Many visitors to the fair this year may have noticed just how busy it seemed. With big ticket events such as the motorcycle and destruction derbies, and good old fashioned rodeo drawing large crowds, the fair this year ended up being a big hit with tourists and locals alike. Although final fair numbers are not officially in, Amador County Fair CEO Troy Bowers says the “early numbers are very positive,” and added that so far, they are “about on track with last year.” Bowers added that final fair numbers are due out sometime next week, and TSPN will have all the details.

The Amador Regional Planning Committee met Thursday evening to consider holding a public workshop in order to discuss “Revenue and Impact Sharing” in Amador County. This item had been discussed at previous Regional Planning Meetings, specifically regarding the search for a facilitator and funding for the workshop. Sean Rabe, Assistant City Manager of Sutter Creek, said that he had spoken to the Center for Collaborative Policy, a joint project between CSU Sacramento and the McGeorge School of Law, regarding the idea of a revenue and impact sharing policy. He stated that those at the center felt it was a “great project”, but were apprehensive to become involved in any sort of study or funding if a working policy was not a guaranteed result. Neighboring counties have also discussed the need for a policy regarding these issues but, according to those at the meeting, it had never been formally adopted or applied.

Also discussed at the Planning Committee meeting were a set of guidelines prepared and submitted by Sutter Creek City Council Representative Tim Murphy. The guidelines are intended to open communications between jurisdictions which “go beyond the minimum required by CEQA to share the positive as well as to mitigate the negative impacts of specific projects.” The guidelines would be applied at the discretion of the respective cities or county as deemed appropriate, and would not be enforced by the Regional Planning Committee. The draft, which was also referred to as a working draft, was divided into 6 sections. The first section established the possibility of sharing sales tax between two jurisdictions for a fixed period of time to mitigate the revenue lost if an existing business moved from one jurisdiction to another.

Other sections required a fiscal impact study for any residential or mixed use development which requires an EIR, and considered sharing the sales taxes generated between impacted jurisdictions for all new major projects. Another suggestion was renegotiating the property tax split between the impacted cities and the county in order to make the new project more fiscally sound for the city. Ted Novelli spoke on behalf of the county regarding the sharing of taxes, reminding the committee that the county has “more mouths to feed and would require more of a share.” Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla stated that she “assumed that the lion would get the lions share”, referring to the city she represents. The committee felt some additions may be necessary and will discuss the item further at their next meeting on August 20th at 7pm.

Amador County resident Lee R. Winton has joined Cosumnes River College as an Assistant Professor of Fire Technology. Winton most recently served as the Deputy Chief for the Amador El Dorado Unit of Cal Fire before retiring in June 2008. Winton, who has 34 years of fire service experience, will teach not only at the CRC main campus but also at the Amador Learning Center beginning August 27. "I'm really excited to be teaching in Amador County," said Lee Winton, Assistant Professor of Fire Technology. "Being a local resident and 31-year veteran of Cal Fire and having served more than 18 years in the Amador County area, I feel this opportunity gives me the chance to share my experiences with current and future fire service professionals and students." Students interested in the FT 300 course may enroll online at www.crc.losrios.edu. Anyone with questions may contact the CRC Careers & Technology division office at 916-691-7391 for more information.

An appellate court on Friday said parents have the right to educate their children at home despite not having a teaching credential. The 44-page decision by the Los Angeles Second District Court of Appeals declared that “California statutes permit home-schooling as a species of private-school education.” It is a reversal of a March ruling by Justice H. Walter Croskey that parents without teaching credentials do not have a constitutional right to teach their children in a home-school setting. The ruling also jeopardized some independent-study programs. “I am pleased that the courts have clarified the right of California parents to home-school their children,” said Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of public instruction. “I have respected the right of parents to make educational decisions they feel are in the best interest of their children.”

The original ruling sent waves of indignation through the state’s massive home-schooling community, estimated at 160,000 students. The March ruling stemmed from a case involving children enrolled in an independent-study program through Sylmar-based Sunland Christian School. The parents, Phillip and Mary Long, were referred to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services for numerous allegations, including physical abuse. The children were educated at home by their mother and occasionally attended Sunland. A lawyer for the children requested they be placed in a full-time school where they could be better monitored, and the Second District Court of Appeals eventually agreed. Friday’s ruling does not affect the Long case, which is still winding its way through court. California law requires those who wish to home-school their children to file paperwork with the California Department of Education declaring themselves a private school. Parents must also hire private tutors or enroll their children in an independent-study program. Filing the affidavit doesn’t automatically certify a home-school as a private school, and the CDE leaves oversight of home-schools and independent-study programs to the individual school districts.

