Amador County – The local California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection recommended this week that as people change their clocks for the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend, they should also change the batteries of important gadgets in the home, including smoke and other detectors.

Nancy Longmore, fire prevention specialist with the Tuolumne-Calaveras unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said in an e-mail this week that as Daylight Savings Time ends, people should change the batteries in their clocks and smoke detectors.

Daylight savings time ends Sunday November 7th, and people “fall back,” setting their clocks at 2 a.m. to be back by one hour, to Standard Time. Longmore said: “This is a great time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.”

She said “almost every day a smoke detector saves somebody’s life, but only when the smoke detectors are maintained and working properly.” To keep your smoke detector in proper working order, CDF recommends testing all smoke detectors on a monthly basis.”

They also should be maintained by changing the batteries twice a year, and vacuuming them once a year, because dust and cobwebs can impair sensitivity of the detectors.

Smoke detectors should be installed in hallways that lead to all sleeping areas; in basements; and in each additional level of your home.

Longmore said the “life you save may be your own or that of a loved one.”

For more information, see www.fire.ca.gov.

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

Amador County - Amador Fire Protection District announces a badge and oath ceremony, to be conducted for twelve recently hired fire personnel, at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at the Amador County Administration Center, 810 Court Street in Jackson.

The badge ceremony, originally scheduled for October 12, two days prior to their commencing fire station coverage, was rescheduled due to the memorial service for a fallen comrade held that day.

In collaboration with the Sutter Creek Fire District (SCFPD), the paid personnel, 7 engineers and 5 firefighters, began staffing AFPD Station 122 in Plymouth, AFPD Station 111 in Pioneer, and Sutter Creek Fire Station 141 in Sutter Creek last month. They are providing 24/7 coverage to augment volunteers in providing emergency medical and fire services to our communities.

An additional two applicants have been offered the position of Fire Engineer with the District and, pending the results of medical and background screening, will be joining the others later this month.

The AFPD and SCFPD Boards of Directors, along with all the personnel of each district, said they are excited about the transition to a paid/volunteer department made possible by the voter approved “Measure M” funding.

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Amador County – The majority of Californian voters ignored a rolling GOP tide Tuesday by backing Jerry Brown for Governor and Barbara Boxer for U.S.Senate.

Incumbent Boxer will retain her seat while Brown will return to lead the state for a third term after more than 20 years away.

In both cases, Golden State voters bucked the national trend against political insiders and voted for longtime politicians over wealthy female billionaires who were both former heads of major corporations.

California will be one of the few states to remain blue, with Democrats in both U.S. Senate seats, the governor’s office and in majority control of the legislature. Despite voter frustration over government dysfunction and a state deficit of more than $19 billion, Californians opted for seasoned politicians.

Analysts say the state’s blue trend can be credited to a number of factors. Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at Sacramento State, told the Christian Science Monitor that California will serve as a bellwether for the rest of the country in the future. “Women won’t just (automatically) vote for women. Personal wealth won’t buy elections, and the tea party values on social issues don’t appeal to our one-quarter independents. We already had a likeable outsider (in Governor Schwarzenegger) and aren’t willing to try it again,” she said.

According to a CBS Exit Poll, nearly three out of five women voters supported Boxer, while male voters gave her a slight three point advantage. 56 percent of women voters supported Brown compared to 40 percent for Whitman. 56 percent of women supported Boxer compared to 39 percent for her Republican opponent, Carly Fiorina.

One major deciding factor in California’s races was illegal immigration. Two-thirds of the voters believe undocumented workers should get an opportunity to apply for legal status. A study by the Public Policy Institute of California shows 70 percent of illegal immigrants live with a close family member. Latino activists called it hypocritical for Republican Meg Whitman to denounce illegal immigration while at the same time employing an illegal immigrant for many years. Story by Alex Lane.

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Amador County – An announcement Monday by CAL FIRE means the number of unemployed in Amador County has increased, at least temporarily.

101 seasonal fire fighters in the Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit (AEU) were laid off in three stages throughout the month of November as the department transitions into its “winter preparedness” level of staffing. Some outlying fire stations will also be closed.

AEU’s Chief Bill Holmes said that “in this challenging economic period, down staffing is prudent based on the current and forecasted weather conditions. We need to manage our resources to the best of our ability and administer our budget responsibly.”

But according to Teri Mizuhara, CAL FIRE Fire Prevention Specialist, these layoffs are usually anticipated by those who choose to serve as firefighters. “We do have some year-round staff, but typically our seasonal firefighters are younger men and women,” she said. “Some do firefighting seasonally or as a career, and many go back to college or school in the off-season.”

She said the competition for these coveted positions is tough. Her department received approximately 2,000 applications last season. Of those, 700 applicants were interviewed and approximately 20 new hires were offered jobs. 81 others were rehires.

Mizuhara said they typically hire and layoff in three stages. An equal but opposite hiring process will take place next year in preparation for the peak of fire season during the summer months. In a typical fire season they generally start hiring at the end of May to early June, she said.

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Amador County – Incumbents in four of five races lost bids for reelection Tuesday in the 2010 Amador County general election, with Sutter Creek City Councilwoman Linda Rianda the only incumbent to keep her seat in a contested race.

Rianda does join the list of first-time elected officials, as she was running for office for the first time after being appointed last year to replace Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth, who stepped down for health concerns.

Rianda led all vote-getters with 411 votes. Second was Jim Swift, with 401 votes. They defeated third place finisher Bart Weatherly (who had 304 votes) and Ed Arata (who had 241). Election officials reported at 10 p.m. Tuesday that Sutter Creek had 1,368 ballots cast.

