Jackson - A storm that brought the second most rainfall in October history also knocked out power to approximately 800,000 homes and businesses in northern California on Tuesday afternoon. Winds of up to 50 miles per hour uprooted trees and felled power lines across Amador County. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office reported 16 separate storm-related incidents between 2:45 and 4 p.m. Tuesday. The storm was the remnants of super typhoon Melor, which ravaged Japan and Guam earlier this month. Storm-related outages included one caused from broken power lines at 12002 New York Ranch Road, which was caused by a snapped utility pole, under a fallen tree. Firefighter crews from Jackson and the Jackson Rancheria Casino blocked traffic at either sides of the road, including right at the main entrance to the casino, and at the intersection of China Graveyard Road. The power line was presumed live, and the crews waited until PG&E could respond. Emergency crews were also called to Highway 49, north of Plymouth, where a tree had fallen and blocked the entire road. Another live power line was knocked down by falling trees at Nooner Drive in Ione, across the road from Preston Castle. The brunt of the storm hit half of Main Street in downtown Jackson, including TSPN studios, where the lights went out at about 2 p.m. and power on one side of the street stayed out for the rest of the afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, Amador County and Sacramento received 3.04 inches of rain, the second highest amount behind Santa Rosa, which received 3.14 inches. Pacific Gas and Electric utility said it restored power to most of the 677,000 customers who lost power, but 91,000 customers were still in the dark Wednesday morning. Power outages reached 2,400 in Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador County by late Tuesday evening. PG & E reported the majority of power throughout Amador County would be restored by mid-Wednesday morning. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which provides electricity to more than 590,000 customers in the state capital, said the storm knocked out more than 150,000 customers. As of Wednesday morning, 14,000 customers were still without power. The California Independent System Operator Corp (Cal ISO) reported Tuesday that a transmission emergency after the heavy rain and strong winds felled a 500-kilovolt power transmission bringing power from southern California. The line outage reduced the amount of power that could flow on Path 15 to about a third of what it can carry, Cal ISO said in a release. CAL ISO said the transmission pipeline was repaired around 10 pm Tuesday night. In Southern California and Santa Cruz, homeowners recently threatened by summer forest fires piled sandbags to ward off mudslides from the surrounding hills stripped of vegetation. Story by Alex Lane and Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell – An attempted robbery was foiled Friday at a bookstore in Martell when a clerk said “no” to a robber, who had passed her a note seeking cash and saying he had a gun. A cashier employed at the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore, located at 11984 Highway 88, Suite 2064, near Save Mart and Dollar Tree, reported the attempted robbery in a 9-1-1 call to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, at about 4:11 p.m. Friday. Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner in a release Monday said sheriff’s deputies and detectives responded and were on the scene and checking the area within minutes, but were not successful in locating the suspect. Based on witness statements and review of the store’s video surveillance system, Wegner said the suspect is a white male, approximately 55 to 60 years old, approximately 5-foot, 6-inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with grey hair and a grey goatee. He was wearing a dark blue baseball cap, dark blue long sleeve windbreaker style zip up jacket, brown knee length shorts, white ankle socks and black tennis shoes. Wegner said the suspect first entered the store at 3:46 p.m. and “appeared to be cognizant of the video surveillance cameras as he entered and ‘cased’ the store.” The suspect spent 8 minutes in the store, never speaking with anyone, before leaving. The suspect returned at 4:11 p.m. (17 minutes after leaving from his first visit to the store). Upon entering the store the second time, the suspect immediately approached the cashier and presented her with a bag and a note. The note said that the suspect had a gun and demanded that the cashier place money in the man’s bag. Wagner said “the cashier responded by saying ‘no’.” The suspect then told her to put money in the bag, and the cashier again refused. The suspect the “took the note and the bag and fled the area in an unknown direction.” There were no customers in the store during the attempted robbery, which took less than a minute. The cashier said the suspect never displayed a gun, nor did she observe any indication that the suspect was actually armed with a gun. Sheriff’s Office personnel were successful in locating and recovering physical evidence at the scene which will be processed by the sheriff’s evidence technician and then forwarded to the California Department of Justice for comparison. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (209) 223-6500 or the Secret Witness Program at (209) 223-4900. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – On Oct. 6th, the Amador County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring this year’s recipients of the Amador County Peace Officers Association’s annual awards. Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan was named the 2009 Peace Officer of the Year by Officers Association, and the group named Jackson sign company owner and TSPN personality Kam Merzlak as its 2009 Citizen of the Year. The Officers Association plans a ceremony honoring the recipients of its annual award at a dinner Saturday, Oct. 24 at the American Legion Hall in Martell. Ryan said Tuesday it was quite an honor and a surprise to be selected. He said it was a prestigious group of retired police officers in the POA, from many different backgrounds and from all over the state who settle here. So to be selected by them to be honored for having contributed to local law enforcement was a big honor. And he thanked many people in the community. Ryan said: “None of this happens by yourself as an individual. I work with a great team in Amador County.” In his second year and first term in the sheriff’s office, he said he has built great relationships in collaborating with other public agencies. Those included the local jurisdiction police chiefs and departments, the Amador County unit of the California Highway Patrol and its commander, the Department of Health and Human Services, victim’s protection groups including Operation Care, Mule Creek State, California Youth Authority and the Amador County probation office. He said he has built a trust between his department and the other agencies, and without that “ability to get along,” he “would not be able to accomplish anything.” Kam Merzlak, owner of Merzlak Signs and a TSPN AMLive host, said he was notified of his Citizen of the Year award about 2 weeks ago. He said he felt honored to be among some of the former winners. He said at least 4 people told him they nominated him for the award. Merzlak said he feels he is a “catalyst,” and “gathering people together and getting people to work together as a team – that’s what I do.” He is active anywhere possible, and said: “You name it, I’m there to assist when I can.” The event starts at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m., Saturday, October 24th, at American Legion Hall, Martell. Tickets are $25, available at the sheriff’s office, or by calling the POA at 267-1820. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martell – An attempted robbery was foiled Friday at a bookstore in Martell when a clerk said “no” to a robber, who had passed her a note seeking cash and saying he had a gun. A cashier employed at the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore, located at 11984 Highway 88, Suite 2064, near Save Mart and Dollar Tree, reported the attempted robbery in a 9-1-1 call to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, at about 4:11 p.m. Friday. Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner in a release Monday said sheriff’s deputies and detectives responded and were on the scene and checking the area within minutes, but were not successful in locating the suspect. Based on witness statements and review of the store’s video surveillance system, Wegner said the suspect is a white male, approximately 55 to 60 years old, approximately 5-foot, 6-inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with grey hair and a grey goatee. He was wearing a dark blue baseball cap, dark blue long sleeve windbreaker style zip up jacket, brown knee length shorts, white ankle socks and black tennis shoes. Wegner said the suspect first entered the store at 3:46 p.m. and “appeared to be cognizant of the video surveillance cameras as he entered and ‘cased’ the store.” The suspect spent 8 minutes in the store, never speaking with anyone, before leaving. The suspect returned at 4:11 p.m. (17 minutes after leaving from his first visit to the store). Upon entering the store the second time, the suspect immediately approached the cashier and presented her with a bag and a note. The note said that the suspect had a gun and demanded that the cashier place money in the man’s bag. Wagner said “the cashier responded by saying ‘no’.” The suspect then told her to put money in the bag, and the cashier again refused. The suspect the “took the note and the bag and fled the area in an unknown direction.” There were no customers in the store during the attempted robbery, which took less than a minute. The cashier said the suspect never displayed a gun, nor did she observe any indication that the suspect was actually armed with a gun. Sheriff’s Office personnel were successful in locating and recovering physical evidence at the scene which will be processed by the sheriff’s evidence technician and then forwarded to the California Department of Justice for comparison. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (209) 223-6500 or the Secret Witness Program at (209) 223-4900. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – On Oct. 6th, the Amador County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring this year’s recipients of the Amador County Peace Officers Association’s annual awards. Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan was named the 2009 Peace Officer of the Year by Officers Association, and the group named Jackson sign company owner and TSPN personality Kam Merzlak as its 2009 Citizen of the Year. The Officers Association plans a ceremony honoring the recipients of its annual award at a dinner Saturday, Oct. 24 at the American Legion Hall in Martell. Ryan said Tuesday it was quite an honor and a surprise to be selected. He said it was a prestigious group of retired police officers in the POA, from many different backgrounds and from all over the state who settle here. So to be selected by them to be honored for having contributed to local law enforcement was a big honor. And he thanked many people in the community. Ryan said: “None of this happens by yourself as an individual. I work with a great team in Amador County.” In his second year and first term in the sheriff’s office, he said he has built great relationships in collaborating with other public agencies. Those included the local jurisdiction police chiefs and departments, the Amador County unit of the California Highway Patrol and its commander, the Department of Health and Human Services, victim’s protection groups including Operation Care, Mule Creek State, California Youth Authority and the Amador County probation office. He said he has built a trust between his department and the other agencies, and without that “ability to get along,” he “would not be able to accomplish anything.” Kam Merzlak, owner of Merzlak Signs and a TSPN AMLive host, said he was notified of his Citizen of the Year award about 2 weeks ago. He said he felt honored to be among some of the former winners. He said at least 4 people told him they nominated him for the award. Merzlak said he feels he is a “catalyst,” and “gathering people together and getting people to work together as a team – that’s what I do.” He is active anywhere possible, and said: “You name it, I’m there to assist when I can.” The event starts at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m., Saturday, October 24th, at American Legion Hall, Martell. Tickets are $25, available at the sheriff’s office, or by calling the POA at 267-1820. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.