Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-27-11

·       The Amador County Board of Supervisors initiated giving replica train engine to Colorado historical group in exchange for a $5,000 donation.

·       Jackson City Council looks at ACRA’s Oro De Amador park survey.

·       Amador Water Agency approved a joint fire hydrant inspection program with AFPD, and county fire agencies.

·       Operation Care urges Amador County residents to wear jeans this Month and especially today on Denim Day.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-27-11

·       The Amador County Board of Supervisors initiated giving replica train engine to Colorado historical group in exchange for a $5,000 donation.

·       Jackson City Council looks at ACRA’s Oro De Amador park survey.

·       Amador Water Agency approved a joint fire hydrant inspection program with AFPD, and county fire agencies.

·       Operation Care urges Amador County residents to wear jeans this Month and especially today on Denim Day.

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed staff to prepare to donate the replica train engine to a Colorado historical train group in exchange for a $5,000 donation to fill the hole it will leave on the ground of the Amador County Museum grounds.

The train would be donated to the Durango Railroad Historical Society of Durango, Colorado, whose president, George Niederauer told of the historical significance of the old movie prop. He said the wooden replica was modeled after the Rio Grand Southern Number 20, and the two trains “starred in the 1950 movie, ‘A Ticket to Tomahawk,’” a train film shot in Durango. The San Juan Mountains had films made form 1948-1957 and in 1952, Durango was called the “Hollywood of the Rockies.”

Niederauer said the wooden model, Emma Sweeney, was built for about $30,000. It was sold from a movie studio lot for $1,000 in 1960. County GSA Director John Hopkins said Emma Sweeney was donated to Amador County in 1979.

The train will join the club’s real train a Durango & Rio Grande Number 315 which is restored and fully operational. The Emma Sweeney was modeled for the RGS 20, which is in Pennsylvania and is being restored for the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.

Amador County Museum Curator Georgia Fox said she read Niederauer’s proposal “and reluctantly agree with it.” But she thought the Durango group should be asked to make a $10,000 donation. She emphasized safety if the Emma Sweeney was removed, and it would leave “an empty nest on the historical ground.”

The $5,000 donation was noted by Niederauer to be made “to the Amador County Historical Society to support placing a more historically relevant object in the pavilion.”

Supervisors directed Hopkins to draft terms and conditions of the donation, including that the Durango organization would pay for removal, and restoration of the grounds and property for any impacts. They also requested a “good faith effort” by the Durango organization to look for a trade item that could be of more significant historical importance to Amador County, especially to Sutter Creek and the Knight Foundry, or possibly related to mining.

Niederauer said he would have to ask his board about a larger donation, and he said he really did not know about foundry or mining history. Supervisor Louis Boitano, a Knight Foundry board member, invited Niederauer to tour the foundry Tuesday afternoon. Boitano said purchase and inventory records at Knight Foundry could show some potential places to look for items. He also had a vintage product catalogue to show examples of the product line.

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Amador County – Jackson City Council decided Monday night that it needs more surveys to reflect a wider demographic of the population, after seeing a preliminary report of a survey of recreation needs and desires at the Oro De Amador park in Jackson.

Amador County Recreation Agency conducted the survey toward a Proposition 84 grant, and ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep discussed the findings. She said it was hard to get respondents. Most people respond favorably to her requests, but declined her staff’s requests for surveys.

Vice Mayor Keith Sweet said 41 percent of the respondents were under the age of 18, and that it needed a more “middle aged” demographic responses. He said the Prop 84 application was “dinged” in the past for not having a survey, and he feared they may be dinged again for the demographics missing the middle ages. Sweet said “unfortunately, 10-year-olds might be paying taxes by the time we’re into it.” Sweet said the survey might be able to be better used if they look at the results without the 41 percent juvenile respondents.

City Manager Mike Daly said he thought “it would help to get the additional demographics.” He said Prop 84 workshops emphasized sustainability and water efficiency to be included in the projects.

Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked if they could meld an Oro De Amador park project with the expensive wastewater plant improvements they need. Daly said “that was part of Option C” in wastewater considerations, but it would require getting to a “tertiary level of treatment,” which was too costly an option. Daly said a “purple pipe” or reclaimed water system could be considered to deliver to the park.

Councilman Pat Crew said one problem he encountered in pushing the surveys was that people “have no concept of the Oro De Amador” property and location. They understand when he mentions that it’s “the old Wheel Development.” Daly said it is linked to the city’s website. Towner-Yep said “people have heard of it but they haven’t heard of it called that.” The survey showed 62 percent of respondents had never heard of Oro De Amador.

