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Wednesday, 07 July 2010 06:00

Measure M Allows Ione to Hire Paid Fire Staff

Amador County – An update from Ione…Using funds from Measure M, the City of Ione Fire Department is now staffing the fire stations with a paid fire fighter seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Phase one of the program allows the current paid/call fire personnel to work day shifts, allowing daily coverage, equipment maintenance, training and public safety during the times of the day when staffing may be low. This program is working extremely well for the department and is assisting in the overall mission to hire three full time personnel to staff the station 24 hours a day, and assist in continuing to provide the highest level of service and protection to our community. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the department at 209-274-4548. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Fire

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:29

AWA Balances Budget Without CAWP Rate Hike, Receives Prop 218 Protest

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency voted 5-0 Thursday to approve a balanced budget that made up for a $317,000 deficit, doing so without a rate increase in the Central Amador Water Project retail system. Later Thursday at a CAWP rate hearing, the board received what is believed to be enough protests to block the 3-year rate increase plan. David Evitt of Sutter Creek presented 1,691 signatures protesting the rate increase under Proposition 218 guidelines. Evitt and Martell resident Ken Berry led the signature drive, and Berry said they needed 1,313 signatures of the 2,625 customers to block the rate hike. The board voted 3-2 to count and verify the signatures, with Directors Terence Moore, Don Cooper and Gary Thomas in the majority. Moore said it was a legal requirement, and he also wanted to be able to tell the 1,000 customers who did not sign protests how many signatures won the protest. He said “if for some reason the protest fails, then the rate increase would go into effect,” but not this year, because it was not imposed in the budget.” He said he fully expected the protest to pass, and the board already approved a budget with no rate increase in CAWP. AWA’s balanced budget included 4 employee layoffs, and a pending 4 percent rate increase in the Amador Water System. Cooper said without a rate increase in CAWP retail, AWA reduces staff, service level and response time, “and there will be issue going forward that are totally unknown.” Board President Bill Condrashoff said he was convinced by testimony Thursday that AWA should not raise rates in CAWP, even if the protest failed. Vice President Debbie Dunn said “I don’t even know if this board will ask for verification,” and later made a motion to not verify signatures, but it failed for lack of a second. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:31

ACCNET Sting Leads to Two Arrests for Attempted Armed Robbery, Drug Possession

Amador County - Last Tuesday, the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (ACCNET) culminated an investigation that began regarding the solicitation for sales of marijuana via cellular phone texting and ended with the uncovering of a plot to rob the undercover agent posing as the dealer. An Amador County Probation Officer received a text message on their official cellular phone asking if they had marijuana. The Probation Officer contacted ACCNET and provided the message and the originating phone number. ACCNET was able to identify the phone number belonging to a Trevor Hobaugh, an 18 year old resident of Jackson. Confident that the sender was not aware that they had mistakenly texted the wrong phone number, ACCNET posed as a marijuana dealer and conducted several text messages where upon the Agent would trade marijuana and cash for Oxycontin to be supplied by Hobaugh. After failing to meet with the undercover agent at two locations to conduct the transaction, ACCNET agents (who were surveilling Hobaugh’s residence) made contact with him. Hobaugh was arrested for offering to sell Oxycontin. A search of the residence resulted in an 80 milligram Oxycontin pill, 27.5 grams of marijuana, and Oxycontin snorting and smoking paraphernalia being seized. Upon arresting Hobaugh agents discovered that Hobaugh had conspired with a Wesley Nelson, a 20 year old resident of Pine Grove, who is a validated Nortenio Gang member, to rob the person who would be meeting them with the money and marijuana. On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, ACCNET agents along with Jackson Police Department officers arrested Nelson at his Pine Grove Home. Both suspects were booked into Amador County Jail for the following charges: 664/211 PC Attempted Armed Robbery, 11352 H&S Offering to Sell a Controlled Substance, 11350 H&S Possession of a Controlled Substance, 182 PC Conspiracy, and 186.22 PC Participation in a Criminal Street gang. ACCNET is one of the 48 regional narcotic task forces that is operated by the Attorney General’s, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. The Amador County Combined Narcotic Enforcement Team is a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Amador County Sheriff’s Office, Amador County District Attorney’s Office, Amador County Probation Department, Amador County Child Protective Services, Jackson Police Department, Sutter Creek Police Department, Ione Police Department, Mule Creek State Prison, and the Amador Area Office of the California Highway Patrol. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:28

