Amador County – Ione Police Department reported arrests last week of a domestic violence case, and also a non-related methamphetamine case.

At about 2 p.m. March 6, Ione Police responded to a domestic violence incident in the 600 block of Upton Lane, where a “male assailant was allegedly in possession of a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol,” said Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson.

“Violence erupted” at the scene “after a child custody exchange arrangement went bad,” Johnson said. “The confidential victim suffered physical injury during the assault and eventually was able to phone 911 for assistance.”

“The suspect fled the scene and made threatening references about using a 9 mm gun he claimed to have in his possession,” Johnson said. IPD “broadcast an immediate arrest authority for the suspect and disseminated his vehicle information. Upon learning of his possible destination,” IPD “contacted the West Sacramento Police Department and coordinated an arrest team to respond to the destination address.”

At about 5 p.m., the suspect, Neal Grosz, 23, of West Sacramento was arrested and booked into the Amador County Jail. Johnson said “Grosz will face a felony domestic violence charge,” as well as charges for “intimidating a witness” and “removing a wireless device to prevent assistance to be summoned. The alleged firearm was never located.”

Also March 6, in an unrelated case, Ione police made a “back roads” methamphetamine arrest, Johnson said. He said: “In the cover of darkness, a vehicle occupied by three subjects slowly made its way on 5 Mile Drive in Ione.” An Ione police officer, while in the city corporation yard, was alerted to the vehicle. An enforcement stop of the vehicle led to discovery of the driver’s suspended license status, Johnson said. While conducting further investigation, the officer’s “suspicions were raised by actions of the occupants.”

A search of the vehicle produced a package of methamphetamine, marijuana, hypodermic syringes, and other drug paraphernalia. At about 10 p.m. on March 6, Donald Walker, 36, of Jackson was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, syringes, and drug paraphernalia. Walker was booked into the Amador County Jail.

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

Sacramento – For the fourth year in a row, the Sacramento regional Girl Scouts is operating a program whereby donations can send their Girl Scout cookies, and a little bit of home, to the troops overseas.

Jennifer Lemos of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California based in Sacramento said the public can “help local Girl Scouts send a piece of home to military troops by purchasing a box of Girl Scout Cookies for the soldiers.”

Lemos said “Troop to Troop” is a Girl Scout program that “allows the public to buy Girl Scout Cookies as a donation for military troops.” She said: “This year, 30,000 boxes of cookies have been donated so far, and thousands more are expected.”

Girl Scouts Heart of Central California is working with the California National Guard for the fourth year in a row to make sure the donated cookies make it to the military troops overseas. Last year, Girl Scouts assisted the guardsmen in loading the last pallet of donated Girl Scout Cookies into a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and watched the helicopter take off on the first leg of its trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Girls will be selling Girl Scout Cookies through March 20. To find cookies near you, the Girl Scout website “cookie locator” can be searched by zip code.

Lemos said the Girl Scouts, founded in 1912, Girl Scouts “is still the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.” The local council, Girl Scouts Heart of Central California is headquartered in Sacramento and serves nearly 29,000 girls in 18 counties in Central California.

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

Amador County – After voting against layoff notifications earlier in the week, the Amador County Unified School District board of trustees revisited the issue in a special meeting Friday and approved notices for seven possible teacher layoffs.

Trustee Lynnette Lipp said she asked for the special meeting after getting further information, saying that being new to the board, she had not asked the proper questions to get the information she needed to “make the right decision.”

Lipp said: “I didn’t want to lose what I thought was one ag teacher.” Superintended Dick Glock said there are three ag teachers with 221 FFA students at both high schools combined. Glock said “technically we could have offered the same ag classes as this year with one-and-a-half full-time-equivalent teachers.” He said they cannot run ag classes with 12-15 students in them because “we can’t afford that. By contrast, we could have 30 students in one class.”

The district lost about 150 students the last two years, and they are “projecting 200 fewer students in the district next year.” He “tried to get the high school to move up registration and they can’t.” He said again, all of this is preliminary.” The notifications for layoffs must be approved by March 15 for potential layoffs the following year. He said teacher positions will depend on student requests for classes.

The board voted 4-1 to make the notifications, with Pat Miller dissenting, saying it was personal for him, in supporting technical education in schools. Trustees Rose Oneto and Lipp, who voted to oppose the notification resolution Wednesday, joined Chairman Wally Upper and Mary Walser in approving the resolution.

Two parents from Ione who spoke in support of the ag department Wednesday both said they in no way were trying to urge a rejection of staff recommendations. Mike Delaney, president of the Amador County Teachers Associations said the union “fully expected these cuts” and they “aren’t surprised by them.” He said they do not like to have their members cut, but “we need to look out for the majority of our members.”

Delaney said the positions will “probably come back next year,” and the notifications “make fiscal sense, and we encourage you to pass” the resolution.

The board approved one resolution 4-1, to make a notification of the potential layoff of one full-time-equivalent ag teacher. Another resolution, passing 5-0, notified of potential layoffs for 11 other teachers. Four of those are positions vacated by retirements, which would be filled with four teachers, leaving seven potential layoffs.

Layoffs would require board action by May 15.

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

Amador County – Donations of gravel, time, trucking and labor helped prepare Kennedy Gold Mine for its 2011 tour season Friday in Jackson.

