County News

Tim Brown, formerly the postmaster at Copperopolis, has taken over the helm as the new postmaster at the Valley Springs office.

Brown, formerly the postmaster at Copperopolis, replaces Dann Myers who moved to his hometown post office at Bethel Island in mid-February.

Brown has been with the U.S. Postal Service for 16 years. He started as a clerk in the Salida Post Office and was the postmaster in Copperopolis for 12 years. In addition, he has been the officer-in-charge at Atwater and Turlock and a customer service manager in Manteca.

“This is a good opportunity for me – it’s one level higher than Copperopolis,” Brown said about his move and promotion.

Brown is familiar with the Valley Springs community through his years working within Calaveras County at the nearby Copperopolis office and frequently boating at New Hogan.

He does not see any changes at the Valley Springs office in the foreseeable future.

Brown, who began his duties as postmaster at the Valley Springs office at the beginning of August, said he is a stickler for customer service, right after employee safety.

He lives in Escalon with his wife Gina and their daughter Megan, who is a college student. Gina is a Registered Nurse in Modesto.

Brown’s official swearing in ceremony as Valley Springs’ postmaster is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24.

The former Schwoerer residence at 169 Daphne St., the second oldest residence in the Valley Springs townsite, is on the market.

The former residence of George "Dutch" and Lucy Schwoerer at 169 Daphne St. is listed by Debbie Shaw at Realty World Classic Foothills Properties in a short sale for $119,000.

According to local historian and author Sal Manna, the house is the second oldest residence in the Valley Springs townsite. It was built in 1889 by the Methodist Episcopal Church as the parsonage and served as the home for Methodist preachers until a new parsonage was built in 1950.

The building was subsequently used for Sunday school, group meetings, as a social hall and as housing for non-resident ministers.

The property in the late 1950s was sold to the Schwoerers, who owned it until Dutch's death in 2006.

The house is 992 square feet with two bedrooms and a bathroom, while the lot is 5,663 square feet and also has an oversized detached garage.

A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the property's loan. It often occurs when a borrower cannot pay the mortgage loan on their property, but the lender decides that selling the property at a moderate loss is better than pressing the borrower.

If there is no buyer, the property could go into foreclosure and be auctioned off.

Motorists traveling along State Route 26 near South Burson Road were subjected to some inconveniences for approximately an hour Wednesday morning after a solo big-rig accident. No injuries were reported. Photos by Steven Judson.

Sukha Singh of Hayward escaped injury last Wednesday morning after he lost control of the big rig he was driving on State Route 26 near South Burson Road.

According to Rebecca Myers of the CHP, Singh was westbound on State Route 26 transporting a load of riprap from Valley Springs to the Bay Area at about 8:10 a.m. He was traveling at approximately 40 mph when he entered a curve near South Burson Road and due to his unsafe speed, the trailer flipped on its right side. The entire rig came to rest on the right side of the road and blocked both lanes of travel.

Traffic flow was disrupted for nearly an hour as the accident scene was cleared.

District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas points toward Hogan Dam Road and down the project route for a new local road he envisions to relieve rush hour traffic woes in downtown Valley Springs.

Motorists’ workday morning and late afternoon frustrations navigating the State Route 12/26 intersection through Valley Springs could be alleviated at no cost to the taxpayers, in a relatively short time and without spending $2.5 million to $4 million on a project with the potential to ruin the downtown.

District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas would like to see the county pursue a local connector road linking Hogan Dam Road with Lime Creek Road.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday was scheduled to discuss the SR12/26 Intersection Improvement Project and Thomas expected some of the talk to focus on the local bypass he favors.

It’s clear from the engineering firm working on the intersection improvement project that neither a signal nor a roundabout will solve the morning and late afternoon traffic woes at the intersection, Thomas said.

“The signal (or roundabout) in and off itself will not be enough of a solution to alleviate the traffic congestion problem,” Thomas said. “Add to that the fact it will change the flavor of that area of Valley Springs forever. It will severely compromise people’s ability to conduct business at that intersection.”

Draft plans for the four-way signal solution call for the acquisition of 5,891.7 square feet and elimination of 11 of 31 on-street parking spaces, while the roundabout would require 7,939.9 square feet and eliminate 17 of 31 on-street parking spots.

It will take a series of improvements to accommodate existing and future traffic demands in the Valley Springs area, he said, and construction of the local connector road will go a long way to alleviating the existing rush-hour congestion.

In addition, the connector road would remove the pressure to make the irreversible decision to tear up much of the downtown to accommodate a signal or roundabout, he said.

He has been in discussions with the Ponte family and the Calaveras County Water District to place the proposed connector on a strip of land that previously – many decades ago - served as a road. Much of the old roadbed is still visible.

The proposed new roadway in between Hogan Dam and Lime Creek roads is approximately 4,800 feet long and Thomas estimates it would cost approximately $1 million to $1.5 million to pave it 20 feet wide.

It follows a small ridge and is above the sensitive wetland area along Springs Valley Creek.

The county has $7.5 million in its Road Impact Mitigation fee account, and while those funds would be tapped for the initial work, Thomas envisions the county entering into a development agreement with the Pontes and the up-front, public funding eventually being reimbursed as building occurs in the area.

Such an agreement would call for the dedication of a 100-foot right-of-way so it does not foreclose future transportation options in the area, he said.

The timeline for completion of the connector project could be within 18 months, he added.

Thomas and District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli are holding a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, at the Veterans Memorial Hall, 189 Pine St., Valley Springs.

Topics include Cosgrove Creek flood mitigation and creek maintenance, the Valley Springs Community Plan update and comments will also be accepted on the intersection improvement project.

Personnel matters plaguing the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District the past month could be heading toward litigation and at the root of the potential legal action is what is now being called a bogus letter from a former firefighter alerting the public to command staff improprieties.

In the wake of the letter, Fire Chief Brian Chavez-Ochoa resigned and the district’s Board of Directors last week indicated they intended to place Division Chief Scott Mullin on paid administrative leave.

Chavez-Ochoa this week issued a statement saying “the letter was a hoax and the inspiration of a conspiracy hatched by both present and former Jenny Lind firefighters as well as others in the community.”

The letter, which first appeared July 14, 2010, on thepinetree.net was attributed to a Josh Coscellar, a “former Jenny Lind Fire Probationary Firefighter.”

Chavez-Ochoa said he was skeptical of the letter since Joshua Castellar’s name was misspelled. That prompted Chavez-Ochoa to contact Castellar who has written the former chief saying he did not write the letter in question.

The letter accused the command staff of physical harassment, misappropriating public funds, dereliction of duty and inept leadership.

Chavez-Ochoa said thepinetree.net provided him with the original e-mail containing the bogus letter and subsequent postings in response to the original e-mail.

“Each post contained the IP addresses of the senders thereby allowing identification of the individuals posting the blogs,” Chavez-Ochoa said.

The former fire chief said the original letter, several of the subsequent blogs and faxes of the letter have been tracked down to a computer and fax number at the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District.

In addition, five blogs in response to the letter e-mailed to thepinetree.net were sent from the computer and/or router of the Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District.

One firefighter, in particular, works for both districts and was on duty each day the e-mails and faxes were sent, Chavez-Ochoa said.

“It is also equally clear that more than one individual engaged in the scheme to libel the chief officers of the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District,” Chavez-Ochoa said in his statement. “We are making every effort to hold all of the individuals responsible for these fraudulent and libelous act(s) accountable to not only the community but also having to answer for their fraudulent behavior in the Superior Court.”

The former fire chief, who also practices law in Valley Springs, said he has spoken with the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office and is asking for “a criminal investigation to determine whether or not any criminal culpability is inherent in this noted malicious conduct.”

In the meantime, Chavez-Ochoa said he is pursuing civil action against those behind the letter and blogs.

An official from the Jenny Lind Firefighters Association credited the letter for an increase in public participation at last month’s regular meeting of the Jenny Lind board.

“I wonder what the people will think that have attended the last two board meetings of the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District when they learn that their anger is precipitated by a lie and the lie was promulgated by individual(s) with present and former ties to the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District based upon selfish and fraudulent motivations,” Chavez-Ochoa added.

The former chief is also representing Mullin and has placed the district on notice that it has violated the division chief’s employment rights and expectation to privacy regarding personnel matters.

The board at a July 30 special meeting reached a consensus to place Mullin on paid administrative leave after receiving a letter of no confidence from some of the volunteers and a harassment complaint for one firefighter.

The matter was not on the agenda and Mullin never received notice of the pending action against him, Chavez-Ochoa said.

Mullin has received a “Right to Sue” notice under the provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.

In a complaint of discrimination, Mullin said he is being harassed because he took “good faith discipline actions against an employee for significant safety and health violations.”

Chavez-Ochoa said Mullin is seeking an order to restrain the district from further discriminatory actions and monetary damages.

Reviewing an aerial view of possible improvements, including a four-way traffic signal at the State Route 12/26 intersection, at Monday’s public workshop are, from left, Don Powlesland, Andy Ballantyne and Gene Quarton.

Details concerning two new intersection plans for Valley Springs were revealed at a Monday evening workshop that raised concerns whether there would be much of a downtown left once one of the projects were completed.

“Your project will be a nightmare,” said Andy Ballantyne of Rancho Calaveras.

He said the proposed intersection improvements would ruin the downtown’s character, disrupt too many businesses, substantially reduce the number of downtown parking spaces and most of all harm pedestrian access.

A recent survey of Valley Springs’ residents indicated they were in favor of a bypass to solve the downtown’s traffic woes, said Pat Perreira of Campo Seco. No project was the public’s second choice, she added, and there was no support for a roundabout at the intersection.

Right-of-way acquisition and construction of a traffic signal at the intersection will cost $3 million to $4 million, while a roundabout will be $2.5 million to $3 million, a local bypass will cost between $5 million and $7 million, and a state highway bypass will be from $40 million to $50 million-plus.

