Amador County – The 31-year-old Community Christian School of Pine Grove is working to expand, possibly in the fall to offer its first high school classes, with the intent of establishing the first Christian high school in Amador County.

Gregory F. Lange, a member of the Community Christian School Board of Directors of Pine Grove said the plan is to try to establish Community Christian High School with minimal students and make it permanent to serve Amador County education needs.

Lange said “it is great to see private school education expanding in this county.” He said: “It will hopefully start with this coming Fall school session.”

Lange said. “I am told that that CCS is desirous to launch this new education program with the minimum-number-required enrollment to qualify and successfully implement the program, and, then, subsequently increase enrollment each year, thus permanently establishing a High School into which existing lower-grade CCS students can graduate.

Lange said the “plan would give the school complete educational programs. So the intent here is to discover those High School student candidates in our community to initially enroll into the educational program.”

Lange said: “I have been delegated the task of promoting a new educational program for the school.”

He said Community Christian School was founded in 1980 and “has continuously educated pre-school through Junior High School students successfully for the past 30 years. CCS has become a highly respected institution of learning.”

Lange said “CCS is evolving, and is now desirous to extend its educational programs to include high school students. The school intends to offer on-line, accredited, high school learning opportunities.”

CCS’s new high school educational program is part of “an established and well respected, local Christian School,” Lange said, which “has evolved and expanded to become a complete Christian learning institution, the only one in the County of Amador, and among only a few in Northern California.”

Community Christian High School’s educational program will be directed by Dr. Ken Terry.

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Amador County – The rising price of gasoline is a burden for everyone who operates motor vehicles, but it especially affects a local charitable organization that gives rides to cancer patients for treatment.

Amador STARS, the Support, Transportation and Resource Services, provides a variety of services to community members battling cancer, including its transportation program that consists of five vans and dozens of volunteer drivers.

Amador STARS Director Ginger Rolf said “our vans are on the road almost every day taking local cancer patients to treatments in Sacramento, Stockton, Lodi and Cameron Park. That means we have to fill the vans with gas often, and paying more than $4 per gallon of gas really adds up.”

An average of 4,500 miles is put on the Amador STARS vans each month making fuel, repairs and servicing a major expense for the local non-profit. Annual fundraisers support STARS, such as Amador County Camp Out for Cancer, set for Sept. 10-11, and Bunco for Breast Cancer, set for April 30th. However, individual donations made throughout the year also play a vital role in allowing Amador STARS to meet the growing needs of the community.

“Donations are always welcomed and appreciated,” Rolf said, adding that STARS is “committed to being an organization of volunteers and using our funds wisely. Our entire board of directors, including myself, are volunteers. The only paid position we maintain is our office manager who allows us to keep the Amador STARS office doors open to our community Monday through Friday.”

The funds and volunteers enable services, including but not limited to transportation, support groups, the Women Shine With STARS program and a resource library.

Anyone interested in making a donation to Amador STARS can do so online or print a form to mail in. Also, people can register online for Bunco for Breast Cancer, which is encouraged, as space is limited.

Amador STARS is a not-for-profit organization, created in 2004 with the mission of raising “local funds for local cancer needs.” The volunteer board of directors includes Gretchen Carlson, Nina Machado, Nancy Swensen, Phyllis Swensen, Carol Woolsey, Lisa Heimeyer and Ginger Rolf, director.

Amador STARS was formed to meet the growing need for cancer services and support in Amador County. The organization provides a variety of services for local cancer patients. Contributions made to Amador STARS, which is under the Amador Community Foundation’s 501(c)(3) status, are tax-free and exempt from federal taxation.

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Amador County – Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort developers last month reported that there had been vandalism on their property in Sutter Creek, where someone had cut down about 45 blue oak trees, including 38 trees that were 8 inches in diameter or larger. Some of the trees were as large as 26 inches in diameter.

Gold Rush partner Bill Bunce reported the vandalism in March, during the first meeting of the Sutter Creek Gold Rush Implementation Committee. The Committee then received more information at its latest meeting, Monday.

The Committee and Bunce in March agreed to identify the trees that had been cut down. On Monday, an inventory of the trees, including a photograph of some of the 45 stumps, was given to Committee members, Mayor Tim Murphy and Councilwoman Sandy Anderson, and Planning Commissioners Robin Peters and Frank Cunha. The photos also showed a hand-held Global Positioning System showing the digital coordinates of each stump. A map also showed the location of the cut trees.

A “cut tree inventory” was conducted by Dan Amsden of Mintier Harnish, with the location of the vandalism described as “between the two residences, just past the second cattle gate,” and “within Sutter Creek city limits.” Amsden listed approximately 45 trees cut, with 38 of them larger than 8 inches in diameter. It also listed the tree diameter range of 8-26 inches.

Planning Commission Chairman Mike Kirkley asked if the case was dropped and if authorities had given up making an arrest. City Manager Sean Rabe said the case has not been dropped, and since the investigation was ongoing, the Sutter Creek Police Department could not comment.

Kirkley said that it is likely the offense would be approaching a felony, and would also increase the impact on tree loss, for which the developer had agreed to certain impacts.

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

Amador County – Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort developers last month reported that there had been vandalism on their property in Sutter Creek, where someone had cut down about 45 blue oak trees, including 38 trees that were 8 inches in diameter or larger. Some of the trees were as large as 26 inches in diameter.