She said surveys during the freezing Dandelion Days were not as productive. Sweet said service groups could be a good place to get additional survey responses. Towner-Yep said she tried to get the Native Sons of the Golden West to take surveys, but she received one survey “with all of the club’s opinions.” Sweet said they could probably get 100 more surveys, from visits to Amador Council of Tourism, Jackson Business and Community Association, and Jackson Rotary.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency and county fire agencies last month approved a joint fire hydrant inspection program to tend to the more than 1,000 hydrants the agency oversees in Amador County.

The Agency announced the decision March 30th, saying it had been working with Amador Fire Protection District and other county fire agencies to develop a cooperative program of fire hydrant inspections. In its late March meeting, the AWA Board of Directors approved a policy of guidelines and forms for the project.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said “Amador Fire Protection District staff will make inspections of AWA-owned fire hydrants in the district.” He said the “inspection program will help alert the Agency to problems with hydrants or other fire protection equipment.” Mancebo said the Water Agency has had informal relationships with some of the fire agencies, but the AWA Board asked for a formal policy.

AFPD Battalion Chief Dave Bellerive said later that the agencies are working together on a plan that will “ensure that the fire hydrants we have are in good working order.”

Mancebo said there are about 1,053 AWA hydrants in Amador County. The Agency has begun the task of identifying each hydrant by its GPS coordinates, but has not completed that project due to reduced staffing levels and budget constraints. Agency crews currently inspect hydrants on an as-needed basis. In some of the county’s water systems, hydrant repairs are being deferred for lack of funds.

During discussion, Directors Paul Molinelli Senior of District 1, and Art Toy of District 5, said they supported a formal hydrant inventory and maintenance program, and an understanding of the cost involved in such an effort, before adopting a policy involving other agencies, Mancebo said. The policy was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Molinelli and Toy dissenting.

Also in late March, the AWA Directors voted to hold a workshop aimed at rental property owners on the issue of tenant billing for water and wastewater service. Mancebo said more than 900 Agency customers, about 11 percent, are renters.

“The current policy of billing tenants directly for water and wastewater services has become a costly burden on the Agency, due to tenant turnover and delinquencies,” Mancebo said.

Currently, liens against property for unpaid Agency bills total more than $150,000. Property owners are ultimately responsible for water and wastewater bills and penalties, but the Agency has been billing and attempting collections from renters as a courtesy service.

AWA staff proposed to stop billing tenants during the last budget process as a potential cost reduction. Directors want to hear from rental property owners before making a decision and will schedule a public workshop on the matter within 60 days.

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Amador County – April is nationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Amador County’s Operation Care encourages community participation to decide to end sexual violence, and help by participating in Denim Day of today, that is Wednesday, April 27th.

The goal is to encourage everyone in Amador County to learn about sexual violence, how to help prevent it, and how to help survivors heal. The organization urges employers to allow their staff to break the dress code and the silence by wearing jeans during the month of April, and especially on Denim Day, Wednesday April 21st.

Why Denim? “Wearing jeans during April is a symbol of protest of harmful attitudes about rape in response to an Italian Supreme Court decision to overturn a rape conviction because the victim wore jeans. The decision did not recognize that coercion, threats and force are a part of the act of rape.”

The Italian Supreme Court dismissed charges against a 45-year-old rape suspect because his 18-year old victim was wearing jeans at the time of the attack. The Court stated in its decision that “It is common knowledge...that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the effective help of the person wearing them...and it is impossible if the victim is struggling with all her might.”

The unpopular verdict became an international symbol of myth-based injustice for sexual assault victims.

Operation Care provides hospital response, advocacy, accompaniment, and peer counseling for survivors for sexual assault victims.

For more information call Operation Care at (209) 223-2897, or its 24-hour crisis line (209) 223-2600. Talk to a counselor, call toll-free, 1(800) 675-3392.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-27-11 - Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster with the Supervisor Report on the meeting of 4-26-11.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-27-11: "Today's Seniors" host Laurie Webb sits down with Nikki Allen of the Sutter Amador Hospital to discuss the Hospitalist Program as well as the hospital's emergency room expansion.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-27-11 - Wendy Fritz of United Hoem Care sits down with "Today's Seniors" host Laurie Webb to discuss three types of services that are offered by United Home Care.