The county’s share for construction would be between zero and 12 percent, except for the local bypass, which would have to be 100 percent funded by the county.

The four-way signal solution would require the acquisition of 5,891.7 square feet and eliminate 11 of 31 on-street parking spaces, while the roundabout would require 7,939.9 square feet and eliminate 17 of the 31 on-street parking spots. Both proposals cut into the Tri-Dam Realty office on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Both of those projects could be completed within 24 to 30 month time spans, while it could take 30 to 42 months for a local bypass/connector and 76 months to 10 years for a state highway bypass.

Seanna Hogan of Valley Springs questioned whether now was the time to spend any money on highway improvements given the state of the economy and the debt being piled up by the state and federal governments.

Valley Springs developer Guy Myers said the money has already been collected through gas taxes and development fees and it is Caltrans’ responsibility to fix the intersection, something it should have done 20 years ago.

Valley Springs developer Jeff Davidson said a number of traffic improvement projects could be done in phases, with the bypass being the final solution.

Work could begin with improvements in the downtown and private proposals, such as his Mission Ranch subdivision, could work with the county to have new roads alleviate some of the existing traffic problems, he said.

Davidson said he was concerned with the loss of parking in the downtown and suggested that the final intersection plan should address how those spaces will be replaced.

District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas said he agreed with Davidson’s idea about phased solutions and working with landowners to provide new routes, such as the one through the Ponte Ranch and identified in Dokken’s study as a bypass alternative alignment.

A study session on 12/26 intersection improvements is scheduled for next Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting, Boyer said.

Matthew Maddox displays a Quilt of Honor he received from Gail Belmont at the July 27 Valley Springs Community Blood Drive held on his behalf.

The Wallace soldier seriously injured in an accident May 26 while at home on leave from Afghanistan was on hand for a portion of last week’s Valley Springs Community Blood in his honor.

Matthew Maddox, 20, the son of Mike and Suzy Maddox, said he was grateful for the show of community support demonstrated at the blood drive.

Maddox sustained multiple injuries after being run over by a grader on Camanche Parkway South just south of Olivera Court. He is recovering at home and recently began taking steps with the assistance of a walker.

“It was heart warming to see the number of people who came to the drive to support Matt,” said

Stephanie Kresse of BloodSource, which along with the Mother Lode Council of the Knights of Columbus sponsored the blood drive at the Valley Springs Health and Fitness Center.

“For such a seemingly unpopulated area there were so many people who came from all over your region to show their support,” she added. “I had calls and emails from people in surrounding communities looking for blood drives or centers to donate for Matt. I spoke with two women who said they had been teachers - preschool and elementary school - of Matt’s and mentioned what a wonderful child he had been. They both wanted to donate blood.”

BloodSource and the Mother Lode Council of the Knights of Columbus hold the Valley Springs drive every other month and Tuesday’s effort reached new records.

“We registered 140 people, collected 117 units of life saving blood and had 66 new donors - people who had never donated with BloodSource before,” Kresse said.

“Kudos to our community, they never seem to disappoint,” said Bob Mariani of the Mother Lode Council of the Knights of Columbus and the local blood drive coordinator.

“Holly and Lesley Potter did an impressive job of getting the word out and recruiting participants,” Kresse added.

“The townspeople have been very nice to me,” he said following the presentation of a Quilt of Honor from Gail Belmont, director of the non-profit organization that makes the quilts to comfort injured and wounded service men and women.

“I hope Matt enjoyed this special day,” Kresse said. “It’s obvious that he has touched many lives and has such great friends.”

Assistant Sara Caywood, left, and Dr. Tim Park at work during Friday’s free dental clinic.

Dr. Tim Park of La Contenta Dental and his staff provided free dental treatment to more than two dozen patients on Friday.

It was the fourth time in the past two years Dr. Park and his staff have set aside part of a day to treat patients from the community for free.

“We all live here, shop and go to school here and know times are tough and want to give back to our community,” said Frances Siria, La Contenta Dental’s office manager.

Patients were treated on a first-come, first-served basis and 25 were seen in the morning and afternoon hours. The treatment included free cleanings, fillings and extractions.

Five of the patients were children and the free service is provided with them in mind so they can go back to school in good dental health, Siria said.

Dr. Park was unable to see several other patients within the time period, but their names were taken and they will be called back later.

In all, Dr. Park and his staff provided $8,188 in free treatment and he plans to do similar clinics in the future, Siria said.

Pfc. Matthew Maddox was on leave from Afghanistan when he was injured in a May 26 accident.

West Calaveras County residents have an opportunity to help a young man who has already made numerous contributions to his community and country when they participate in the Tuesday, July 27, blood drive sponsored by BloodSource and the Mother Lode Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Nineteen-year-old Matthew Maddox of Wallace – a graduate of Calaveras High School and an Eagle Scout - sustained multiple injuries after being run over by a grader May 26 on Camanche Parkway South just south of Olivera Court.

Maddox, who was on leave from his duties with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan to attend his older brother Michael’s college graduation, was running along side the grader helping a friend move when he lost his footing in the rain. Maddox fell and was run over by the tractor. Among his injuries, he sustained a fractured femur, tibia, pelvis and tailbone, and an orbital blowout fracture to the right eye.

He was airlifted to the trauma center at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael where he underwent four surgeries. He received more than nine units of blood after the accident and was given more blood/platelets for the next several days while in ICU.

In all, Maddox was in the hospital for more than three weeks and was home for 10 days before having to be re-admitted due to an infection in one of his wounds.

Maddox, the son of Mike and Suzy Maddox, is now back at home and doing well, said his mother.

“Matthew is expected to make a full recovery, but that may take approximately a year,” she said.

More surgery is scheduled and he will go to the UCSF Medical Center in September for his next operation.

Maddox is a private first class and was due to be promoted to Specialist upon his return to Afghanistan after his leave.

He graduated from CHS in 2008 and began his basic training in August of that year. He is a member of the 173^rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, currently deployed in Afghanistan, but stationed in Vicenza, Italy.

While a Boy Scout in Troop 302 of Valley Springs, Maddox his Eagle Scout community project completed a monument in front of the Jenny Lind Cemetery honoring those who served our county.

Earlier this week, he stood up with assistance from his physical therapist for the first time since his accident. His 20^th birthday is July 25 and he is planning to walk by then.

He is also looking forward to eventually rejoining his Army unit, his mother said.

The Tuesday, July 27, blood drive is from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Valley Springs Health and Fitness Center, 145 Mangili Road, off Highway 26.

In addition to helping Maddox, blood drive participants will receive a coupon for a pint of Baskin and Robbins ice cream.

Giving blood is easy, safe and takes less than one hour. All walk-ins are welcome and childcare is available.

To give blood, a donor must be in generally good health, free from cold symptoms for at least 48 hours, at least 17 years old (16 with parent’s consent) and weigh 110 pounds or more. There is no upper age limit for donating blood. Prospective donors must bring a photo ID.

In addition to possibly helping Maddox in his upcoming surgery, blood donations are used to treat burn victims, transplant patients, people who must undergo surgery, those injured in accidents, patients with leukemia, and much more. BloodSource also provides blood locally to Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas.

For more information about the Valley Springs Community Blood Drive, call Stephanie Kresse at 1-800-995-4420, extension 60039. For donor eligibility questions, call BloodSource at 1-800-995-4420.

One of Valley Springs’ favorite food establishments has re-opened under new ownership.

The Villa Bakery, located at The Terrace shopping center off Highway 26 at Vista Del Lago, resumed operations July 1 under the ownership of Tom and Ann Plusko of Valley Springs.

They took over the business from Moses and Linda Escalante who opened the bakery in February 2008.

Tom, who grew up in the bakery and pastry business, is the chief pastry chef and manager. He was 12 years old when he began working with his father Bud, a popular baker in Simi Valley and Oxnard.

Tom had his own bakery in Oxnard, Heavenly Cakes and More, specializing in special order cakes, before going to work with Safeway, starting in the bakery department and spending 20 years in management.

Approaching retirement from Safeway, Tom saw an opportunity to resume his passion to bake and a year ago was hired as the pastry chef at Dancing Fox Bakery Winery in Lodi.

Within the year, Dancing Fox won the prestigious “Best of Lodi” award in the bakery division, surpassing long-time winner Cottage Bakery, Tom said.

Ann ran a Family Fun Center for a couple of years before selling it to their business partners and moving to Valley Springs.

Plusko’s Villa Bakery is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. In time, they may open earlier for early morning commuters.

The response to the re-opening of Villa Bakery has been good so far, Tom said, and they have had to hire some extra help to meet the demand.

The bakery this week is holding its grand opening. To mark the occasion, there will be samples of some of the bakery’s specialties. Cheesecakes will be featured on Wednesday, chocolate moose cake on Thursday, Champagne cake on Friday and sourdough and focaccia breads on Saturday.

Many of Tom’s creations are based on recipes from his father, such as the Champagne cake, which his father originated, and carrot cake.

The Villa Bakery menu also includes bagels, several types of filled croissants, a variety of muffins, quiche, scones, baguettes, shepherd’s bread, chocolate almond delight, seasonal fresh fruit cakes, a wide variety of cookies, assorted Danish, turtle brownies, rocky road brownies, éclairs, cream pies, turnovers and calzones for here or to go. Coffee, lemonade and tea are also served.

Wedding, birthday and other specialty cakes are available with at least 24-hour advance notice. Smaller cakes, a perfect dessert for two, are sold daily.

Some of their baked goods are beginning to appear elsewhere. Common Grounds and Marido’s Beyond Juice Deli are using their breads.

“That’s an area we want to expand in,” Tom said. “We plan on connecting with other local businesses in the future.”

Miss Calaveras 2010 Rebecca Marie Fischer, left, with her court of Jessica Evans, center, and Rebecca Erin Gilbert.

Rebecca Fischer of West Point won the title of Miss Calaveras 2010 the opening night of the county fair, but two Valley Springs misses figured prominently in the scholarship pageant.

