Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-25-11

·       Congressman Dan Lungren announced plans for a Town Hall meeting Saturday, April 30, in Angels Camp.

·       The Amador Regional Sanitation Authority will consider hiring a long-term wastewater planning engineer.

·       The Jackson Rancheria Casino last week announced the return of the mixed martial arts Global Knock-Out.

·       Regional troops celebrated national Girl Scout Leader’s Day.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-25-11

·       Congressman Dan Lungren announced plans for a Town Hall meeting Saturday, April 30, in Angels Camp.

·       The Amador Regional Sanitation Authority will consider hiring a long-term wastewater planning engineer.

·       The Jackson Rancheria Casino last week announced the return of the mixed martial arts Global Knock-Out.

·       Regional troops celebrated national Girl Scout Leader’s Day.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-25-11 - Supervisor Richard Forster sits down with Tom Slivick to discuss the agenda for the upcoming board of supervisors meeting.

Amador County – Congressman Dan Lungren, (R-District 3) who represents Amador County, will be hosting a Town Hall meeting in Calaveras County this week, and will also call in to TSPN to give a Congressional Update.

Lungren is scheduled to appear via telephone on Tuesday’s TSPN TV News program in the noon hour, and plans to give a Congressional Update. He could also discuss Budget negotiations, and the Debt Ceiling.

Lungren plans a Town Hall meeting 10:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 30 in the Tom Sawyer Hall at the Calaveras County Fair Grounds, 101 Frogtown Road in Angels Camp. He announced the Town Hall in a mailer, encouraging people to “ask your questions” and “make your voice heard.”

The “Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011,” introduced by Lungren, was approved April 5 by the U.S. Senate on an 87-12 vote. After first passing the House, the bill has been sent on to the President for his signature.

Lungren in the circular said: “Our economy needs job creators more than ever and that is my priority. Removing uncertainty and obstacles to that goal – such as unnecessary IRS paperwork mandates – gives the small business community the confidence it needs to plan expansion and hire workers to get the job done.”

He said he is “working to address the fiscal health of the country,” and the growing government debt has become “our biggest national security threat,” according to Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Lungren said: “I believe we must change the way we view the people’s money and Washington’s culture of spending. Before the leadership of the House changed hands, the Democrat majority in the last Congress failed to even produce a budget. Rather than take the steps necessary to address the unsustainable debt and deficit crisis facing our contry, the last Congress punted.”

He said recently, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) “introduced a budget that aims to cut spending by more than $6 trillion dollars over the next decade. His plan includes recommendations from the President’s debt commission who released their report at the end of last year.”

Lungren said: “We must reduce the spiraling growth of government in order to increase job creation and create an environment for sustainable economic growth. The good news is there is still time to fix our future fiscal problems gradually and set the country on a sustainable course.”

He said: “If we don’t take prompt action then more painful decisions await us in the not too distant future. It is paramount we face the music now and bring our spending under control. Preserving these programs for future generations to come is our duty.”

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Amador County – The Amador Regional Sanitation Authority board of directors this week will consider hiring a long-term wastewater planning engineer, from a firm that currently works for the city of Sutter Creek.

ARSA’s board meets 10 a.m. Wednesday in Sutter Creek, and the agenda includes a status update on Henderson Dam, and issues related to the Division of Safety of Dams. The board will also discuss authorization for “wastewater facility planning services” under a current city contract with Weber, Ghio & Associates (WGA).

City Manager and ARSA Manager Sean Rabe in a report for this week’s meeting recommended the ARSA board authorize him to hire Gary Ghio of WGA for “wastewater disposal planning services.” Rabe said “issues that are critical to the long-term survival of ARSA” have arisen with the Division of Safety of Dams, and the city of Ione. He said the “issues include long-term planning for the system that current staff cannot perform, having another voice to represent ARSA before DSOD, and seeking out potential funding sources for capital improvements.”

Rabe said “Gary Ghio serves as district engineer for a number of utility districts and has significant experience in obtaining funding sources.” He said “because the city is contracted for management services with ARSA, Ghio can be retained under the current city contract with WGA.”

He recommended “an initial not-to-exceed authorization of $5,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year, with evaluation at the beginning of next fiscal year of the engineering budget.” He recommended the contingency fund pay for the contract.

The ARSA board at its March 23rd meeting selected Sutter Creek Councilman Jim Swift as its chairman, and Supervisor Richard Forster as vice chairman. Other board members are Councilman John Swift of Amador City, Supervisor Louis Boitano and Sutter Creek City Mayor Tim Murphy.

A “water balance” report for the ARSA wastewater storage ending in March listed monthly rainfall since October of 2010 totaled 30.8 inches, including 8 inches of rain in March, 5.2 inches in February, and 6 inches last December.

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Amador County – The popular phenomenon of Global Knockout mixed martial arts fighting will return to the ring in the new wing of the Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel with a fight date set for June.

Global Knock-Out returns with a vengeance called the “Back Lot Beatdown,” set for Saturday, June 25, with an as-yet unset card of fights. Carol Cook, content developer for the Jackson Rancheria Marketing Department, announced the fight date promotion last week. The fights will be held in the new event area next to the Hotel. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the fights begin at 6 p.m.

