Amador County – The 2011 California High School Rodeo Association Queen Loren Bebensee visited Amador County and TSPN TV studios Monday to help promote the 2011 Challenge of Champions Rodeo coming in two weeks in Plymouth.

Bebensee said the championship caliber high school rodeo precedes by three months the CHSRA state finals, but is also “a little more prestigious.” The state finals accept the top five riders from each category, from all 9 divisions in California, while the 39-year-old Challenge of Champions invites only the top three in each category.

“It’s for the bragging rights,” said Bebensee, who is 17 and became queen last June in Bishop, then went on to eighth place at the rodeo queen nationals in Gillette, Wyoming.

Bebensee will not compete at the Challenge of Champions, which is to be held March 25-27 at the Amador County Fair Grounds in Plymouth. Bebensee has been a rodeo competitor for four years, riding barrels on her grey horse, Roscoe, and roping and tying goats on her brown horse, Little Doc. Riding rodeos out of Redding and District 1, she has made a lot of friends who have qualified to Challenge of Champions.

The Challenge will bring about 300 boys and girls, the top three in each category from the 9 high school rodeo divisions. The cutting competition starts at 7 a.m. Friday, March 25. At 6 p.m. the rodeo performance starts. The special rodeo is 11 a.m. Saturday, with the rodeo performance at 1 p.m, and open team roping at 6 p.m. Saturday starts with a 10 a.m. Cowboy Church, and at noon starts the Challenge of Champions finals, followed by award presentations.

Jackson Rancheria Casino and Hotel is major sponsor of the Challenge for the 14th straight year, since the rodeo moved to Plymouth. It was held for the 25 years before that at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors last week approved a letter of support for Amador County Fair and 77 other fairs whose budgets are threatened by the governor’s proposed budget.

The board OK’d a letter, after getting a report from Troy Bowers, CEO of the Amador County Fair, which detailed local and state impacts of cuts proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, totaling 100 percent of fair funding by the state across the board. The board approved a letter of opposition relative to Brown’s proposed $32 million cuts in state money that partially fund California’s 78 fairs.

Fair Board member Robert Manassero said last week that it amounted to a cut of about $200,000 to $300,000 for the Amador Fair Foundation, and included salaries and benefits. He said fundraising was not going to make the difference and the fair would change. Bowers has said repeatedly that the fair will continue in the future, though the state proposal of 100 percent funding to fairs would cut about 25 percent of the Amador Fair’s operating budget. The Fair Foundation was established a few years ago to manage fair funds.

In a letter to Supervisors, Bowers said “fair funding is not set in stone. Industry leaders can and will support strategic funding reductions combined with greater local control and autonomy.” He said a “strategic approach will protect the fair network and allow it to increase its ability to generate tax revenue and jobs.”

Bowers said the “California fair network” generates revenue, and last year turned $32 million in state funding into “more than $126 million in direct tax income for the state,” and “more than 25,000 full-time job equivalents statewide.”

He said “fairs drive local economies,” and the closing of 31 of the most at-risk fairs would hurt all fairs because of their interconnectivity. In Amador County, he said the fair generates about $3.5 million in spending activity, which creates a “ripple effect of economic benefit for the state.”

Amador Fair’s support industries and attendees generate the equivalent of 38 full time jobs and $1.3 million in annual salary, and $29,000 in business tax is collected in “state and local sales taxes, transient occupancy taxes and possessory interest taxes and fees.”

Bowers said the Amador Fair is also the “largest source of funding for local charities and non-profits and generates more than $110,000 each year for the Jackson Lions, Jackson Rotary, Amador High volleyball, FFA ag boosters and others.”

He said 4-H, FFA and Junior Grange students together earn more than $300,000 for college expenses at the Amador County Fair’s annual Junior Livestock Auction.

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Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors got an update on its Gravity Supply Line last week.

Agency General Manager Gene Mancebo said staff is working on a communications plan, a presentation, and revisions to the Central Amador Water Project financial plans, and is preparing to bid the Gravity Supply Pipe project. He said staff would like to set up small-group settings to talk about the pipeline around Upcountry, in “coffeehouse” meetings.