Rebecca Erin Gilbert, 18, the daughter of Tom and Judy Gilbert of Valley Springs, finished second runner-up for the Miss Calaveras title and won the talent portion of the competition, while Katherine Jones of Valley Springs, a sophomore at California State University, Fresno, gathered $500 in scholarships by winning the Director’s Award, Community Service Award and Miss Congeniality.

Gilbert, a senior at Calaveras High School, impressed the five out-of-county judges with her singing performance to the aria of “Into the Night” by Clara Edwards. She received a $100 scholarship for winning the talent competition, $400 as second runner-up and another $100 scholarship as “The Belle of the Camp” for selling the most tickets to the Coronation Ball.

She plans to attend American River College in Sacramento in the fall and transfer to University of the Pacific to study vocal performance and business management.

Fischer and Gilbert were joined as the finalists by first runner-up Jessica Evans of Angels Camp. The contestants were judged in four categories – talent, which accounted for 40 percent, interview at 30 percent, evening gown and personal statement at 20 percent and health and fitness at 10 percent.

Fischer, also an 18-year-old senior at Calaveras High School, sang “My Favorite Things” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” enroute to her title, while Evans, an 18-year-old senior at Bret Harte High School, played the piano to a piece by Chopin.

Fischer, who plans to attend CSU, Channel Islands in Camarillo where she will double major in early childhood studies and English, with an emphasis in creative writing, received a $1,000 scholarship for winning the pageant and $100 for being named Most Photogenic.

The fair concluded Sunday with Michael Wright jockeying “4 Peat” to a win in the frog jump competition with a leap of 19 feet, 1 inch.

Tri-Dam 4-Hers, from left, Logan Sullivan, Dane Ehlers, Casey Copulos and Matt Elliott with their organically grown meat goats.

A local effort to bring more organically grown animals to the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee has increased four-fold this year.

The push toward bringing organically grown animals to the fair took root last year when Nick Elliott from Campo Seco brought a goat that fetched $1,210 at the livestock auction. His goat sold for $8 a pound, nearly twice the going rate for non-organic goats.

Nick’s brother Matt and three other members of Tri-Dam 4-H – Casey Copulos, Dane Ehlers and Logan Sullivan – hope to achieve similar results with their organic meat goats.

The 2010 fair began Thursday and runs through Sunday, which is also the day of the junior livestock auction. Prior to Sunday’s 9 a.m. auction, the market goat show is schedule for 8 a.m. Friday.

The four organic goat growers – who are students at Valley Springs Elementary and Toyon Middle schools - will be very visible during their barn duties at the fair with T-shirts reading “Ask Me About My Organic Goat.”

Trish Elliott, Nick and Matt’s mother and the meat goat leader for the local 4-H club, said the animals come from organic stock and it costs about 25 percent more to raise a goat organically through the purchase of certified organic feed and organic alfalfa.

The higher price for feed is just one of the cons about raising organic meat goats. If injured or sick, the animal cannot receive any shots and only topical treatments are acceptable.

Three of the boys raised a pair of goats, so if one of their animals needed medical treatment, they would have another to show at the fair. The move was a wise decision, as one of the animals did need medication.

Trish has been working to expand the organic meat goat program to other 4-H clubs and explains the pros and cons to other 4-Hers.

When the animals are judged at this year’s fair, the four Tri-Dam 4-Hers will receive special recognition for their goats being organically grown and there will be bonus based on their placement, Trish added.

Builder and Calaveras County Water District Area 5 Director Jeff Davidson outlines his concerns with the Valley Springs Community Plan as proposed.

The proposed Valley Springs Community Plan update that has been in the works for the past year did not receive a warm welcome at Tuesday’s meeting of the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.

After hearing several hours of pros and cons about the proposed update, which would replace a community plan established in 1975, the board unanimously decided to postpone consideration of the update until its May 25 meeting.

In the meantime, District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli is in charge of working to resolve conflicts that have arisen out of the proposed update and preparing a more attractive document for the board’s final consideration.

The community plan was unveiled Tuesday by Calaveras Council of Government officials Tim McSorley, executive director, and Tyler Summersett, project manager and transportation planner. They outlined the methods used to arrive at the final map including a recent internet-based survey.

Builder and Calaveras County Water District Area 5 Director Jeff Davidson was critical of the community plan update process and unsubstantiated votes superseding the rights of local property owners.

“There was no map of what individual property owners wanted,” Davidson said. “That should have been the first map presented.”

He said it was easy to manipulate the questionnaire process with multiple voting and voting by people who do not live or own property in the community.

Tonja Dausend of Burson said the questionnaire was “blatantly slanted” and regardless of what the results are, a popular majority can’t vote away the rights of a minority.

Area resident Michael Weitrick was also critical of the questionnaire and said the results could easily be manipulated.

"I would like all of those outside people to take all of their social engineering and do it someplace else," he said.

Valley Springs Elementary School teacher Joanne Randall took a day off from her job to defend her family’s property rights.

Randall’s mother Betty Snyder owns a five-acre commercial parcel between State Route 12 and Lime Creek Road that was being downgraded to agricultural use in the proposed community plan update.

If the county pursues plans to downgrade the property’s land use, Randall said she would send a bill for the difference and “hopefully it is paid promptly.”

She also questioned whether her mother’s property and other property along the east edge of Valley Springs proper was being downgraded in land use so Caltrans could eventually purchase the property for less money to construct a bypass.

She also questioned why the electronic questionnaire was given more weight than a recent survey of 217 Valley Springs residents who rejected the “smart growth” approach used in the community plan update process.

Valley Springs area resident Marti Crane defended the process. She said there was plenty of outreach and those who participated throughout the year should not have their views dismissed.

An 8.9-gram gold nugget necklace donated by Firefall Jewelers is one of the auction items available at the Tri-County Children’s Golf Tournament Banquet.

Valley Springs and La Contenta Golf Course will be in the media spotlight during the inaugural Tri-County Children’s Golf Tournament on Friday, May 21.

Reporter Alan Sanchez from Good Day Sacramento Channel 31 will be on hand with a live remote broadcast for most of the festivities, according to event organizer Ed Iturralde.

The first-time Tri-County Children’s Golf Tournament is a benefit for autism and foster care in Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne counties.

In addition to a tournament for 144 golfers, the event will include an awards banquet, dancing and live and silent auctions at the La Contenta Events Center.

“The community has been outstanding in its support,” Iturralde said. “I’m impressed. I’ve had experience with four previous tournaments and I’ve never seen support like this. It’s totally remarkable.”

Some of those donations include an 8.9-gram gold nugget necklace from Firefall Jewelers and H & R Block’s sponsorship of a $10,000 hole-in-one. The gold nugget is valued at $2,000. Other donors include The Dollar Store, Passion Flower Boutique.

The player entry fee is $360 for four players or $110 per player. The format is a four-person scramble with check-in at 11 a.m. and a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

In addition to the $10,000 hole-in-one, there are three other hole-in-one prizes.

The awards banquet will feature a chicken or tri-tip buffet along with pasta, garlic potatoes, caesar salad and wine at each table.

Dancing will be to the musical sounds of the “After Dark” band. For those who do not golf, but want to attending the dinner-dance, tickets are $40 per person.

Sponsorships ranging from $1,500 to $500 are also available and include from eight to four player entries.

For more information, or to get a sign-up form, contact Geoff Cooper at (209) 256-6967, or visit the organization’s website at www.tricountyautismgroup.com.

Iturralde, who adopted three children who formerly were in foster homes, said the event will be used to fund resources for autism and foster care in the three-county area. Funds will help finance classes, workshops and meetings for the parents and help them to understand the needs of their children.

The Wheel of Fortune had some highs and lows Tuesday for Valley Springs resident Brett Riley.

Riley was one of three contestants on the popular game show that aired on Channel 10 out of Sacramento.

An Amador County area law enforcement officer, Riley reached $30,600 thanks to the opportune use of a wild card, but just as quickly lost it all on one spin of the wheel by hitting bankruptcy.

He rebounded by winning a $3,000 toss-up question and finished with that total at the end of the show.

Riley is also in the Army Reserves and recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Pastor Art Phinney inside the new sanctuary at Calvary Chapel of Valley Springs.

Calvary Chapel of Valley Springs, which had its beginnings nearly a dozen years ago as a Bible study group, moved into a new church facility at the end of February.

“We’re really blessed,” said Pastor Art Phinney. “A lot of people did a lot of hard work.”

The congregation, which has almost 200 members, celebrated its first service in the 8,000 square-foot building on Feb. 28 and a community wide Good Friday service was hosted April 2 in the new facility.

For the past 10 years, Calvary Chapel held Sunday services in Jenny Lind Elementary School’s multipurpose room.

The new church is located on a 2 ½-acre site the congregation received as a donation. The property at the corner of California Street and State Route 12 had one building on it, which the church used for Bible study and an office.

Construction costs for the new facility came in a little more than $400,000 and half of it has already been paid for, said Pastor Phinney.

Volunteer labor on weekdays, weekends and nights helped defray expenses and local subcontractors, including non-church members, were very generous, he said.

“This has been the result of the body of Christ working together,” he said. “We called it Project Blessing and we have seen that to be the case to anyone who put their hands to this.”

In addition to morning and evening Sunday services, children’s activities, Wednesday night services and Bible study are conducted in the new facility.

Future funding will be used to complete a 2,000-square-foot portion upstairs for use by the church youth group.

The sanctuary features dual video screens on two sides and a state-of-the-art audio system.

With the additional space, Calvary Chapel has re-opened it local Christian Resource Room featuring Christian books, commentaries and a lending library.

Foothill volunteer firefighters used a live-fire training exercise April 2 in Burson to receive valuable training. Foothill Fire Protection District photo.

A training burn April 2 in Burson was part of a firefighter-training program Foothill Fire Protection District has implemented.