In other races Tuesday, Ione City Council members Lee Ard and Jim Ulm finished in a near tie for fourth place, both missing reelection. Three new council members took the three-seat race, led by Ron Smylie with 629 votes. Lloyd Oneto had 518 votes, and Daniel Epperson had 453. Ulm had 370, Ard had 369, and Jerry Sherman had 219 votes.

Two other incumbents, Amador Water Agency President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn both fell to their opponents. District 1 challenger Paul Molinelli Senior defeated Condrashoff with 63 percent of the vote, and 1,479 votes, to the incumbent’s 860. The race had 2,347 votes cast, including 178 “undervotes” that did not pick either candidate.

Robert Manassero took just over 60 percent of the vote in District 4, getting 1,332 votes to Dunn’s 865. Dunn’s loss leaves the agency with the need to appoint a new president, as Dunn was on track to be the next president.

In District 5, Arthur Toy won the seat with 887 votes, defeating John Asmus (who had 574 votes) and Dale Turner (who had 234). Toy will take over the Plymouth-area district for retiring Director Terence Moore, who leaves office after three terms.

In Plymouth, the top vote-getter was Sean McGinness, who moved out of town before the election. Peter Amoruso had 64 votes to win the second open seat, and Sandy Kyles had 41 votes. The city council must make an appointment to fill McGinness’ position, which becomes vacant after his win.

Also in Plymouth, the Measure O initiative to raise the Transient Occupancy Tax did not pass. Late Tuesday, Plymouth voters had cast 66 “no” votes and 64 people voted “yes.”

The election office still must count provisional and mail ballots, with several hundred estimated to have come in from all over the county.

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Amador County – Local supporters of the Preston Juvenile Correction facility plan to stuff two busses and take their concerns to their newly reelected state representative today (Thursday, November 4th) in Sacramento.

Supervisor Richard Forster said two busses, chartered by him and the Jackson Rancheria, will be full would be full by the time they left early today to attend a meeting of the California Legislature’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee set for 9 a.m. at the state Capitol.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, an 8 percent winner of District 10, representing Amador County, is chairwoman of the committee, which will have a hearing that Huber said was prompted by the “unjustified decision” by the California Department of Corrections to close Preston.

Huber said in a release Wednesday that the committee “will hold an oversight hearing on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The hearing will focus on the Division of Juvenile Justice and the Department’s process and procedures for closure of youth correctional facilities.”

Huber called for the hearing “after the Department of Corrections abruptly announced that they would be closing Preston” in Ione “with no economic impact reports or other evidence to justify the closure.”

Huber said she “is demanding the department answer questions about how this decision was made and how they will mitigate the impacts of the closure.”

A large number of community members and Preston employees are expected to attend the hearing, which will be televised.

Huber said witnesses will include Drew Soderborg, a senior fiscal and policy analyst of the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Also to appear as witnesses will be CDCR Undersecretary Scott Kernan, and Division of Juvenile Justice Chief Deputy Secretary Rachael Rios.

Public comment will be allowed after witnesses have testified.

Huber in a memo October 29th said the decision to close Preston “was made without prior notice of its intent or the input of the communities most affected by the closure.”

Since then, CDCR has held two meetings in Ione, but “failed to answer the key questions,” Huber said. The “Joint Legislative Audit Committee will hold several hearings on the proposed closure of Preston and will investigate exactly how CDCR comes to a conclusion that a particular facility should be closed.”

The committee will “also focus on what this potential closure means to the employees, businesses and residents of Ione and Amador County, as well as the plan’s potential impact on overall public safety,” she said. It will be an overview hearing, with more detailed committee hearings to follow.

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Amador County – Local supporters of the Preston Juvenile Correction facility plan to stuff two busses and take their concerns to their newly reelected state representative today (Thursday, November 4th) in Sacramento.

Supervisor Richard Forster said two busses, chartered by him and the Jackson Rancheria, will be full would be full by the time they left early today to attend a meeting of the California Legislature’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee set for 9 a.m. at the state Capitol.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, an 8 percent winner of District 10, representing Amador County, is chairwoman of the committee, which will have a hearing that Huber said was prompted by the “unjustified decision” by the California Department of Corrections to close Preston.

Huber said in a release Wednesday that the committee “will hold an oversight hearing on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The hearing will focus on the Division of Juvenile Justice and the Department’s process and procedures for closure of youth correctional facilities.”

Huber called for the hearing “after the Department of Corrections abruptly announced that they would be closing Preston” in Ione “with no economic impact reports or other evidence to justify the closure.”

Huber said she “is demanding the department answer questions about how this decision was made and how they will mitigate the impacts of the closure.”

A large number of community members and Preston employees are expected to attend the hearing, which will be televised.

Huber said witnesses will include Drew Soderborg, a senior fiscal and policy analyst of the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Also to appear as witnesses will be CDCR Undersecretary Scott Kernan, and Division of Juvenile Justice Chief Deputy Secretary Rachael Rios.

Public comment will be allowed after witnesses have testified.

Huber in a memo October 29th said the decision to close Preston “was made without prior notice of its intent or the input of the communities most affected by the closure.”

Since then, CDCR has held two meetings in Ione, but “failed to answer the key questions,” Huber said. The “Joint Legislative Audit Committee will hold several hearings on the proposed closure of Preston and will investigate exactly how CDCR comes to a conclusion that a particular facility should be closed.”

The committee will “also focus on what this potential closure means to the employees, businesses and residents of Ione and Amador County, as well as the plan’s potential impact on overall public safety,” she said. It will be an overview hearing, with more detailed committee hearings to follow.

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