Amador County – The Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees heard a budget update last week that said figures are looking to be on target and the district could end the year with Nine-hundred-thousand dollars in reserves.

Tim Zearley, assistant Superintendent for business said with the “Basic Aid” revenue settlement from Amador County, some $500,000 dollars, the School District was headed toward finishing the fiscal year with a projected ending fund balance of $4.2 million dollars, and the equivalent of a 14 percent “basic aid reserve,” of $895,000 dollars.

Zearley said being a Basic Aid school district, Amador Unified is not subject to a midyear budget change, under the Governor’s May revise.

Also last week, the Board approved District policy toward revising the age criterion for admission into kindergarten or first grade, to meet new law, Senate Bill 1381 of 2010. The District approved the policy that will move the birth date that triggers enrollment eligibility one month each year between the 2012-2013 school year and the 2014-2015 school year.

For the current school year, a child had to be 5 years old by Dec. 2 of the school year to enter kindergarten and age 6 by that date to enter first grade. The policy change makes the date Nov. 1 of the school year for those birthdays, to enter those grades in the 2012-2013 school year. The date changes to Oct. 1 for the 2013-2014 school year, and Sept. 1 for the 2014-2015 school year, per the new policy.

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Amador County – The Amador County Planning Department announced that the Airport Land Use Commission is holding an informational public workshop June 11 toward an update of its Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan.

The Commission is in the process of updating the Plan for Amador County’s Westover Field Airport. The Plan, originally adopted in 1987, is used by the County, Sutter Creek and Jackson when reviewing development proposals, including building permits. It is used for various consistency determinations such as building construction standards, population intensities, and height and land use restrictions.

Types of compatibility concerns addressed in the Plan are exposure to noise attributable to aircraft operations; annoyance and other general concerns arising from routine aircraft flight over a community; protection of people on the ground and in the air from accidents; and protection of airspace from flight hazards.

Hazard examples are building height, electrical interference, lighting, glare, smoke or other impairments to visibility. Another hazard is uses which attract birds and create bird strike hazards.

The Commission is holding an informational Public Workshop to review the criteria that apply to all existing and future development located within 5,000 feet (approximately 1 mile) in all directions from the airport runway.

The Workshop is 3-5 p.m. Monday, June 11 in Supervisors Chambers.

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Amador County – The Department of the Interior announced last week two rulings for California tribes seeking casino trust lands, including the affirmative decision for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians’ pursuit of a casino land trust in Plymouth.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Donald “Del” Laverdure announced last week that the land was to be acquired in trust for gaming purposes under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s Equal Footing Exceptions.”

Laverdure said the Ione Miwoks’ “gaming application received a careful and thorough review, allowing us to determine that it met the stringent conditions set out” by the Act. He said the “Ione Band has demonstrated both a modern and historical connection to the lands it sought to have paced in federal trust, as well as reasonable temporal connection between the date the land is acquired and the date the tribe was restored to federal recognition status.”

He said the Ione Band has not held lands in trust by the U.S. government, but owns 40 acres of non-trrust land near Ione, used for residential purposes. Laverdure said in his decision announcement that the 750-member Ione Band “submitted an application in 2005 to have “228 acres of land acquired in trust for a Class 3 gaming operation near Plymouth.” He said in 2006, the Interior Department “determined that the Band constituted” a “restored tribe” and “that it’s application satisfied” the Gaming Act’s “restored lands exception” because it “had once been under federal jurisdiction but was effectively treated as a terminated tribe by the Department for many years.”

He noted that in 1994, the Interior Department “reaffirmed that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians was federally recognized, renewing the government-to-government relationship with the tribe.” The “action effectively restored the tribe for purposes under IGRA.” Laverdure said the Ione Miwoks’ decision “marks the first Indian gaming application completed under IGRA’s restored lands exception since September 2008.”

Laverdure also announced a decision to disqualify an application for the equal footing exception by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of Lake County, California seeking a gaming facility near Richmond, 80 miles from tribal headquarters in Lakeport. The denial was made because the Scotts Valley Band “could not demonstrate it had a significant historical connection to the site.”

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Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 6-1-12 - "Foothill Critters" takes a look at some of the people and animals that were taking part in Pioneer Days at the Kennedy Mine.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 6-1-12 - "Foothill Critters" takes a look at some of the people and animals that were taking part in Pioneer Days at the Kennedy Mine. 

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 6-1-12 - "Foothill Critters" takes a look at some of the people and animals that were taking part in Pioneer Days at the Kennedy Mine.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 6-1-12 - "Foothill Critters" visits Dunedoo Farms and speaks with Pat and Aggie Grady about their miniature horses.