Foothill has 15 of its volunteer firefighters enrolled in its Firefighter I Program that began last October. The program meets two weekday nights and one Saturday each month.

“The community will benefit from the knowledge they have gained,” said Foothill Fire Chief Michael Siligo.

The class follows the State Fire Marshal's teaching curriculum with exams and quizzes throughout the program. The course combines classroom learning and manipulative skills associated with a vast array of firefighting subject matter.

Upon graduation in June each successful student - all current Foothill Fire volunteers - will become state certified as Firefighter I.

Last Saturday’s training session took place in a building behind the Valley Springs Glass & Mirror Shop off State Route 12 in Burson.

Foothill had been preparing the building for the live-fire training event for the past month.

The building had been used some years ago for temporary living quarters and restroom facilities when John Moore, the property owner, ran a karate studio on site, Chief Siligo said. Out-of-area participants would use the facility while competing in karate tournaments at the studio.

“I’m very proud of these folks,” Siligo said about his firefighters. “It took a huge commitment from each of them.”

Dave Evans, far right, commander of American Legion Post 102 in Valley Springs and chairman of the “Barn Building Committee,” offers some last-minute instructions to, from left, District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli, Veterans of Foreign Wars District 13 Senior Vice Commander Russell Friday, Jenny Lind Memorial District Board President Andy Ballantyne and District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new Valley Springs vets hall and community center.

Efforts to construct a new veterans hall and community center in Valley Springs took a ceremonial step forward Friday as backers of the proposed project held a groundbreaking ceremony.

Nearly 100 people attended the event organized by Dave Evans, commander of American Legion Post 102 in Valley Springs and chairman of the “Barn Building Committee,” which has raised $55,000 toward construction of the facility.

The hour-long ceremony was held behind the existing hall at 189 Pine St. in the gravel parking lot adjacent to Valley Springs Elementary School. The Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial District, which oversees the current hall and the recreation area located behind the elementary school, has plans to build an 11,000-square-foot hall at the site.

“Together, we can get this building built and make it a showcase for the community,” Andy Ballantyne, president of the memorial district, told the audience.

Fundraising needs to continue and the district will continue to set aside funds for the project until it is completed, Ballantyne said.

“Fundraising cannot stop,” he said. “It needs to reach its goal of $500,000.

The district placed three measures on the ballot the past decade to fund a new hall through property assessments. The last measure on the ballot was in 2007 and although a majority of voters backed the idea, the question failed to gain two-thirds voter approval for passage.

“It was disappointing,” Ballantyne said of the setbacks, “but there are others ways and sometimes you have to take another road to accomplish what you want to do.”

The proposed structure will be more than three times as large as the current hall, which is more than 47 years old, and include a commercial-grade kitchen, multiple meeting rooms, larger stage area for theatrical events and a better, large design for community and private events.

The new building will also solve handicap-access, heating and air-conditioning issues associated with the old hall.

Local Navy veteran Ed Anderson said the existing hall has served its purpose, and using Navy parlance, added, “Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead” with the new hall.

Supervisors Gary Tofanelli and Russ Thomas spoke about the hall’s benefits to the community. Thomas described the amenities as “fantastic” and Tofanelli said he and Thomas “will do everything possible to make this become a reality as soon as possible. It’s very much needed.”

Along with community donations, the district has $423,000 set aside for construction. The total cost is expected to be more than $1 million.

The district earlier this year received bids to construct the building, but the board did not select a contractor. Ballantyne said some things need to be changed in the bidding and county counsel has suggested the project go out to bid again, but the board still has to make that determination.

Evans also acknowledged the dozen or so people on his Barn Building Committee who have spent the past two years raising funds for the new hall.

Many media are represented in the 13th annual high school art show organized by the Calaveras Art Council.

ArtSpirit, the 13th annual High School Juried Exhibition, opened Saturday in Gallery Calaveras with 143 students from three high schools entering 197 works in 12 categories.

A public reception for the participating artists was held and the results were announced. The students received a $10 cash award for a first-place entry, $5 for second and ribbons for third.

Black and white photography – Manual Crosby, Calaveras High School, Kitchen Floor, first; Shane Cartwright, CHS, Self Portrait, second; Cameron Hill, CHS, Old Bug, Kyle Dillon, CHS, Splash, Dillion Dix, CHS, Sarah, tied for third.

Color photography – Joshua Hurtado, Mountain Oaks Home Schools, The Hole, first; Sarah Hecocks, Bret Harte, Brightened Complexion, Viviana Burrera, BH, Beach, tied for second; Claire Hollet, BH, Mirror Reflection, Steph Hawks, BH, Bear Valley, tied for third.

Digital computer art – Steph Hawks, BH, Avila Sunset, Shayla Layman, CHS, Through Melted Glass, tied for first; Jasime Thomas, CHS, A Mad Spotlight, Ashley Pinnell, BH, Church, tied for second; Chris Letterman, CHS, Devon Wadkins, third.

Painting – acrylic, oil – Taryn Sirus, BH, Studio, first; Mallory Wards, BH, White Dress, second; Cloe Kinsella and Korinne Allan, CHS, Three Views of Venice, third.

Painting – watercolor – Taryn Sirus, BH, Ashley, first; Shigno Brann, BH, Angie, second; Alex Kunesh, BH, Rainy Day, third.

Pastels – Kayla Fitzsimmons, CHS, As By Reflections, first; Haley Pitzer, CHS, The Sound, second; Christina Guidici, CHS, Lady in Blue, third.

Drawing –illustration – Kayla Fitzsimmons, CHS, Little Girl, first; Kyle Chalk, BH, Strange Water, second; Rachel Pitser, CHS, Talk on Indolence, Kaitlyn Smith, BH, Boredom at Work, tied for third.

Ceramics – functional – Noah Shartle, BH, Tile Cup, first; Tatiana Beilstein, CHS, Plate with Mixed Clay, Tessa Gonzalez, CHS, Tea Pot, tied for second; Ryan Lopez, CHS, Ancient Tree, third.

Ceramics – sculptural – Devon Wadkins, CHS, Echo Gecko, first; Catherine Wood, CHS, The Doll, second; Robert Harter, CHS, Rooster, third.

Other – mixed media – Sharlee Hoffman, CHS, Chaos, Cheating and Organizaed Separation, Shiingo Brann, CHS, Paguiao, tied for first; Sean Calavan, CHS, The Elements, second; Marissa Couch, CHS, Rainbow Veins, third.

Crafts – Leia Pastizzo, CHS, Yarn Mask, first; Hilary Kendhammer, CHS, Colors of Childhood, second; Tiffany Freitas, CHS, Jungle Fever, third.

Printmaking – Taylor Harris, CHS, Zebra, first; Molly Brower, CHS, Love in the Amazon, second; Breanna Dickerson, CHS, Strips on the Tiger, third.

Judges included Brenda Nasser, Ed Cline, Maren Sampson, Sumiko Mancinelli, Mary Jane Genochio, Anne Dasch, Sharon Daniels, Kevin Brady, Connie Strawbridge, and Ken Winebrenner. Teachers who helped facilitate the gathering of art were Mark Waelty from Bret Harte; Donna Guadagni, Suzanne Smith and Roger Salter from Calaveras High.

The $20 Popular Choice Awards will be presented after the April 24 closing of the exhibit. Gallery Calaveras is located at 22 Main St. in San Andreas. It is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call the Calaveras County Arts Council at 754-1774, or visit www.calaverasarts.org.

Matt Boyer from Dokken Engineering listens to a public comment during Monday’s meeting on the State Route 12/26 Intersection Improvement Project.

Two alternatives to improve traffic flow at the State Route 12/26 intersection in downtown Valley Springs were unveiled Monday evening, but both had their drawbacks.

Matt Boyer of Dokken Engineering, the firm hired by the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to do the preliminary work for the intersection improvement project, made the presentation outlining the conceptual alternatives of either a traffic signal or roundabout at the intersection. The option of no project at all is a possibility.

The no project at all alternative means the public would live with the congestion until an ultimate solution – such as a bypass – is completed.

A traffic signal or roundabout would have a profound impact on the downtown intersection, with at least one building – the Century 21 office - removed and the possibility of numerous parking spaces along Highway 12 and Laurel Street eliminated.

Billie Briski of Busy Bee Realty, located on the northwest corner of the intersection, said she was upset that she and the other property owners near the intersection had not been contacted prior to the meeting and informed of the proposed changes.

“That’s not good public relations or goodwill,” she said. “This involves our livelihood.”

She was concerned with the possible removal of parking in the downtown district and said steps should be taken to mitigate the problem, such as buying property nearby for off-site parking, including the recently closed Valley Inn.

Kevin Squires of the Valley Springs Home Center wanted to know how much property along State Route 26 would be needed to accommodate the additional lanes for a roundabout or a traffic signal. Boyer said his firm would come back with an approximation of those figures.

Jeff Davidson presented an alternative that would alleviate some of the existing problem. Davidson has submitted plans to the county for Mission Ranch Subdivision, a 103-acre residential and commercial development on property bordered by Highways 12 and 26. Proposed plans include a road or “parkway” connecting the two highways.

If approved by the county and market conditions improve, the parkway would be in well before the 25 to 30 years before a bypass is constructed, Davidson said.

From his experience, Boyer said it would be almost impossible to have such a project ready in five to eight years.

Tom Garcia, the county’s public works director, said no funding for a bypass project has been identified and it would be reasonable to expect such a project is 20 to 25 years away.

Others suggested extending Hogan Dam Road to either State Route 12 or Lime Creek Road east of Valley Springs to alleviate congestion in the downtown intersection.

There was also concern the intersection improvement proposals would hamper traffic trying to get in and out of the Valley Oaks Center.

The workshop at Jenny Lind Elementary School attracted nearly 70 people and many spent the first hour looking at the maps for the traffic signal and roundabout. Dokken Engineering staff members receive public comments on the alternatives and comment cards were distributed to the audience.