Part of the meetings would be to explain about the CAWP system, what it is, and who it serves. He said they would also use the small groups to get feedback and find out what people think about the plans, and bring information back to the AWA board.

Mancebo said the new communications plan was discussed and reviewed in the agency Public Relations Committee, made up of Vice Chairman Gary Thomas and Director Robert Manassero.

A “CAWP customer priority survey” to be used, in part, said “pump stations that raise water from the Mokelumne River are approximately 35 years old, at the end of their useful life, operating beyond their design, and will need to be replaced with new pumps or a gravity supply pipeline.” It asked respondents to choose between buying new pumps for the CAWP system or paying for construction of the GSL. It also asked how much more people would be willing to add to their current water rates.

Another question said “CAWP customers have had no increase in water rates in four-and-a-half years,” and now “the CAWP system is running in the red,” and “reserve funds for repairs and improvements are depleted.” It asked what the customer would be willing to add to its water rate to “cover the current costs of operating the CAWP system and rebuild a reserve fund.”

It asked the same question about the cost of improving water pressure and adding fire hydrants in the CAWP system, to improve systems built in the 1960s and 1970s “to much lower standards than today’s,” with smaller pipes, lower water pressure and few hydrants.

Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said all but one private easement along the GSL route had been successfully negotiated, and title paperwork was in process. The last to be negotiated was recently sold, but the agency already has a 20-foot utility easement there, which it could use if needed.

He said all non-private easement talks are also under way and scheduled to be completed by late April, except for PG&E, but it was not expected to cause a delay.

He said work was on schedule for a May 24 bid opening on the GSL. Story by

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

Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors last week approved a letter of support for Amador County Fair and 77 other fairs whose budgets are threatened by the governor’s proposed budget.

The board OK’d a letter, after getting a report from Troy Bowers, CEO of the Amador County Fair, which detailed local and state impacts of cuts proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, totaling 100 percent of fair funding by the state across the board. The board approved a letter of opposition relative to Brown’s proposed $32 million cuts in state money that partially fund California’s 78 fairs.

Fair Board member Robert Manassero said last week that it amounted to a cut of about $200,000 to $300,000 for the Amador Fair Foundation, and included salaries and benefits. He said fundraising was not going to make the difference and the fair would change. Bowers has said repeatedly that the fair will continue in the future, though the state proposal of 100 percent funding to fairs would cut about 25 percent of the Amador Fair’s operating budget. The Fair Foundation was established a few years ago to manage fair funds.

In a letter to Supervisors, Bowers said “fair funding is not set in stone. Industry leaders can and will support strategic funding reductions combined with greater local control and autonomy.” He said a “strategic approach will protect the fair network and allow it to increase its ability to generate tax revenue and jobs.”

Bowers said the “California fair network” generates revenue, and last year turned $32 million in state funding into “more than $126 million in direct tax income for the state,” and “more than 25,000 full-time job equivalents statewide.”

He said “fairs drive local economies,” and the closing of 31 of the most at-risk fairs would hurt all fairs because of their interconnectivity. In Amador County, he said the fair generates about $3.5 million in spending activity, which creates a “ripple effect of economic benefit for the state.”

Amador Fair’s support industries and attendees generate the equivalent of 38 full time jobs and $1.3 million in annual salary, and $29,000 in business tax is collected in “state and local sales taxes, transient occupancy taxes and possessory interest taxes and fees.”

Bowers said the Amador Fair is also the “largest source of funding for local charities and non-profits and generates more than $110,000 each year for the Jackson Lions, Jackson Rotary, Amador High volleyball, FFA ag boosters and others.”

He said 4-H, FFA and Junior Grange students together earn more than $300,000 for college expenses at the Amador County Fair’s annual Junior Livestock Auction.

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

Amador County – An update of the Gravity Supply Line project last week drew public criticism of the Amador Water Agency board of directors, though staff saw it as indicative of changing economic times.

