Three flu shot clinics for seniors will be held this Thursday. Amador County Public Health is holding an early bird clinic Thursday at 6:45 - 7:30 a.m. at the Public Health office at 1003 Broadway, Suite 203, Jackson. From 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., another clinic will be held at Our Lady of the Pines Church off Tiger Creek Road, Pioneer, and then Thursday afternoon from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., at Upcountry Community Center 19999 Highway 88, Pine Grove.

Snow in the mountains overnight and temperatures in Jackson down to 30 degrees Sunday night has skiers and snowboarders looking up the mountain, wondering when Kirkwood will open. Kirkwood received 5 inches of snow in the last storm for a total of 12 – 20” so far this season. Kirkwood usually opens in mid-November -- this year the scheduled opening day is November 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Holiday cooks may have to look for a substitute for their favorite crab recipes -- Commercial crabbers set to begin their season this week voted Saturday to delay the opening of crab season and are asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to close the waters outside the Golden Gate to the take of Dungeness crab by sport fishermen, as well. Captains and crew from commercial crabbing boats met in San Francisco to talk about the impacts of 58-thousand gallons of heavy oil into San Francisco Bay after a ship crashed into the Bay Bridge. The oil has spread to beaches all along the San Francisco waterfront and surged out the Golden Gate, fouling a 40-mile stretch of shoreline. As of Sunday morning, the mess has contaminated at least 23 beaches in the region, and killed or injured hundreds of birds.

The local Parkinson’s disease support group will host a presentation by Barry Smith, Coordinator of the Mother Lode Office of Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living  or DRAIL. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, the disease is a brain disorder where certain brain cells die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce the chemical dopamine, which allows smooth, coordinated movement.  When about 80 percent of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson's appear, including tremors, slowness, rigidity, poor balance, small and cramped handwriting, muffled speech and depression.

Anyone who works with children may want to attend a free training workshop on reporting child abuse or neglect. Childcare providers, clergy and church staff, teachers, or volunteers who work with children, may all be in a position to suspect child abuse or neglect. The Amador County Child Abuse Prevention Council will present a free Child Abuse & Neglect Mandated Reporter Training workshop on Wednesday, November 14, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the County Administrative Center, Conference Room C. Professionals who are mandated to report suspected child abuse and neglect, as well as volunteers and others who work with children are encouraged to attend. ACCAPC uses training materials provided by the State Attorney General’s office. Please R.S.V.P. to the ACCAPC so that enough training handouts will be available. 223-5921 or email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">'+addy_text1624+'<\/a>'; //--> . Additional workshops will be scheduled as requested.

Today services will continue in celebration of our countries veterans who have and continue to serve and sacrifice for American citizens. Originally Armistice Day, November 11th was the day when our Allied Nations and Germany agreed to end their horrific fighting in World War I.   It is a celebration to recognize America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. In observance of the November 11th Holiday TSPN would like to remind you that all schools, county government, banks and public offices will observe the holiday today by closing and many local businesses will be closed as well. In honor of Veterans Holiday American Legion Post 108 is urging you to fly your flags and thank someone who has served or is serving our country in the military.

Thanks to a quick thinking employee and an arrest by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office a burglary suspect was captured and an unsolved burglary case in Modesto solved. On Monday November 5, at approximately 6:15 am, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a burglary at the Cemex Plant at 6080 Jackson Valley Road in Ione.  The caller reported that a female subject wearing dark clothing was observed hiding in the bushes near the plant.  The female subject reportedly fled the area after being approached by Cemex Plant personnel, but before the subject fled, one of the employees was able to photograph the female with his cellular telephone.

And in other Amador County Sheriff news Sheriff Martin A. Ryan has issued a public service announcement warning all Amador County Citizens against fraud. He wishes to inform the public of a telephone scam which has again come to the attention of law enforcement.  To date, the Sherriff’s office has not received reports of this scam being perpetrated within Amador County, but the Sherriff wants to be sure that local residents are aware of the possible danger.  The scam involves a suspect contacting a citizen via telephone.  The suspect identifies himself/herself as a jury coordinator for the local court and states that the court is inquiring why the citizen did not appear for jury duty as required by law. 

An accident east of Hams station early yesterday afternoon impeded traffic on Hwy. 88. At approximately 1pm a call came into the 911 dispatch that a truck and trailer had tipped on Hwy. 88 just east of Hams Station. While no injuries were reported, the truck and trailer had rolled off to the side of the road blocking traffic around a curve in the roadway proving to be a traffic hazard. The CHP immediately responded to the scene and helped keep traffic moving until the accident scene was cleared.

Amador Fire Protection District’s calls continue to climb with Battalion 10 and 20 responding to 132 incidents in October up from 118 calls in September.  While the month before 77 of the 118 calls accounted for medical aides, in October that number was down 10 with only 67 of the 132 calls being for medical aid. Also the Battalions responded to 26 incidents involving vehicle accidents. Medical aides and vehicle accidents accounted for the majority of the months calls at 70% of the call totals.19 of the incidents were fire related: with 7 structure fires up 6 from the previous month, 3 vehicle fires, 8 vegetation fires and 1 dumpster fire.  The AFPD reports that this month 56% of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.