The comments generated around the maps seemed to favor the traffic signal over the roundabout.

A similar public workshop is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, in the Toyon Middle School multipurpose room, 3412 Double Springs Road.

The opportunity to take an entire weekday off from the office and attend an upcoming California Highway Patrol Media Boot Camp was irresistibly inviting when I received word about the event earlier this year from Rebecca Myers, the public information officer at our local CHP officer in San Andreas.

This year’s boot camp was open on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 24 media types to respond to an open invitation from the CHP Academy and it was my good fortune to see the email soon after the call went out.

My Plimptonesque experience came Wednesday. For those unfamiliar with my reference, George Plimpton was a noted American author who penned a non-fiction book, Paper Lion, in 1966 describing his experience as a non-athlete working out at quarterback in the Detroit Lions training camp.

My dose with reality at the West Sacramento campus came very early as we spent an eternity, more like 15 minutes, in physical training workout. It’s been nearly 40 years since I had high school P.E. and I must admit I’m about 50 pounds heavier since those days. Even if I had my high school physique, I doubt I could have kept up with the repetition of jumping jacks, push-ups and sit-ups. Needless to say, I took the last half of the exercises off to spare the state of California the expense of calling for an ambulance to take me to the nearest emergency room.

After a brief jog around the track, I stayed toward the rear of the pack to catch my breath before trying my hands and feet on the obstacle course. From this vantage point I could hear the finishing times of my fellow media colleagues. Some were completing the course in 30 seconds and others were taking over a minute. Although I had to take two stabs at getting over the obstacle wall, I managed to clear most of the jumps and made a mad dash to the finish line to come in at what I thought was a respectable 52 seconds, but I was pretty light-headed for the next few minutes.

One of our PT instructors cautioned us that we experienced only a small dose of the training the CHP cadets go through on a daily basis and one of the key elements in the physical training is to instill the drive never to give up, always fight, no matter what adversity you face.

Now the fun part began. The next few stations we experienced dealt with the shooting simulator, a DUI demonstration and the skid pan.

I emptied my clip before I hit my first pumpkin at the beginning of the shooting simulator. The first scenario had a driver attempting to escape apprehension and running his car straight at me. I managed to hit the vehicle twice, but that was not enough to stop it as it rushed past me. The second and final scenario had me chasing a stolen pickup truck that ended up going into a brushy area and three guys jumped out running into the woods. As I approached the vehicle, another fellow leaned out of the driver’s side of the cab and began shooting. He surrendered and one of the men who initially ran into the woods comes out with guns blazing. I was about 50 yards away and none of my shots found the mark. Hopefully none of theirs found me.

At the DUI demonstration we donned “Fatal Vision” goggles and attempted to do the “walk and turn heel-to-toe” field sobriety test. The goggles represent someone at a .10 blood-alcohol level. I couldn’t get my left foot on the line to begin the test - the line was constantly moving. I can safely say I’ve never had that feeling before getting behind the wheel. My reaction was to turn my back to the officer with my hands behind me and say, “Cuff me.”

At the skid pan, we got to drive out-of-service CHP cars around a wet, curvy track on purposely-manufactured bald tires. We’re told it only takes 1/16^th of an inch of water to hydroplane and we had plenty of that in this exercise. Although the purpose of this course is to teach cadets how to safely maneuver their vehicles around curves in inclement weather, many of us relished the opportunity to fishtail and spin the cars around in circles.

We also took part in a mock accident investigation and received a greater understanding about all of the factors that go into a collision report before we see it come through our fax machine. For some of our readers who call 30 minutes after an accident and want all of the details, it takes more than several hours for the CHP to dot all of the “i’s” and cross all of the “t’s” before that information is available to the public.

The most poignant part of our day came after lunch when the cadets held their weekly Fountain Ceremony. Once a week, the cadets pay tribute to the 215 CHP officers who have died in the line of duty. Each name is inscribed in small plaque surrounding a fountain inside the academy and the cadets polish the plaques.

About a third of those officers died at crash scenes, according to CHP officer Dave Fawson, who was our instructor at the crash scene investigation.

Cadet training is 27 weeks long. The dropout rate ranges from 20 to 40 percent and the CHP hopes to have enough new officers from this class to cover the 25 to 28 a month it loses to retirement, disability, etc.

My brief time at the academy gave me a greater understanding and appreciation of the skills these men and women must learn to become CHP officers.

Highway signage is one of the methods being used to inform the public about next week’s meetings on the State Route 12/26 Intersection Improvement Project.

Two public workshops on the State Route 12/26 Intersection Improvement Project have been scheduled for next week.

The project aims to alleviate peak-period congestion at the intersection in downtown Valley Springs and work could begin in the 2011 construction season.

The first workshop is set for Monday, March 15, in the Jenny Lind Elementary School multipurpose room, while the second one is on Wednesday, March 17, in the Toyon Middle School multipurpose room. Both begin with an open house at 6 p.m. and a presentation from 7 to 8.

Alternative design solutions are expected to be presented at the workshops and public feedback will be sought.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors last November authorized a professional services agreement with Dokken Engineering out of Folsom on the project. Dokken will provide improvement alternatives including signalization and non-signalization options to solve the traffic conditions at the intersection, along with the environmental studies and right-of-way acquisition paperwork needed to move forward toward construction.

The agreement is not expected to exceed $422,784 and $350,000 of the money comes from the state through so-called Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds. Countywide Road Impact Mitigation fees are being used as the local match to fund the difference between the contract price and state funding.

The funding so far does not cover actual construction costs. Additional state funding and the use of County RIM fees could cover those costs.

Jenny Lind Elementary is located off State Route 26 at 5100 Driver Road, while Toyon is off State Route 12 at 3412 Double Springs Road.

"Rancho Out" signs written on the backside of paper plates expressed the sentiments of the vast majority of those in attendance at Tuesday's meeting on the Valley Springs Community Plan.

Rancho Calaveras is not Valley Springs and should not be included in a new community plan that is being drafted.

That was the sentiment by a ratio of nearly 7-to-1 of those in attendance at a Feb. 23 Valley Springs Community Plan workshop in the Valley Springs Elementary School multipurpose room.

The room was nearly full as approximately 400 people braved a rainy evening and a parking nightmare to cast their vote on whether Rancho should be included within the Valley Springs Community Plan boundaries.

By a vote of 317-54, those in attendance reversed a much-smaller sampling of 60 votes on Aug. 27, 2009, that favored placing the Rancho subdivision into the community plan update. There were also 28 proxy votes by those unable to attend Tuesday’s session calling for Rancho to be removed from the community plan update.

The Aug. 27 vote, taken by the use of electronic clickers, caused a backlash that stalled progress on the community plan. The re-vote came after a petition was submitted to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors opposing Rancho’s inclusion in the Valley Springs plan. It was signed by 573 Rancho property owners.

Nearly an hour was set aside for public comments on the issue and the vast majority of speakers sided with keeping Rancho out of the Valley Springs plan.

“If you want city living, move to the city,” said Andy Ballantyne, a 25-year resident of Rancho, as he advocated letting the people of Rancho decide what is best for them.

Each comment to remove Rancho from the community plan was greeted with dozens of handmade “Rancho Out” signs waving in the crowd.

Jeff Davidson, a local developer and the District 5 director on the Calaveras County Water District, said he saw no substantial benefit for Rancho to be included in the Valley Springs plan and Tuesday evening’s attendance was a good lesson that it’s important for residents to show up for public meetings and voice their opinions.

The Valley Springs Community Plan update process continued Thursday with a meeting for the public to weigh in on two land use maps and a circulation map created from resident input.

New Valley Springs Boosters officers are, from left, Vice President Dave Cahal, Treasurer Jeannene White, Secretary Al Duncan and President Danielle Scapparo-Palm.

Tickets are now available for the annual wine and cheese tasting reception hosted by the Valley Springs Boosters.

The event, which features finger foods and wines from the award-winning French Hill Winery and the Calaveras Wine Association, is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Burson Community Hall, 3624 Burson Road.

Tickets for the seventh annual Wine and Cheese Reception are $15 per person and can be obtained from Booster members, at the Bank of Umpqua in Valley Springs, or by calling Dave Cahal at 772-1657, or Danielle Scapparo-Palm at 772-8162. The price of admission includes a special wine glass for the occasion.

The Boosters’ wine tasting event is the first, and probably only, opportunity to reserve a table for the 15^th annual Fireworks Over New Hogan Lake, which is set for June 26.

There are a limited number of tables for the community barbecue and ringside seats at the Hogan Dam Observation Point to watch the lakeside pyrotechnic display. The tables for the fireworks show are generally sold out at the wine tasting.

Saloonkeeper Delilah, played by Linda Mellin, left, and heroine Faith Child Hogan, Josie Tedder, anticipate villain Ponce C. Scheme, Marty Tedder, is about to perpetrate another dastardly deed.

The always-popular annual melodrama presented by The Valley Springs Friends of the Library debuts Friday evening.

“The Time Bandit” or “I Saw You But Don’t Saw Me” begins its limited run at 7 p.m. Friday in the Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial Hall, 189 Pine St. The doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $10 for the opening night-no dinner show.

The setting for this year’s melodrama involves Seymour Destiny, a poor Valley Springs inventor, who somehow builds a time machine that can take him into the past. Villain Ponce C. Scheme steals the machine to make the past more to his liking so he can become rich in the future.

Luke Bobrycki plays inventor and hero Seymour Destiny, while Marty Tedder portrays the villain Ponce C. Scheme.

Additional cast members include Uri Bobrycki, Ana Bobrycki, Josie Tedder as the heroine, Kathy Marois-Whitney, Nicole Nelson, Don Urbanus, Linda Mellin, Kimberly Pflug and John Pflug.

District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli will serve as the master of ceremonies and District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas will sing “That’s Life.”

The production continues Saturday, Feb. 27, with a no-dinner matinee. Doors will open at 1 p.m. and the play will start at 2. Tickets are $10.