Gold Rush partner Bill Bunce reported the vandalism in March, during the first meeting of the Sutter Creek Gold Rush Implementation Committee. The Committee then received more information at its latest meeting, Monday.

The Committee and Bunce in March agreed to identify the trees that had been cut down. On Monday, an inventory of the trees, including a photograph of some of the 45 stumps, was given to Committee members, Mayor Tim Murphy and Councilwoman Sandy Anderson, and Planning Commissioners Robin Peters and Frank Cunha. The photos also showed a hand-held Global Positioning System showing the digital coordinates of each stump. A map also showed the location of the cut trees.

A “cut tree inventory” was conducted by Dan Amsden of Mintier Harnish, with the location of the vandalism described as “between the two residences, just past the second cattle gate,” and “within Sutter Creek city limits.” Amsden listed approximately 45 trees cut, with 38 of them larger than 8 inches in diameter. It also listed the tree diameter range of 8-26 inches.

Planning Commission Chairman Mike Kirkley asked if the case was dropped and if authorities had given up making an arrest. City Manager Sean Rabe said the case has not been dropped, and since the investigation was ongoing, the Sutter Creek Police Department could not comment.

Kirkley said that it is likely the offense would be approaching a felony, and would also increase the impact on tree loss, for which the developer had agreed to certain impacts.

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

Amador County – The Amador County declaration of a state of emergency for its road conditions was fortified at the gubernatorial level last week with a declaration of a state of emergency by Gov. Jerry Brown for 19 California Counties, based on winter storm damage in the counties.

Bay Area counties were included in the declaration of a state of emergency, as was Amador County, Butte, Del Norte, Humboldt, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Stanislaus, Sutter, Trinity, Tuolumne and Ventura counties.

Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner made the initial declaration April 1st, after the Amador County Sheriff’s Office began to receive reports from around the county of increased peril to the public due to road damages. The Amador County Board of Supervisors in a special meeting April 5 ratified the declaration.

Wegner made the initial designation while acting as Deputy Director of Emergency Services due to the amount of damage to county roads, and the resulting “conditions of extreme peril.” The storm hit March 16 and dropped several inches of rain in a short period and caused damage in multiple counties.

Wegner told Supervisors that Amador County roads suffered up to $1.6 million in damage.

The ratification by Supervisors included a request through the California Emergency Management Association for the Governor to make a request for a Presidential declaration. The Governor’s declaration enables seeking federal relief funds, to reconstruct highways and county roads. Wegner said the state threshold is $44 million to be able to get federal funding.

Dana Owens, of the California Emergency Management Agency said Santa Cruz had the most damage, with about $17 million in estimated costs.

Wegner gave supervisors a list of 26 county roads with damage and repair cost estimates. The County list included an estimated $280,000 in damage to Stony Creek Road, with “clay pumping up through paved surface” and shoulders washed out in various locations.

The full extent of the damage was believed to be unknown at the time. Plymouth listed seven roads damaged in the storm, with a repair cost estimated at $51,000, the biggest $25,000 in damage to Old Sacramento Road, where an “overflowing creek degraded and undermined road base.” Road damage assessments from Jackson, Amador City, Sutter Creek and Ione were unknown at the time.

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Amador County – The rising price of gasoline is a burden for everyone who operates motor vehicles, but it especially affects a local charitable organization that gives rides to cancer patients for treatment.

Amador STARS, the Support, Transportation and Resource Services, provides a variety of services to community members battling cancer, including its transportation program that consists of five vans and dozens of volunteer drivers.

Amador STARS Director Ginger Rolf said “our vans are on the road almost every day taking local cancer patients to treatments in Sacramento, Stockton, Lodi and Cameron Park. That means we have to fill the vans with gas often, and paying more than $4 per gallon of gas really adds up.”

An average of 4,500 miles is put on the Amador STARS vans each month making fuel, repairs and servicing a major expense for the local non-profit. Annual fundraisers support STARS, such as Amador County Camp Out for Cancer, set for Sept. 10-11, and Bunco for Breast Cancer, set for April 30th. However, individual donations made throughout the year also play a vital role in allowing Amador STARS to meet the growing needs of the community.

“Donations are always welcomed and appreciated,” Rolf said, adding that STARS is “committed to being an organization of volunteers and using our funds wisely. Our entire board of directors, including myself, are volunteers. The only paid position we maintain is our office manager who allows us to keep the Amador STARS office doors open to our community Monday through Friday.”

The funds and volunteers enable services, including but not limited to transportation, support groups, the Women Shine With STARS program and a resource library.

Anyone interested in making a donation to Amador STARS can do so online or print a form to mail in. Also, people can register online for Bunco for Breast Cancer, which is encouraged, as space is limited.

Amador STARS is a not-for-profit organization, created in 2004 with the mission of raising “local funds for local cancer needs.” The volunteer board of directors includes Gretchen Carlson, Nina Machado, Nancy Swensen, Phyllis Swensen, Carol Woolsey, Lisa Heimeyer and Ginger Rolf, director.

Amador STARS was formed to meet the growing need for cancer services and support in Amador County. The organization provides a variety of services for local cancer patients. Contributions made to Amador STARS, which is under the Amador Community Foundation’s 501(c)(3) status, are tax-free and exempt from federal taxation.

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