During public comment, Rich Farrington said AWA cannot build its Gravity Supply Pipeline project without a USDA grant and a loan. He said they also should consider the $900,000 loan from the Amador County Water Development fund, due in August.

Farrington said hydrants will be built on the GSL, and would give 2,500 gallons a minute of flow, which could be used to fill contracted water tenders to fight fires. He also suggested that the financial plan use a bar graph.

Past director Debbie Dunn chided the board on allowing Farrington to speak about the GSL, although he was commenting on the engineering report. She also said the GSL would need a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for the project. AWA President Don Cooper said the FERC issue should be agendized and discussed at a later date.

AWA Board President Don Cooper said the target date to tell the USDA whether they do or do not have public support is July 22, in order to secure the $5 million grant and low-interest loan.

David Evitt of Sutter Creek, who led a petition drive in a Prop 218 process which stopped the last CAWP increase, said he already knew that people did not support the GSL. He said he went to more than 1,500 homes when gathering signatures, and told people their rates would go up, then they asked where they needed to sign.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said Evitt’s protest last year was against a CAWP rate increase that did not include the GSL project, including the $5 million grant and low-interest loan.

Former Director Bill Condrashoff brought up concerns for what he called “wrong numbers” in the financial plan. Mancebo said they were really “assumptions,” and staff may go through a revision with it’s Budget and Finance Committee of Cooper and Director Robert Manassero.

Mancebo said it “will change proposed rate increases with those assumptions,” but it was a matter of the rate of inflation. He said staff was unsure whether to use 1, 2 or 3 percent inflation rates, while last year ended with a negative 1/10th of a percent inflation rate. He said those were the kind of things brought up, during an update meeting that went more in depth than expected.

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

Amador County – The 2011 California High School Rodeo Association Queen Loren Bebensee visited Amador County and TSPN TV studios Monday to help promote the 2011 Challenge of Champions Rodeo coming in two weeks in Plymouth.

Bebensee said the championship caliber high school rodeo precedes by three months the CHSRA state finals, but is also “a little more prestigious.” The state finals accept the top five riders from each category, from all 9 divisions in California, while the 39-year-old Challenge of Champions invites only the top three in each category.

“It’s for the bragging rights,” said Bebensee, who is 17 and became queen last June in Bishop, then went on to eighth place at the rodeo queen nationals in Gillette, Wyoming.

Bebensee will not compete at the Challenge of Champions, which is to be held March 25-27 at the Amador County Fair Grounds in Plymouth. Bebensee has been a rodeo competitor for four years, riding barrels on her grey horse, Roscoe, and roping and tying goats on her brown horse, Little Doc. Riding rodeos out of Redding and District 1, she has made a lot of friends who have qualified to Challenge of Champions.

The Challenge will bring about 300 boys and girls, the top three in each category from the 9 high school rodeo divisions. The cutting competition starts at 7 a.m. Friday, March 25. At 6 p.m. the rodeo performance starts. The special rodeo is 11 a.m. Saturday, with the rodeo performance at 1 p.m, and open team roping at 6 p.m. Saturday starts with a 10 a.m. Cowboy Church, and at noon starts the Challenge of Champions finals, followed by award presentations.

Jackson Rancheria Casino and Hotel is major sponsor of the Challenge for the 14th straight year, since the rodeo moved to Plymouth. It was held for the 25 years before that at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

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

Amador County – The California Department of Transportation has an upcoming mandatory pre-bid meeting for an estimated $77 million project on Interstate 5.

Chantel Miller of Caltrans said the mandatory pre-bid meeting will be based on the “Interstate 5-North Stockton widening project,” and prime contractors and subcontractors interested in bidding on the project should attend.

The meeting is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, March 23 at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton.

Miller said the “project proposes the widening of I-5 in Stockton from six to eight lanes from Country Club Boulevard to Eight Mile Road, within existing right-of-way.” The “Underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprise” goal is 4 percent.

Miller said: “This is a great opportunity for Small Businesses, Disadvantage Business Enterprises, and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises to become certified and to network with prime contractors.”

Those interested in attending should RSVP by Friday, March 18 by phone at (209) 948-7855.

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