The dinner shows are scheduled for the following two weeks and will feature pork loin. The cost is $20 per person for the March 5 and 6, or 12 and 13 dinners and shows. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and there will be a no-host bar. Dinner will be served at 6:45, while the melodrama will begin at 7:45.

Tables for eight can be reserved on the dinner nights. Ticket and table reservations can be made by calling Willine at 772-1000, or Jackie at 772-0591. Individual tickets are available at Health Habit in The Terrace Plaza.

Construction of 12 new classrooms at Toyon Middle School should be completed in time for the 2010-11 school year.

The next to last phase of Calaveras Unified School District construction projects approved by voters in 2006 is under way at Toyon Middle School.

Twelve new classrooms are being added to the Toyon campus and will replace 10 older modulars that are being moved to Valley Springs and could serve as the initial buildings for a proposed San Joaquin Delta College satellite campus.

Enviroplex of Lodi is the contractor for the Toyon two-story classroom addition.

The project is expected to be completed in June and students would begin using the new classrooms at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, said CUSD Superintendent Mark Campbell.

Toyon’s new classrooms and an already completed administration building were a $2.8 million project outlined in Measure A, the $13.1 million bond approved by voters.

The district is receiving a $1.8 million match from the state for the Toyon project, Campbell added.

Once the Toyon classrooms and repairs to the school’s track are completed, the district will have only one more project remaining on its Measure A list – construction of a performing arts center at Calaveras High School, Campbell said.

The school board recently cited the delay was due to higher than anticipated costs for the center, higher than anticipated costs for construction of the new high school swimming pool and technology overhaul, and uncertainty involving the state budget and state reimbursements for related projects.

Campbell said progress on the performing arts center is more of a matter of when, not if.

Gary Kuntz submits petitions to run for Calaveras County Sheriff’s to County Elections Coordinator Christine L. Fouts. Kuntz was accompanied by many of his campaign volunteers who collected more the 3,800 signatures in less than a month.

The June primary election for countywide offices entered a new phase on Tuesday as candidates could begin filing nomination petitions and declarations of candidacy.

Gary Kuntz, a candidate for Calaveras County sheriff, jump-started his campaign last week by submitting more than 3,800 signatures gathered the past several weeks through the optional “petition-in-lieu” of filing fee process. If 2,772 of those signatures are certified as registered Calaveras County voters, 10 percent of the voter roll as of May 4, 2009, Kuntz will qualify for the June 8, 2010, primary and his filing fees will be waived. If he falls below the threshold, a portion of his fees will be waived.

Kuntz is one of 15 prospective candidates for county offices to pull in-lieu papers as of Tuesday morning.

The others are Leslie Davis, Joseph C. Kelly and Kristi A. Reesman, assessor; Jeffrey E. Tuttle, district attorney; Kevin J. Raggio, coroner-public administrator; Kathy Ann Northington, superintendent of schools; Merita Callaway, Mary E. Boblet and Bill McManus, District 3 supervisor; Russ Thomas, David K. Singer and Darren Spellman, District 5 supervisor; and Barbara Sullivan and Jessamy “Jessie” German, treasurer-tax collector.

County Elections Coordinator Christine L. Fouts said her office might complete verifying the signatures on Kuntz’s petition by the end of this week depending on how many more prospective candidates submit their petitions. County office hopefuls have until Feb. 25 to submit those petitions.

The nomination and declaration of candidacy period runs from Tuesday through March 12, with an extension period to March 17 if an incumbent does not file for re-election. The candidates can gather a small number of signatures to be placed on the ballot and pay a fee based on 1 percent of the office’s annual salary. The fees range from $535.81 for the coroner to $1,375.92 for the district attorney.

“People in Calaveras County want a real choice for sheriff this year,” Kuntz said after submitting his petitions.

As of the election office’s opening Tuesday morning, Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum had not pulled papers to seek re-election.

Kuntz, a retired Calaveras County Sheriff's Department lieutenant with 23 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, said he wanted to thank his volunteers for their hard work.

“This kind of effort really shows how hard people are willing to work for what they believe in,” Kuntz said. “I'm proud to live in a county where citizens care and are willing to get involved.”

More than 75 volunteers gathered the signatures in less than 30 days. Kuntz was also grateful to the commercial establishments that allowed his volunteers to set up tables and collect signatures and to all who signed his petitions.

As of Tuesday morning, there were no candidates for auditor-controller and clerk-recorder. In addition, neither the Democratic, Green or Republican central committees have candidates.

County residents George C. Fry, Democrat, and Mark C. Belden, Republican, have pulled in-lieu papers to run 25^th Assembly District seat.

In addition to county offices, the June 8 ballot will consist of the primary races for statewide offices including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer and attorney general.

A .243 Savage was used to bring down a mountain lion that had been terrorizing domestic animals and residents in the Burson-Campo Seco area.

A mountain lion suspected of killing numerous domestic animals in the vicinity of Burson and Campo Seco has been destroyed.

Sandy Stedman of Burson killed the female lion last Friday morning off Stedman Ranch Road. He obtained the proper permits and tags after losing three goats to the lion.

Stedman was one of several area residents who lost their animals to a predator. There have been reports the past two months of other goats, a colt, two dogs and geese falling prey to what was believed to be a mountain lion.

Stedman’s goats were attacked the evening of Feb. 3 close to his house. He found them the next day dragged and stacked at a corner of his property.

He called Fish and Game and the county trapper confirmed the attack and the proper permits and depredation tags were issued.

The trapper advised Stedman it was likely the lion would return to eat the goats, but there was a storm on Thursday and Stedman had some doubt the cat would be out any time soon.

His doubt was erased as it was starting to get light at 7 a.m. Friday. From his house he could see the predator in the goat pasture. He used a .243 Savage to kill the lion, estimated to be 2 ½ years old.

The trapper said female lions do not begin breeding until 3 so its unlikely it had any kittens, Stedman added.

Although he is a hunter, Stedman said it is the first time he shot a mountain lion.

He’s glad he and his neighbors can take some comfort the lion is dead and their animals are safe for now.

Toyon Middle School leadership class students, from left, Sarah Hernandez, Baylee Williams, Lacey Taylor, Kimberly Anderson and Davis Fee display a certificate of appreciation the school received from Red Cross official Carole Mutzner, right, for collecting funds to help earthquake victims in Haiti.

Toyon Middle School students should be proud their efforts to help victims of the earthquake last month in Haiti.

That was the message from Carole Mutzner, the Mother Lode district manager for the American Red Cross, who visited the school Wednesday afternoon to accept a $764.36 donation from the student body.

Mutzner told students from Toyon’s leadership class that each $10 raised for the American Red Cross can buy medicine and bandages for every 25 victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake centered near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

The fundraising drive was an offshoot of discussions that began in Gary Johnson’s science class. The students studied the intensity of the quake and its aftermath as part of their science instruction and that emerged into starting a fundraising drive in association with the leadership class.

It is estimated that 3 million people were affected by the quake and nearly 200,000 people have died.

A student brought a 5-gallon water jug to school to begin raising money for the Red Cross and it was half full with change within 10 days, Johnson said.

Central State Credit Union in San Andreas waived its fees to count the change, he added.

Mutzner presented a certificate to the leadership students acknowledging the school’s effort to provide humanitarian aid to the disaster victims in Haiti.

The third candidate to emerge in the race for District 5 supervisor believes incumbent Russ Thomas has been ineffective in office.

Darren Spellman of Rancho Calaveras says he is running for the seat on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors because he can do a better job representing the wishes of constituents within District 5, which covers the communities Copperopolis, Salt Spring Valley, Milton, Jenny Lind, and Rancho Calaveras.

Spellman, a former teacher at Calaveras High School, joins David K. Singer of Rancho Calaveras and Thomas in the race that will be decided in the June 8 primary election.

Thomas, who has said it is in Rancho’s best interest to be included in the Valley Springs Community Plan, “doesn’t get it,” Spellman said.

“Regardless of whether he thinks it’s a good idea (to include Rancho in the VS plan), as a supervisor and an elected official, he can advise his constituents as to what he thinks is best,” Spellman said. “However, when it comes to casting a vote, he needs to represent the will of the people. That’s why he is going to lose.”

Spellman was among the nearly 150 people in attendance at the Aug. 27, 2009, community plan meeting where “clickers” were used to electronically monitor the desires of those in attendance as to what areas should be included in the Valley Springs plan.

“The problem now is that the people in Rancho are clearly in opposition to this,” Spellman said, and there are no certain guarantees that Rancho property rights under its existing Special Plan will continue in the same fashion if included in the new Valley Springs Community Plan.

Spellman said he and others foresee inclusion of Rancho in the Valley Springs Community Plan as a means to help finance a potential Cosgrove Creek flood control project.

If Rancho is part of the Valley Springs Community Plan it is highly likely the county will target Rancho homeowners to finance the local portion of matching funds for such a project, Spellman said, which concerns many Rancho residents. He projected the local cost could reach at least $1 million.

“Russ has put his foot into something and I don’t understand why he would have said anything at this point,” Spellman added.

Spellman and his wife and two children live on a four-acre parcel in Rancho and he wants to see the area maintain its rural lifestyle, which attracted him and his family here seven years ago.

Spellman was raised in Manteca and obtained his associate degree at Delta College and bachelor’s in history at California State University, Stanislaus. He also has an advanced degree in education administration.

He wants to see future growth concentrated in and around the core of downtown Valley Springs.

“I’d like to be a part of the team that helps the county turn the corner in our economic crisis,” Spellman said. “I want the county to come out stronger, better fiscally managed and in a position to show what a gem Calaveras County truly is.”

Prospective candidates can continue to take out in-lieu papers until Feb. 25. Signatures gathered on the in-lieu papers offset filing fees. The timeframe for nomination and declaration of candidacy papers is from Feb. 16 to March 12, with an extension period to March 17 if an incumbent does not file for re-election.

