of illumination – people decorated themselves -- their dogs, antique cars and trucks, bicycles built for two, and more. Our local public servants enthusiastically took on the challenge of lighting up buses, fire engines and heavy equipment. Of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus would not miss such a festive parade-- they rode in a horse drawn carriage with local children in tow. Parade entrants were very creative,  putting together an hour-long, holiday themed parade. All the while, bubbles filled the air and amplified the twinkly lights up and down Main Street. The Parade of Lights is sure to become a much anticipated annual event.

The state of California is 4 months behind in funding reimbursements for Amador County Mental Health and Drug & Alcohol Services – and we are not alone. In a joint effort by several rural counties to acquire earmarked but delinquent funds from the State, Trinity County Board of Supervisors is spearheading an initiative to apply pressure on the State of California to reimburse funds. In a letter to the California Department of Metal Health, Trinity County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff Morris stated that “Trinity County cannot afford to continue to finance the State’s obligation.

An ACES Waste Services truck driver was injured Friday morning when he was struck by a small garbage truck. According to the CHP report, the driver had left the truck to pick up a garbage can on Ridge Road when he realized his truck was rolling backwards. The driver attempted to re-enter the truck to put on the brakes and stop the truck, but he was struck by the open door of the truck and knocked to the ground. The ACES driver was transported to Sutter Amador Hospital with minor injuries. The truck continued down the hill until it struck a tree. Fortunately, no one else was hurt and no other cars were involved in the accident.

The Amador County Girls Softball Association registration for the 2008 season is now open. The Amador County Girls Softball Association is a fun, recreational softball league for girls age 5 to 14 who reside in Amador County.  Practices begin in early March and the season runs through the end of May.  Registration forms are available at Play It Again Sports in Jackson or at Jackson City Hall.  On-site registration will be available on Saturday, January 12 from 10 am to 2 pm at Play It Again Sports or at the Jackson Civic Center on Thursday, January 17 from 5pm to 8pm.  The registration deadline is January 31, 2008.  Registration forms and other ACGSA information can be downloaded from their web site at http://acgsa.home.comcast.net.  Or for more information, please call the voicemail line at 267-1356.

With another winter storm headed our way, PG&E reminds viewers that the combination of strong winds and heavy rain could result in trees, tree limbs and other vegetation coming into contact with overhead power lines and interrupting electric service to customers. If customers experience a power outage, they should call PG&E’s outage information line at 1-800-PGE-5002 to report the outage or to get updates on power restoration efforts in their area. Calling this line is the most efficient way to get updated outage information.