District Attorney Todd Riebe announced yesterday that Justin John Massaro, 20, of Pine Grove has been arrested in connection with a plot to frame his former girlfriend by planting controlled substances in her vehicle, which resulted in her arrest by police. The Jackson woman was arrested last month when police, acting on a tip, searched her car in a Jackson parking lot and found multiple pills of Ecstasy, or MDMA, a controlled substance. A male caller claimed he had observed the woman purchase the illegal drugs and provided police with a specific description of the vehicle and its location.

A follow up investigation by an experienced agent from the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team determined the evidence pointed in a direction away from the woman as a suspect and, in fact, indicated she was the victim of a set-up. The investigation led to Massaro, who admitted his involvement and explained how he had purchased the pills and drove them to the woman’s place of work where he planted them in her vehicle. Massaro told the agent he waited until the woman left work before he called the police to report the alleged crime. Massaro now faces several felony counts, including false imprisonment by fraud and deceit and transportation and possession of controlled substances. Massaro posted a 20,000 dollar bond for release from jail and is scheduled to appear in Amador County Superior Court on August 8, 2008. The District Attorney’s Office has declined to file any charges against the woman based on all the facts of the case.

The 2008 Argonaut High School football season starts on August 15th, but players are wasting no time in preparing for the occasion. 31 Varsity players, consisting of 12 seniors and 19 juniors, are undergoing vigorous conditioning and weight training during the off season. Head Coach Rick Davis and Assistant Coach Gary Landergen are pushing their team to be the best it can be. The students typical exercise regimen involves parking their cars by the old Safeway and running up Hoffman Street to the school’s football field, then running back down to go home. The other half of their conditioning centers on weight training in the school gym. Landergen is impressed with the team thus far, calling them “awesome.” One of the team’s most promising players this year is first string quarterback John Hickman, who, weighing in at 205 pounds, proves to be a formidable opponent. Also preparing for the upcoming season are the Junior Mustang Cheerleaders. 44 girls are participating this year, compared to 25 last season. According to Coach Lisa Gaebe, cheerleading is a great way for young girls to stay healthy, active, and in good spirits. Stay tuned to TSPN for more details on the upcoming football season.

Also at Tuesday’s board meeting, Michelle Hampton, the new public information officer for Mule Creek State Prison, introduced herself to the board. Hampton said that she has worked at Mule Creek for 22 years, and was delighted with her new position. With Hampton was Jean Walker, the Community Partnership Manager at Mule Creek. Walker expressed that under Mule Creek’s new warden, Mike Martel, the prison will be doing more community outreach, and will be doing more to keep the public informed. For more information on Mule Creek State Prison, you can visit the Department of Corrections website at www.cdcr.ca.gov.

The Board of Supervisors heard a letter of public convenience this week from MCD Pine Acres resort, as part of an application to sell beer and wine at the newly established Jellystone Park in Pine Grove. The applicant hopes to build a convenience store on site which will make alcohol available to people at the campsite, as well as members of the general public. At the meeting however, planning director Susan Grijalva noted that there were items in the application that gave her some concern. Namely, she wasn’t sure if the convenience store planned conforms to the limitations of the legal nonconforming section of the park’s conditional use permit. Grijalva expressed that she did not wish to mislead the applicant into thinking that the way was clear, when there may be some stumbling blocks down the road in the application process. Grijalva then said that she would research the situation, and report back to the board in two weeks.  

The U. S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, has just announced that small, non-farm businesses in 18 California counties may now apply for low interest disaster loans. These disaster loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by adverse weather conditions in the primary counties including Amador County, announced Alfred E. Judd, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center in the West. Small businesses in Amador County may apply for working capital loans to offset economic losses attributable to freezing temperatures between April 19th and April 25th.

Small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs, of up to $2 million dollars. By law, SBA makes EIDLs available when the Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster. Secretary Ed Schafer declared these disasters at the request of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans…are restricted to small businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship,” Judd said. Information and application forms are available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling (800)659 2955, or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..