In addition to county offices, the June 8 ballot will consist of the primary races for the statewide offices including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer and attorney general.

Approximately 630 students and adults Monday morning at Jenny Lind Elementary School participated in a statewide effort to break the world's simultaneous jump rope record.

Jenny Lind Elementary School students and staff participated in a statewide effort Monday morning to break the current Guinness Book of World Records for the most people jumping or skipping rope at the same time along with raising more than $2,200 toward efforts to prevent childhood heart disease.

The Jenny Lind students and staff joined more than 80,000 others in the state at 9 a.m. in a 10½-minute effort to break the simultaneously jump rope record held by Australia. Jenny Lind’s participation numbers reached 630 students and adults.

In addition to taking a crack at breaking the world record, which Australia set at 59,000 jumpers, Jenny Lind supported the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart annual event as well as completing the California's Governor's Physical Fitness Challenge where students must exercise for 30 minutes per day at least three days a week for at least a month, said Principal Amy Hasselwander.

Jenny Lind has participated in the Governor's Physical Fitness Challenge the past three years, but this was the first time the school was involved in the Jump Rope for Heart event, she added.

The thought was students would raise a dollar each to help the American Heart Association in its effort to prevent childhood heart disease, but the students exceeded those expectations, Hasselwander said.

To break the record, students and staff jumped rope for three three-minute periods, with 10-second breaks in between and then finished with an additional minute of jump roping.

Calaveras Unified School District Superintendent Mark Campbell outlines this district’s financial plight due to state budget cuts during a meeting Wednesday evening.

Nearly 80 parents and concerned citizens joined Calaveras Unified School District officials Wednesday evening to launch a letter-writing campaign to caution state officials against further reductions in educational spending.

CUSD Superintendent Mark Campbell told those assembled in the Jenny Lind Elementary School cafeteria that the state already has reduced spending in the district by $1,100 per child and is looking at cutting another $200 in the next budget cycle.

Salaries compose 86 percent of the school district’s budget, he said, and the district has had to lay off personnel and more layoffs are expected.

It’s easy to be cynical a letter-writing campaign will be effective, Campbell said, but “with a collective voice I believe we will be heard.”

CUSD Trustee Sherri Reusche started the letter-writing campaign. She said parents and concerned citizens can write letters to lawmakers and drop them off in school offices between now and Feb. 3. She plans to collect the letters at that time and present them to state officials in Sacramento.

Sample letters and addresses for the elected representatives were distributed at Wednesday’s meeting.

To bridge a $2.8 million budget shortfall, the school board is looking at a variety of ways to trim expenses and increase revenues. One way to reduce expenses is to closed Rail Road Flat Elementary School and the board is expected to consider that move at its meeting on Tuesday.

In addition, the district is looking at cutting sports, music, 17 teachers, academic intervention programs, assistant principals, and class-size reduction, or charging fees for transportation and for students to participate in athletics.

Another challenger has pulled election papers for a potential run at the District 5 Board of Supervisors seat held by Russ Thomas.

Darren Spellman has joined Thomas and David K. Singer in the District 5 race by obtaining “petition-in-lieu” of papers from the county election office. The election is set for Tuesday, June 8.

The “in-lieu” papers permit the candidates to begin gathering signatures from registered voters to offset filing fees. District 5 on the Board of Supervisors represents the communities of Copperopolis, Salt Spring Valley, Milton, Jenny Lind, and Rancho Calaveras.

Singer, 50, of Rancho Calaveras, is scheduled to gather signatures from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at The Villa Bakery in The Terrace Plaza at Vista Del Lago and State Route 26.

Promising to provide more outreach to constituents, Singer was interviewed Monday by The Valley Springs News.

A Calaveras County resident for nearly three years, Singer said he has never received a questionnaire, newsletter or survey from Supervisor Thomas asking for the public opinion on an issue and he found that disturbing and prompted his interest in running for office.

“The supervisor has forgotten about the people who elected him,” Singer said. “He follows his own agenda instead of the will of the people.”

He pointed to the controversy surrounding the inclusion of Rancho Calaveras into the Valley Springs Community Plan as an example.

“Thomas has already voiced the position he wants Rancho in the Valley Springs Community Plan without consulting with any of his constituents,” said Singer, who practices law in San Andreas.

Singer passed the state bar exam in 2005 and began looking to relocate from Apple Valley in San Bernardino to Northern California.

He interviewed in several foothill communities and “fell in love” with Calaveras County during one of those trips.

Prior to beginning his law career, Singer worked nearly nine years in county government. He was a child support officer for nearly two years with the County of San Bernardino and worked more than seven years as an employment services specialist for the county.

By being an educator, Singer said he would provide constituents with as much information as possible to make informed decisions on the issues impacting them.

As a listener, he will engage constituents in discussion and include them in the decision-making process in an effort to reach a consensus on issues.

As an advocate, he will be the voice of the people and abide by their consensus on all matters.

He hopes to have his website at www.calaverasdistrict5.com by Feb. 1. If elected he will keep the website in operation to continue interacting with constituents.

A new candidate has also emerged in the District 3 board race. Bill McManus has joined incumbent Merita Callaway and Mary E. Boblet in the race to represent the communities of Brice Station, Forest Meadows, Hathaway Pines, Avery, Arnold, White Pines, Dorrington, Camp Connell, Cottage Springs, Skyhigh, Tamarack and Sherman Acres.

As of Tuesday morning, the other candidates who have taken out papers were acting incumbent Leslie Davis and Joseph C. Kelly for assessor, Gary Kuntz for sheriff, Kathy Ann Northington for county Superintendent of Schools, Barbara Sullivan for treasurer-tax collector and George C. Fry for 25th District Assembly.

Nobody had pulled papers to run for auditor-controller, clerk-recorder, or the Democratic, Republican and Green Central Committees as of Tuesday morning.

Prospective candidates can take out in-lieu papers until Feb. 25. The timeframe for nomination and declaration of candidacy papers is from Feb. 16 to March 12, with an extension period to March 17 if an incumbent does not file for re-election.

The June 8 ballot will also consist of the primary races for the statewide offices including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer and attorney general.

Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum discusses the assistance his department is receiving from other law enforcement agencies Behind him are CHP Lt. Tim Port and FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Todd M. Irinaga.

The multiple law enforcement agencies investigating the series of shootings terrorizing the Valley Springs area have shifted their focus back to the initial suspect vehicle.

Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum held a media conference last Tuesday in the Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial Hall in Valley Springs to discuss the case and said the white pickup truck identified in a Jan. 7 incident on Watertown Road no longer is considered a suspect vehicle.

“We are going to go back to the first suspect vehicle description,” Downum said. It was a white or light-colored sedan with square taillights seen by one of the motorists whose vehicle was shot Dec. 22.

Investigators now believe the driver of the white pickup with multicolored doors involved in the Watertown Road incident is a potential witness and the sheriff urged the driver to contact his department.

Downum added that the sheriff's department couldn’t confirm a shooting occurred on Watertown Road. The initial report of the Jan. 7 incident had a motorist being forced off the road by the white truck, which was weaving in and out of its lane and flashing high beams. The next morning the motorist found a bullet hole in his rear side fender.

Although a suspect had not been identified as of Tuesday, the sheriff said he wanted to assure the public his department is doing everything it can to solve the case and reached out to the resources of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the California Highway Patrol “to assist us in resolving this issue.”

The additional manpower and technical assistance from the other agencies have been helpful, Downum added.

The random shooting spree began Dec. 16 when a house was shot with a small-caliber gun and the total number of confirmed shootings as of Tuesday was 15 – nine cars and six houses struck by bullets under the cover of darkness.

Although the suspect is still at large, the sheriff said some people have been eliminated as suspects and he viewed that as making progress in the case.

The sheriff would not comment on the caliber of bullet used in the shootings or whether the shootings were related to gang activity.

The sheriff department has received numerous tips on the case and encourages the public not to hesitate to call the office's tip line at 754-6030 or the main number at 754-6500, Downum said.

In addition, ATF continues to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shootings.

The sheriff's department plans to hold a weekly briefing every Tuesday on the case.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has increased its reward for information regarding the random shootings in Valley Springs during the recent weeks from $5,000 to $10,000.

The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in a rash of shootings in the Valley Springs area has been increased to $10,000, while the number of incidents has reached 15.

The most recent victim was driving Thursday evening along Watertown Road near Campo Seco Road. In addition, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department received 16 separate reports of shots being fired during a three-hour time span Saturday evening.

Thursday’s incident occurred when the victim was returning home from Amador County. He reported he was forced off Watertown Road by an approaching vehicle. The driver of the approaching vehicle was driving in and out of the traffic lanes and failed to dim the vehicle’s headlights.

The incident occurred at 6:15 p.m. The victim did not hear any gunshots and drove home. The victim discovered a bullet hole in the rear driver’s side fender the following morning.

The victim described the other vehicle as a full-sized pick-up truck painted white with silver and beige. He also said the doors of the truck were painted differently from the body of the truck.

Investigators are looking into where the shooting occurred and discount the possibility the victim’s vehicle was shot while parked at home.

Saturday night’s rash of shootings began at 5:44 p.m. in the vicinity of State Route 26 and Vista Del Lago. The last report came in at 9:06 p.m. on Jenny Lind Road. As of Tuesday morning, there were no reports of damage or injuries stemming from Saturday’s shootings.

Sgt. Dave Seawell of the sheriff’s department believes the 16 separate reports may have come from three or four shots fired in the area.

Investigators believe the Saturday night shootings are inked to the current shooting investigation. Investigators are asking residents of the area to inspect their homes and vehicles for damage and call the sheriff’s department at (209) 772-6500 if they find any.

The series of shootings began Dec. 16 and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has increased its reward for information from $5,000 to $10,000. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s department tip line at (209) 754-6030, or the department’s direct line at 754-6500.