Cook said Jackson Rancheria began producing Global Knock-Out events in 2007 and has presented some of the best fights and fighters in the region. Tickets are $35 for general admission, $50 for floor seats, and $100 for ringside. Tickets may only be purchased at the Dreamcatcher’s Club booth in Jackson Rancheria Casino or by phone with a credit card. Call (800) 822-WINN, ext. 6148 to get tickets by phone. Tickets may be purchased at the booth with cash, credit cards, or Dreamcatcher’s Club points. There are no additional fees or charges for the tickets.

Each ticket includes free Point Play at the Casino. People must be 18 years old to purchase tickets. No one under 18 is allowed at the event unless accompanied by an adult. No alcohol served at this event.

For more details, including the fight card, as it becomes available, visit GlobalKnockOut.com.

Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel is located at 12222 New York Ranch Road, Jackson, CA 95642. For more information visit JacksonCasino.com or call (800) 822-WINN; that’s (800) 822-9466.

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Sacramento – Friday was national Girl Scout Leader’s Day, a day to celebrate Girl Scout leaders who build girls of courage, confidence and character. Girl Scouts Heart of Central California profiled tributes to two of its long-time leaders.

Tracy Caldwell, Troop Leader in Rancho Cordova, became a Girl Scout as an adult in 1992 and has been a troop leader for two generations of girls. Once her children were adults she became a troop leader for her granddaughter and now has 20 girls in her troop; an average troop has 10 girls.

“I serve every girl who wants to be a Girl Scout,” Caldwell said. For the past 10 years, Caldwell has also volunteered as a Girl Scout First Aid Trainer. She plans to stay involved with Girl Scouts “forever.” She said “being involved in Girl Scouts is the most important thing I do.”

Caldwell said: “Everything my daughters do today comes back to Girl Scouts. They have confidence around their peers, they can get up and speak in front of 150 people and it’s just normal operating procedure, these are the things Girl Scouts has taught them and the reason why I stay involved.”

Donella Patalon, Girl Scout troop leader in Brownsville, has been a Girl Scout leader for 20 years and a trainer for 16. She started a troop when her daughter was a Brownie. Her daughter is now 26 and Patalon is still leading a troop of older Girl Scouts.

Patalon has been known to drive for hours to help at an event, train a group of troop leaders or mentor a girl on her Girl Scout Gold Award project. She said she will stay involved in Girl Scouts, “for as long as I can in one capacity or another.”

She said: “I want to give girls encouragement and advice and see girls take initiative and help other people. That’s why I do it.”

Patalon said: “I’ve seen the long term benefit it has for girls and leaders. It’s all about the commitment, leadership and passion.” Her background is in outdoor education, which she believes is a key component of being a Girl Scout.

“Outdoor education is more than just camping,” Patalon said. “It’s about environmental education, working together, budgeting and so much more. Experiencing nature gives girls a softer look on life and they realize the great outdoors is not that scary.”

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Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 4-22-11 - TSPN's Tom Slivick sits down with Beetle Barbour of Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency to disuss 4 family transitional housing units that ATCAA seeks to place on Argonaut Lane in Jackson.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors wrapped up a series of informational coffee shop meetings around the Upcountry with a special board meeting Wednesday at the Veterans Hall on Buckhorn Ridge Road in Pioneer, and a light public turnout.

aidAWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said the attendance had peaked with last week’s meeting at Mace Meadow Golf Course restaurant when about 24 people attended the meeting, aimed at taking input from customers of the Central Amador Water Project service area, while informing the public about issues the system faces. Agency staff and board members outnumbered the four members of the public in attendance, with two of those staunch opponents, Debbie Dunn and Ken Berry.

Board President Don Cooper said past coffee shop meetings, hosted by himself and Director Robert Manassero, usually began pretty heated, but by the end people understood the dilemma the agency faces in an aging system that needs to be replaced. In meeting exit polls, up to 80 percent said they supported the Gravity Supply Line project.

Mancebo said the GSL would build in redundancy, reliability and water quality to the existing electrically pumped pipeline which now takes water from the Tiger Creek after bay. He said the pumps have run every day since the system was install, up to 22 hours on a typical summer day, and AWA staff “visit those pumps every one of those days.”

He counted 70 outages in the last two years on the pipeline, before he stopped counting. He said there were 163 incidents of inoperability between 2004 and 2008, including 97 electrical or mechanical failures, 14 communication failures and 52 power outages. Staff often must result in buying used parts online for the pump system’s control panel because new parts are no longer made.

District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli asked if the AWA would need to raise rates if it lost a pump or the pipeline fails. Mancebo said there was no money set aside for a new pipeline or motors. He said CAWP Retail customers have not had a rate increase in nearly 5 years.

He said the agency and its board seek to cut out electrical costs that have more than doubled since 1989, then they paid PG&E $109,000 just to get the water to the treatment plant. The annual cost peaked at $300,000 in 2006, and last year was $250,000. He said the agency would have to pay PG&E for “power foregone,” but “those are wholesale dollars.”

He said drawing from the “regulator reservoir” would increase water quality, and the gravity-fed line would work “rain or shine,” without power. He said maintenance on the CAWP system was $67,000 last year.

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