Members of the Kennedy Mine Foundation board of directors put their hands to about 40 tons of gravel with the help of local donations, as they prepared the entry road to the mine for another season of surface mine tours at the Historic Kennedy Gold Mine.

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse, and Bill Braun of the Kennedy Mine Foundation, brought their tractors to help spread the gravel along the 2,000 feet of winding driveway road that leads into the mine. Supervisor Brian Oneto helped arrange the donation of the gravel by George Reed, from his Jackson Valley Quarry.

The gravel was brought to the Kennedy Mine by dump trucks donating their services. They included Merv Vicini of Amador Mechanical, who brought a truck and trailer load in the morning. Rick Vance of Vance Trucking also donated a truck and trailer load, which he delivered in the afternoon.

Plasse was working through the day with Braun to spread the gravel on the road, which spans about 2,000 feet from the Highway 49/88 entry gates to the base of the Kennedy Mine head frame. Braun said the above ground mine tours opened the previous weekend. The season starts at the beginning of March and runs through to the end of September. The mine tours are open Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for guided, or self-guided tours.

Braun said the foundation already has booked about 900 kids for school tours through June. Last year, kids’ tours were taken by 1,100 children, and the overall total number of visitors was a little over 1,800 people. Braun said: “Last year and the year before has been good for us,” and they hoped for another busy year of mine tours through this season.

The Foundation website said the Kennedy Gold Mine is a non-profit, volunteer historical landmark, giving school tours with historically accurate, educational and fun experience for students of all ages and grades. “The tours are aligned with California State History Standards for grades four and five, but tours are suitable for all grades and ages, including youth groups, special needs, high school, home school and college students.”

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

Amador County – Donations of gravel, time, trucking and labor helped prepare Kennedy Gold Mine for its 2011 tour season Friday in Jackson.

Members of the Kennedy Mine Foundation board of directors put their hands to about 40 tons of gravel with the help of local donations, as they prepared the entry road to the mine for another season of surface mine tours at the Historic Kennedy Gold Mine.

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse, and Bill Braun of the Kennedy Mine Foundation, brought their tractors to help spread the gravel along the 2,000 feet of winding driveway road that leads into the mine. Supervisor Brian Oneto helped arrange the donation of the gravel by George Reed, from his Jackson Valley Quarry.

The gravel was brought to the Kennedy Mine by dump trucks donating their services. They included Merv Vicini of Amador Mechanical, who brought a truck and trailer load in the morning. Rick Vance of Vance Trucking also donated a truck and trailer load, which he delivered in the afternoon.

Plasse was working through the day with Braun to spread the gravel on the road, which spans about 2,000 feet from the Highway 49/88 entry gates to the base of the Kennedy Mine head frame. Braun said the above ground mine tours opened the previous weekend. The season starts at the beginning of March and runs through to the end of September. The mine tours are open Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for guided, or self-guided tours.

Braun said the foundation already has booked about 900 kids for school tours through June. Last year, kids’ tours were taken by 1,100 children, and the overall total number of visitors was a little over 1,800 people. Braun said: “Last year and the year before has been good for us,” and they hoped for another busy year of mine tours through this season.

The Foundation website said the Kennedy Gold Mine is a non-profit, volunteer historical landmark, giving school tours with historically accurate, educational and fun experience for students of all ages and grades. “The tours are aligned with California State History Standards for grades four and five, but tours are suitable for all grades and ages, including youth groups, special needs, high school, home school and college students.”

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

Amador County – After voting against layoff notifications earlier in the week, the Amador County Unified School District board of trustees revisited the issue in a special meeting Friday and approved notices for seven possible teacher layoffs.

Trustee Lynnette Lipp said she asked for the special meeting after getting further information, saying that being new to the board, she had not asked the proper questions to get the information she needed to “make the right decision.”

Lipp said: “I didn’t want to lose what I thought was one ag teacher.” Superintended Dick Glock said there are three ag teachers with 221 FFA students at both high schools combined. Glock said “technically we could have offered the same ag classes as this year with one-and-a-half full-time-equivalent teachers.” He said they cannot run ag classes with 12-15 students in them because “we can’t afford that. By contrast, we could have 30 students in one class.”

The district lost about 150 students the last two years, and they are “projecting 200 fewer students in the district next year.” He “tried to get the high school to move up registration and they can’t.” He said again, all of this is preliminary.” The notifications for layoffs must be approved by March 15 for potential layoffs the following year. He said teacher positions will depend on student requests for classes.

The board voted 4-1 to make the notifications, with Pat Miller dissenting, saying it was personal for him, in supporting technical education in schools. Trustees Rose Oneto and Lipp, who voted to oppose the notification resolution Wednesday, joined Chairman Wally Upper and Mary Walser in approving the resolution.

Two parents from Ione who spoke in support of the ag department Wednesday both said they in no way were trying to urge a rejection of staff recommendations. Mike Delaney, president of the Amador County Teachers Associations said the union “fully expected these cuts” and they “aren’t surprised by them.” He said they do not like to have their members cut, but “we need to look out for the majority of our members.”

Delaney said the positions will “probably come back next year,” and the notifications “make fiscal sense, and we encourage you to pass” the resolution.

The board approved one resolution 4-1, to make a notification of the potential layoff of one full-time-equivalent ag teacher. Another resolution, passing 5-0, notified of potential layoffs for 11 other teachers. Four of those are positions vacated by retirements, which would be filled with four teachers, leaving seven potential layoffs.

Layoffs would require board action by May 15.

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