Jackson Road Projects Aided by Local Partnerships, Grants

Amador County – The newly-approved Jackson budget for fiscal year 2010-11 means the City is once again void of any capital improvement projects paid for by the General Fund. But according to Jackson City Manager Mike Daly, “the successful partnering with regional agencies and acquisition of grant funding…will keep construction activity going at a moderate pace.” Daly laid out a list of budget-related challenges the City may face in the coming fiscal year at a sparsely attended council meeting last week. Many Jackson road projects are being kept alive through a combination of local support and federal and state grants. Receiving the most attention as of late is Mission Boulevard Extension project, which was celebrated in a ground-breaking ceremony last month attended by the Jackson City Council and various other dignitaries. The road will be extended to intersect with Broadway for the cost of roughly $1 million. Sutter Amador Hospital CEO Anne Platt said extending the road was a “tremendous opportunity to serve the community.” District 1 Supervisor John Plasse, representing ACTC, said the commission “is proud of this project,” and “it’s great to see something happening.” The project is partly financed by a state grant and Regional Traffic Mitigation Fees. In addition, the Amador County Transportation Commission obtained a Proposition 1B State and Local Partnership Program grant to fund half the construction costs of this project. The original construction estimate was $1.6 million. Daly said they were in “a favorable bidding climate” that lowered construction costs. “This project will improve local and regional traffic circulation, reducing congestion at the busiest intersection in the County at Highway 49 and 88 adjacent to the Jackson Civic Center,” said Daly. He said “other projects moving through the preliminary engineering and environmental review process include an improvement to the Court Street and Highway 88 intersection funded by a Highway Safety Improvement Project grant from Caltrans and construction of a new slab bridge over the south fork of Jackson Creek at Marcucci Lane with funding from a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, intended to eliminate a bottleneck in the creek from the inadequately sized culvert in this location that causes flooding to South Avenue residences during major storm events.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:38

Jet Skis Collide on Lake Camanche, 3-Year-Old Injured

Amador County - Also on Friday, two jet skis carrying a juvenile and two adults collided at about 2 p.m. at North Shore Lake Comanche near piers Number 1 and 2. A 3-year-old, reported as a “pediatric patient,” was transported to U.C. Davic Medical Center by CALSTAR helicopter ambulance for “cuts to his head.” The child is expected to be OK. Both adults, reported as a 30-year-old male and a female, received moderate injuries in the wreck. The Amador County Sheriff-s Department is investigating the incident. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:40

Jackson Vehicle Collision Sends Two to Hospital

Amador County - A head-on collision Friday afternoon in the turn lane in front of Jackson Creek Shopping Center resulted in at least four minor injuries and two serious injuries. According to a bystander, a Pontiac Vibe was exiting the shopping center and collided with a Mazda Tribute SUV as it entered the turn lane. Jackson Detective Chris Mynderup said the collision was “pretty much head on.” The two vehicles carried a combined total of six passengers. At least two of the vehicle occupants were minors. Within minutes, emergency crews from across Amador County were on scene. Traffic was guided by while two Jackson fire trucks, Jackson Police vehicles, two CAL FIRE trucks, an American Legion Post 108 Ambulance and a tow truck crowded the roadway around the wreck. Emergency crews worked together to carefully help the passengers from the car, most of whom could do so voluntarily. The driver of the Vibe and the passenger in the Mazda Tribute were fitted with neck braces and carefully extracted from the battered vehicles before being placed in the ambulance. They were both transported to Sutter Amador Hospital for further examination, but were expected to make a full recovery. No names were released at the time this story was written. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:41

Lions July 4 Fireworks Light Up Jackson Junior High

Amador County – Hundreds of families and friends filled the Jackson Junior High School sports field Saturday for the annual Jackson Lions Club fireworks display. The event went off without any apparent mishaps and a consensus of fun having been had by all. The field by dusk was nearly filled as people spread blankets, camping chairs and small card tables and ate picnics as they awaited nightfall. Lions club members read off names of raffle winners, with Paul Molinelli Junior hosting the awards. Other Lions members manned the concession stand, and fire trucks and firefighter personnel ringed the field. The first bursts of the fireworks came shortly after the first stars appeared in the darkened sky. The fireworks marked the culmination of a week of fundraising by the Jackson Lions Club, which hosted its fireworks sales booth beginning last Monday at the John Aime Field parking lot at Detert Park. Sales continued through Saturday, the 4th of July. The fireworks aerial display and picnic opened at 5 p.m. Saturday at Jackson Junior High School’s Butte Bowl sports field. The free event included the snack bar, Bingo, kids’ games, a 50/50 raffle and the aerial fireworks display. The events and fireworks sales are some of the major fundraisers for the Jackson Lions Club, which supports a variety of youth programs, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Little League Baseball, youth basketball, wrestling, soccer and 4-H. JLC fundraisers provide more than $15,000 a year in scholarships a year “to deserving Amador area student, and also support guide dogs for the blind.” Another upcoming fundraiser is the Jackson Lions beer booth at the Amador County Fair. New President Craig Murphy and the Lions Club of Jackson have a weekly luncheon from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. at Mel & Faye’s Diner. For online information, see jacksonlionsclub.org, or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 06:54