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Amador County – A 14-year-old Ione boy is facing charges for multiple felony infractions for setting off improvised explosive devices on Main Street in Ione last week. He admitted to learning how to make the bombs from the popular website, YouTube. The Ione Policed Department investigated the detonation of home-made bombs on August 31st, after getting a report the next day. Chief Michael Johnson reported the incident, investigation, and arrest in a news release Thursday ( September 9th). Johnson said on Tuesday (August 31st) “the city of Ione was rocked by explosions at the intersection of East Main and South Ione Streets.” The Ione Police Officer on duty at the time was dealing with an unrelated case. The officer was booking a suspect into the Amador County Jail in Jackson, when the reported explosions occurred. Johnson said the “blasts were heard and even partially witnessed by various citizens” at about 5:15 p.m., but the incident was not reported to the police or fire departments until about 10:15 a.m. the following day. Upon responding to the scene on September 1st, IPD “located evidence of homemade bomb materials,” Johnson said. Some of the materials at the scene were classified as hazardous materials, and the scene was secured and contained. Cal Fire was summoned to the scene to assist with evidence collection and handling of the dangerous materials. The investigation soon identified a 14-year-old male juvenile suspect. The suspect admitted that he learned of the bomb-making procedure from the website “YouTube.com.” Johnson said: “It appears that the incident was not an act intending harm, destruction, or intimidation to anyone, but more an exhibition to impress another teenager.” He said the “homemade bombs are characteristic of a recent trend in explosive devices utilizing basic, easy to obtain ingredients: cleaning agent liquids, aluminum foil, and plastic bottles.” Ione Police Department was able to identify the materials at the scene with the help of recent officer training and shared law enforcement intelligence. Johnson said the juvenile is facing three felony charges of California penal code violations. Johnson said the Ione Police Department intends to distribute more information on the trend as a public safety and awareness effort in the upcoming city news letter later this month. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – Earlier this month, Amador County Public Health announced that three cases of Whooping Cough were confirmed in the county, and set a series of shot clinics to help people fight the contagious disease. The next free clinic is set for September 22nd, and Amador County Health urges adult caregivers of young infants to get booster shots. Public Health Educator Diana Evensen said 167 vaccinations were done at a free clinic August 26th, and it was good that daycare providers were discussing Whooping Cough, also known as pertussis. Amador County Health Officer Doctor Robert Hartmann said “because pertussis vaccination does not begin until 2 months of age and infants are not fully immune until after 6 months, the only way to protect young infants is to do everything we can to minimize their exposure. This means ensuring their parents and caregivers are immunized.” Vaccinating parents and caregivers for pertussis before or at the birth of the child is the most important way to protect infants. Because vaccination does not provide lifelong immunity, in addition to the five doses of vaccine prior to kindergarten, a booster dose is recommended between 11 and 18 years of age, and for all who may have close contact with infants. Pregnant women may be vaccinated before or during pregnancy or after giving birth. Fathers may also be vaccinated at any time, but preferably before the birth of their baby. The best prevention against this disease is vaccination. Evensen said people of all ages over 17 are eligible for the free clinic booster shots. The three cases reported in Amador County involved three “unimmunized children.” Hartmann urged awareness and prevention in Amador County due to a significant rise in illness in California due to whooping cough. Hartmann said: “The number of whooping cough cases reported this year is seven times greater than last year in the state,” and the illness has been linked to seven deaths in the state. He said: “All seven deaths reported in California were infants under three months old.” Whooping cough is an illness that is highly contagious, particularly to infants. Public health said the illness “typically starts with a cough and runny nose for 1 to 2 weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing sometimes ending with a whooping sound.” Unimmunized or incompletely immunized young infants are especially vulnerable. A free Whooping Cough, tetanus and diphtheria vaccine clinic is scheduled for 2:30 to 6:30 pm on Wednesday, September 22nd at the Health and Human Services Building on Conductor Boulevard in Sutter Creek for people 17 years old or older. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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California – Property values declined by 1.8 percent statewide for the current fiscal year, marking only the second drop since the state began collecting data in 1933. As announced by Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty T. Yee last week, the total value of state-assessed and county-assessed property declined to $4.371 trillion for 2010-11, a drop of $78.2 billion from the previous year. This also marks the second straight year-to-year decline in the statewide total. County-assessed property fell by $81.1 billion to $4.292 trillion, while state-assessed property consisting mostly of private public utilities equaled $79 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion. In total, 48 of California’s 58 counties posted year-to-year declines, with nine of them declining by five percent or more. Most of the decline centered in the Central Valley. The biggest decrease in the state was 11.9 percent in Calaveras County. Despite the news, Amador County Assessor Jim Rooney says our county is doing well compared to figures from most other counties in the state. “Typically we do quite well and show increases of up to 15 percent, and now when things are really down we are starting to show slight decreases,” he said. Amador County’s property values decreased by 3.75 percent over the current fiscal year. Rooney said his office is committed to assessing property at the lower of either fair market value or Proposition 13, a 1978 referendum that capped property-tax increases. The last time there was a downward adjustment to property values was after Prop 13’s passage. Rooney urges property owners to read their assessments carefully and to call his office if they believe their property is being overassessed. “Some people also have concerns over how this will affect county revenues, but I don’t think there should be huge concerns over this slight decrease,” said Rooney. Only two counties – Kern and San Francisco- saw values increase because of oil production. The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected entity that collects more than $48 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - In response to citizen complaints of illegal dumping, staff of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) – Mother Lode Field Office conducted a cleanup of several upcountry illegal dump sites on federal lands. The cleanup which took place on August 10th to 13th, 2010, involved sites off Tiger Creek Rd., Belden Mine Rd., Defender Grade and the north side of PG&E Road 8047 along the Mokelumne River canyon. Approximately 200 cubic yards of municipal solid waste, 100 waste tires, an RV trailer and 2 vehicles were removed from the areas. “The Amador County Environmental Health Department would like to extend its appreciation to Mr. Peter Graves, Environmental Protection Specialist for BLM, and the clean up contractors for their work performing this important public service,” said Michael Israel, Director of Environmental Health. In addition to BLM staff and contractors, local towing and waste disposal services were used in performing the cleanup. Amador County’s Solid Waste Ordinance prohibits roadside dumping and provides for fines of up to $500 per violation. Citizens in the eastern part of the county are encouraged to take trash to the Pine Grove Solid Waste Transfer Station at 19801 Berry Street, Pine Grove. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - The Board of Supervisors last week denied a claim for more than $10,000 filed by former Assessor candidate Jay Elias, who says county officials erred by keeping her on involuntary leave after medical evaluations found her medically and psychiatrically fit to perform her duties. The denial was made during closed session discussion on “potential litigation” facing Amador County. Elias was placed on unpaid leave on December 21st, 2009 and wasn’t allowed to return to work until March of this year. In a copy of the claim obtained by TSPN, Elias says the county placed her “medical fitness-for-duty at issue” and “relied upon and apparently adopted in its entirety the fitness-for-duty report” of a psychiatrist who considered her “totally disabled from work for medical reasons.” She says county officials refused subsequent evaluations from two other doctors who determined her medically and physically fit to perform her job, including an opinion from her family doctor. She calls the original psychiatric examination “critically flawed” for a number of reasons, and says those findings “are not supportable by clinical testing and evaluation.” She names county officials who were the alleged decision makers in determining her inability to return to work, including County Assessor Jim Rooney, former County Administrative Officer Terri Daly and Undersheriff James Wegner. The amount claimed exceeds $10,000 and would be an unlimited civil case. Her claim says the amount is based on past lost wages, various benefits, attorney’s fees and “emotional distress damages. The county’s decision to deny the claim may lead to future litigation. Elias declined to comment when contacted by phone. County officials also declined to comment because of the claim’s status as “potential litigation.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