Amador County – Amador High School’s Drama Club member Cecily Swason won the Rotary Club District speech contest in Nevada May 19, and a prize of $1,000.

Amador High drama advisor Giles Turner announced the award Tuesday, saying that Amador High senior Cecily Swason won the Rotary Club International District 5190 Speech Contest May 19 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, Nevada.

Speaking with 11 other area winners, Swason, the Secretary of the Amador Drama Club took the $1,000 first place prize, speaking on this year’s topic, “Reach within to transform the world, one life, one family, one community at a time.”

Swason qualified for the District Finals by winning the Amador County speech competition held March 21 at the Amador Senior Center in Jackson. The daughter of Elizabeth and Steve Swason of Shenadoah Valley, Cecily Swason is also the president of Interact at Amador High and is bound for University of California at San Diego in the fall.

Two years ago, Caitlin Schaap of Amador High Drama also won the District Speech Contest and $1,000.

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Amador County – Amador County Supervisors last week discussed potential cuts to the Animal Control budget, while industry professionals urged the importance of Animal Control.

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said A-PAL funding is included in Animal Control’s budget, under special services. Supervisor Ted Novelli asked why there was an increase in special service costs. Vail said the line item was restored by other line items.

Susan Manning of A- PAL said she thought it would be “best to cut workload areas where the workload is down.” She said A-PAL spent $57,000 last year, while we asked the county to contribute $15,000.”

Veterinarian Alison Pilsbury said she has seen how the shelter has changed and “now it is a poster for all of the shelters in California,” being well run and utilized with great staff.

She wanted to “go past warm and fuzzy and talk about liability.” She asked Supervisor Brian Oneto when was the last time that he roped and castrated cattle with no help. She said she asked Oneto because he has been in the cattle business a long time.

Pilsbury said you can have severe injury that can be career ending. She has access to drugs to calm down animals, but Animal Control officers may not have that.

She said shelter staff work with backup, but if it is needed and not there, they risk having career ending injury. When you deal with an animal that’s stressed and can turn and bite you, liability is very important.

Pilsbury said when an animal has been hit, employees are on call at night, and a veterinarian will be called to help. There is also potential rabies issues, which also need backup.

Forster said: “I have roped cows out in the middle of nowhere to pull a calf and it’s not very easy and it’s not very fun.” He said “cows don’t bite very hard but they can run over you.”

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Amador County – The Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees passed a resolution last week announcing upcoming elections in November in School Board Districts Areas 4 and 5, to be on the November ballot. ¶ Superintendent Dick Glock said the School District Area 4 seat held by Trustee Mary Walser and District Area 5 seat held by President Wally Upper would be coming up for election for the first time since Amador Unified switched from a seven-member board to a five-member board.

The Board voted 5-0 to approve a resolution giving notice of the governing board member election and declaration of candidacy period, notifying the Amador County Elections department that the seats would be on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

The resolution notes that “trustee area boundaries are coterminous with the adopted county supervisorial districts.” Qualifications for candidacy are that the “candidate must be a registered voter and reside within the trustee area.”

Declarations of candidacy may be obtained at the Elections Department, in the County Admin Building at 810 Court Street in Jackson, beginning July 16. Candidacy papers must be filed with County Clerk Sheldon Johnson by no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10. The resolution noted that if an eligible incumbent does not file a declaration of candidacy by that deadline, voters shall have until 5 p.m. on Aug 15 to nominate candidates other than the incumbent for the office.

The resolution said that the “County Superintendent of Schools, by this Notice of Election has called the election,” by order of the School Board. Glock said School Board seats in District Areas 1, 2 and 3 will be up for election in two years. The resolution also detailed appointment procedures, if no one files for the races.

Trustees and staff also discussed the restoration of staff hours and furlough days, restored to previous levels of 2010, when the board approved a voluntary 10 percent reduction of their monthly compensation as a show of support and solidarity for the concession and salary reductions taken by all District and Office of Education employees. Trustees approved restoring the reductions.

Trustee Pat Miller said he had been asked about the difference in furlough days between teachers, who had eight furlough days, and administrators, who had five furlough days in the previous agreement. An employee group representative also asked for an explanation of the difference.

Nancy Gamache, executive director of personnel for the Office of Education said the percentage of furloughs taken by each group is the same. Teachers work more days than administrators, so they had more actual furlough days in the 2010 agreement. Each group agreed to a 10 percent reduction by furlough.

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