Amador County – May is Stroke Awareness Month and Sutter Amador Hospital hosted an educational lecture on Thursday, May 17, to get the word out to help people know the signs of stroke so they can get immediate help.

Timely treatment for someone experiencing signs of a stroke is crucial for survival, and that is why Jackson neurologist Doctor Donald Van Fossan with Sutter Amador Hospital wanted to get the word out about how to recognize and treat a stroke.

Common stroke symptoms are usually sudden, including onset weakness on one side of the body, severe headache, and difficulty with vision, balance or speaking. Van Fossan said it is important for people to know the signs of a stroke and get help as fast as possible if they or someone else are experiencing these symptoms.

“It is imperative that they call 9-1-1 and have them brought to Sutter Amador Hospital,” Van Fossan said. “We have emergency treatments available that can limit the extent of the damage to the brain and those can only be beneficial within the first three hours.”

If patients are brought to the hospital in a timely manner, Van Fossan said they can be treated with a procedure called tissue plasminogen activators. “It’s a clot-busting medicine,” he said. “We can dissolve this clot to the brain and restore the circulation. This medicine can limit any potential damage to the brain from the stroke.”

In order to educate the public on strokes, their causes, their symptoms and new treatment options – as well as what can be done to help reduce the long-term effects – Van Fossan and Sutter Amador’s Emergency Department Stroke Champion, Doctor Ron Hood, led a community lecture on Thursday, May 17.

Doctor Richard Atkinson, a nationally recognized stroke specialist with the Sutter Neuroscience Institute who is based in Sacramento, joined them for the lecture. More than 70 community members attended the educational event, which was held in the Sutter Amador Outpatient Services Center at 100 Mission Boulevard in Jackson.

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Amador County – Railroad enthusiasts and speeder car club members will be filling the rails of the Amador County-to-Ione railroad tracks Memorial Day Weekend for the Sixth Annual Ione Rail Fair.

Excursion Coordinator Chuck Ratto appeared on TSPN’s AMLive last week to let the viewers know about the Rail Fair, which is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 26-27 at South Mill Street in Ione.

Tom Correa, Deputy Road Master, Amador Central Railroad said the Sixth Annual Memorial Day Rail Fair will be a weekend of fun for the entire family. It features speeder rides, model train exhibits, pony rides, food and craft vendors.

The fundraiser will help keep the Amador Central Railroad alive, and it is being sponsored by the Recreational Railroad Coalition Historical Society.

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Amador County – Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services kicked off its update on a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan May 9 with discussion of areas of hazard for which they may plan. 

Don Myshrall, semi-retired Ione building inspector, said Ione has had a few landslide and debris flows. In the late 1990s, “you could walk across Lake Pardee because of all the debris in there.”

Amador Water Agency’s operation manager Chris McKeage said the Camanche area is served by wells for water and they would be out on a limb on PG&E’s tunnel systems, and a earthquake could be huge there. He said AWA has senior rights on Bear River, and wondered about getting FEMA funds for raising lower Bear River reservoir’s dam to ensure they did not have a water shortage.

Supervisor Vice Chairman Richard Forster said AWA should also plan for possible failure of the Central Amador Water Project service area pipeline system, and include the Gravity Supply Line project in the plan.

Consultant, Jeanine Foster of AMEC Earth & Environmental said “you want everything in here that makes sense as a mitigation type project.” She said it should be a “wish list… You want to get everything in there and look at the problems down the road.”

Amador County Planning Director Susan Grijalva said freezes and power outages were a problem several years ago. An Amador Unified maintenance official said backup generators at schools would help during long-term outages to achieve shelters.

Jeanine Foster said her home state Colorado has blizzard response plans for winter. They can also plan with backup generators and by having good snow removal equipment, insulation for pipes, preparedness and education.

A woman from public health said her department was doing a public health risk assessment in the fourth week of May. Foster said that would be good for the plan update.

They discussed insects and pests, and Foster said some local plans included a “shoot the beaver” program and another aimed at eradicating feral pigs that were spreading e-coli contamination. Myshrall said the state was commonly inspecting for invasive Zebra Mussels at area lakes, which bring in a lot of people to this county.

Richard Forster said Amador County’s wine industry could be endangered by the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter grasshoppers, which have “caused millions of dollars in damage in Napa.”

Foster said she would send a list to the participants when it was compiled. She said participants should send her details of how hazards have affected your community specifically, and historic events.

She said the existing hazard mitigation plan should have most historic hazard events up to five years ago, and if they are adding new hazards, you would want to go back historically 50 years.

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Amador County – The Amador County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday announced the implementation of a new internet-based software program that will allow citizens to view crime and jail information through Sheriff’s Department website.

AmadorSheriff.org will have “Citizen RIMS” which will allow anyone with an Internet connection to view information online. Crime Mapping will show a common crime pin mapping feature where the user picks a time frame and the types of crimes to be mapped. Clicking on a mapped case icon shows more information about the case.

An arrest log displays arrests by the Amador Sheriff’s Department for the past 30 days. The log displays basic information, personal data that is allowed by statute and the booking photograph of the arrestee.

A “Who’s in Jail” feature gives access to detailed public information about people currently in custody. This is also where the public can access recent jail bookings from all law enforcement agencies in Amador County. For additional information about individual inmates, click on the inmate’s name.

A Crime Charts function summarizes Uniform Crime Reporting data in easily understood charts, with year to year comparisons. Missing Persons shows current Amador County Missing Persons with pictures, when available.

A “Sign Up for Alerts” feature allows site visitors to subscribe to a free service that emails new crime data to them on a daily or weekly basis. To sign up for alerts, follow the link at the bottom right of the website page.

Anyone can access the information by going to the Website at AmadorSheriff.org and following the link in the left hand column to “Citizen RIMS.”

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 131st Annual

Italian Picnic and Parade

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 5-17-12 - Mary Allen offers some advice for dealing with rattlesnakes this summer.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 5-17-12 - Kevin Clark introduces "Foothill Critters" to his African Tortoise Titan.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 5-17-12 - Mary Allen offers some tips for keeping your pet safe this summer.

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 5-17-12 - Kevin Clark gives "Foorhill Critters" a tour of hi Koi Pond. 

Amador County News, TSPN TV News Video, 5-18-12

• Kennedy Mine History Day takes 400 Amador County fifth-graders back in time.

• Ione monthly budget report shows $45,000 improvement through April.

• Richard Forster testified in San Diego on Rural Counties’ continued opposition to State Responsibility Area fire fees.

• Jackson approved a trash rate increase for ACES based on a 25% increase to dump at Keifer Landfill.