In addition to ATF, the FBI and CHP are assisting the sheriff’s department in the investigation.

Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial District Maintenance Supervisor Don Copeland, left, and General Manager Hugo Scotto at the recently completed walkway constructed to improve accessibility to the park’s ball fields.

A suggestion by a disabled veteran was all the impetuous the Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial District needed to complete its latest improvement at the park it oversees behind Valley Springs Elementary School.

The wheelchair-bound veteran said he was having difficulties getting to the ball fields to watch the games and the district’s Board of Directors authorized completion of a walkway from the disabled parking area to an area along the first and third base lines between both ball fields.

“It’s an asset to the park and assists not only those who are disabled, but older people and those who have trouble walking,” said Hugo Scotto, the district’s general manager and a member of the Board of Directors.

Cardenas Construction completed the 263-foot walkway and pad between both fields for $9,600.

The district had a choice between an asphalt or concrete walkway and decided to go with the thicker, but more expensive concrete alternative because it should be longer lasting, Scotto said.

A major addition to the district could be accomplished in 2010 with the anticipated construction of a new community hall.

“We hope to have it out to bid this month, but no later than next month,” he added.

The district has $400,000 set aside for the 11,000-square-foot hall, which will be constructed in the vacant lot behind the existing hall and next to Valley Springs Elementary School.

The new building will be three times the size of the existing hall, which was constructed in 1963, and solve handicap-access, heating and air-conditioning issues associated with the old structure.

Pete’s Café, now Good Friends Chinese Restaurant, has been a landmark in Valley Springs’ historic and sometimes colorful past.

The historical significance of one of Valley Springs’ most famous – or infamous – buildings was overlooked in a preliminary investigation as a study gets under way to address traffic woes at the downtown intersection of State Routes 12 and 26.

At a Dec. 21 town hall meeting hosted by District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli and District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas, a county staff member outlining the traffic mitigation study said the preservation of historical landmarks will be considered throughout the process, but Pete’s Café, now Good Friends Chinese Restaurant, had not been identified as historical.

Sal Manna, founder and president of the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, vehemently disagreed.

A 1933 brochure announcing the grand re-opening of Pete’s Café. Courtesy the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History.

“I would hope that when they do their research that they would consult the area’s only significant reserve for historical information, the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History,” Manna said. “I’m disappointed they have not done that in any of the this process to date.”

The history of the northeast corner of the intersection goes back to the beginning of Valley Springs. The site probably was the location of the Pattee Brothers Meat Market and the first post office in Valley Springs, Manna said, which had been established in the market by 1885.

The Pattee family owned most of the property on that side of the block and in 1900 built a concrete structure at the corner for the Pattee General Merchandise Store.

Pete Ormes moved to Valley Springs in 1925 and established “Pete’s Cafe” down the block from the market. Several years later his café was located in the original market.

In addition to the café, it was a site for gambling and slot machines and legend has it the establishment served as a house of prostitution, Manna said. Up until Prohibition ended in 1933, Ormes was known for serving illegal alcohol.

“The building is 77 years old and a building over 50 years old can be considered historical,” Manna said.

Jonathan Mitchell, senior engineer and project manager in Calaveras County’s public works department, said his statement at the town hall meeting was based on preliminary information he had been provided by the engineering firm conducting the traffic mitigation study.

“It’s in the investigative stage and not yet complete,” Mitchell said about the historical analysis. “They told me they will be contacting him (Manna) shortly.”

“It seemed out of place at the time,” Tofanelli said about the information Pete’s Café was not being considered historical. “I will look into it some more.”

The feds have joined in the search for the person or persons terrorizing the Valley Springs area with random acts of shooting at vehicles and homes.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a rash of shootings the past two weeks in the greater Valley Springs area.

The announcement was made Wednesday as the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department received a report about a shooting into a home. The report of the shooting into a residence came in at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday and the sheriff’s department is investigating to see whether it is connect with the earlier shootings.

There has been at least 10 reported shootings into vehicles and homes in the Valley Springs and Burson areas since Dec. 17. Six of those shootings were at motorists before dawn and after sunset on Dec. 22. No one has been injured or wounded during the shooting spree.

“AFT is committed to working with the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department to find the person or persons responsible for these senseless shootings,” said ATF Special Agent Stephen C. Herkins in announcing the $5,000 reward. “The shootings are crimes of violence that will not be tolerated.”

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the sheriff’s department tip line at (209) 754-6030, or the department’s main line at (209) 754-6500.

The sheriff’s department is also asking the public to refrain from celebrating the new year by firing shots into the air so as not to create false leads for investigators to handle.

Investigators recovered bullets from the Dec. 22 roadway shootings and confirmed all of the bullets were similar and came from a small-caliber weapon. The shootings that day came from the side of the road as well as from vehicles approaching in the opposite lane. In addition, there has been one description that the suspect vehicle might be a light-colored late model sedan.

By Nick Baptista

Peace in the Valley Springs area during the holiday season was shattered by a roadway shooting spree last Tuesday.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department received reports from six motorists who were victims of the shootings and miraculously none of them were injured.

It appears at this time the suspect is shooting at vehicles from the side of the road as well as when he or she passes in a vehicle, according to Sgt. Dave Seawell of the sheriff’s department.

There is one description that the suspect vehicle might be a light-colored late model sedan

The sheriff’s department has called in all available personnel to patrol the Valley Springs area in response to the shootings and urges anyone with information regarding the case to call the department’s public line at 754-6500, or the anonymous tip line at 754-6030.

The first shooting occurred at 5:15 a.m. when a 37-year-old female was on her way to work traveling north on Hartvickson Lane near Partridge Road. The glass on the driver’s side window of her vehicle shattered. The victim pulled to the side of the road and discovered a bullet hole in the driver’s side door just below the window. The victim reported she did not see any vehicles pass her.

The second shooting occurred a half-hour later on Highway 12 near Evans Road. A woman was traveling westbound on the highway when she heard a loud bang. The victim thought her vehicle kicked up a rock that struck the vehicle. The victim later discovered her vehicle had a bullet hole in the driver’s side passenger door. The victim reported she had passed a vehicle that was traveling eastbound on Highway 12, but could not provide a description due to it being dark.

Ten minutes later at approximately 5:55 a.m., a 52-year-old woman was driving was eastbound on Highway 26 near St. Andrews Road when her vehicle was shot. Deputies recovered a bullet that traveled through the vehicle's hood and lodged in the engine compartment. The victim reported a vehicle had passed her westbound, but she could not provide a description due to the darkness at that time.

The last shooting in the morning occurred at 6:10 a.m. on Highway 26 at Silver Rapids Road. A 49-year-old man was driving westbound on the highway when a bullet struck the side view mirror of his vehicle. The victim said he did not pass any vehicles or see any vehicles in the area.

The shootings resumed that night at 10:30 p.m. on Highway 26 west of Vista Del Lago. A 55-year-old man was driving eastbound on the highway west of Vista Del Lago as an unknown vehicle approached from the opposite direction. The victim said he heard a loud bang and his vehicle’s windshield shattered. The victim stated he could not identify the suspect vehicle as it had its high beams on.

The final shooting was at 10:50 p.m. on Highway 26 near the Jenny Lind Approach Road. A 37-year-old male was westbound on the highway when a bullet was shot through the driver's side window of his vehicle. The bullet exited through the passenger side window. The victim said he had passed a vehicle traveling eastbound on Hwy 26. The victim observed a flash as the vehicle passed and then his windows shattered. He said he pulled to the side of the road and noticed the vehicle he had passed had stopped. The victim, fearing for his safety proceeded to drive out of the area. The victim described the suspect vehicle as being a light-colored late model sedan.

In addition, the department is investigating a drive-by shooting on Dec. 17 at a residence on Highway 26 near Vista Del Lago. It is unknown whether the drive-by shooting is related to Tuesday’s roadway shootings. Investigators have recovered bullets from the shootings and can confirm all of the bullets are similar and came from a small-caliber weapon. Investigators have not found a link between the victims or a motive for the shootings at this time.

Decorating contest winners 112 Gold Standard Court, above, and 1005 Mockingbird Hill, below.

'Tis the season for outdoor decorating in the Valley Springs area with a wide array of lights ushering in the Christmas season and two local homeowners groups announcing the winners of their holiday decoration contests.

Gino and Jamie Baiocchi at 112 Gold Standard Court took first-place honors in the Gold Creek Estates contest, while the third annual Christmas Decorating Contest at New Hogan Lake Estates had several winners in separate categories.

The economy may be down this year, but the spirits were up on Mockingbird Hill and all the other streets in New Hogan Lake Estates. More than 30 homes were decorated and there was even a motor home decorated whose owners were visiting friends for the holidays.

The New Hogan Lake Estates winners were: Nick and Sheena Sauders, 1005 Mockingbird Hill, best lights; Cloves and Tiffani Tennis, best theme; Larry and Diane Wolff, best yard display, and Lynn MacKenzie, best effort. Each of the winners received a $100 cash prize.

The judges felt this was the toughest year yet to decide upon the winners and New Hogan Estates is planning on having more categories next year so more people can win. The public is invited to drive through the neighborhood and enjoy the holiday spirit.

Christmas is a special time of year for Gino Baiocchi. He and his family have been decorating their house for a number of years. The Baiocchis finished second in last year’s Gold Creek contest.

“It’s a huge team effort,” Gino said. He concentrates on decorating the outside, while Jamie and their daughters decorate the inside.

“I always decorate,” Gino said. “This has a lot of meaning to me. It brings up special feelings of how it ought to be.”

The Baiocchis switched from regular to LED lighting this year and Gino said it made a huge difference in the number of lights in use and they hope to see their electric bill decrease.

They paid an extra $350 last year on their Christmas time electric bill and hope to see the cost lowered by two-thirds.

The family also is big on Halloween decorations and a popular stop for trick-or-treaters.

Liz and Phil Weaver accepting the Valley Springs Area Business Association's annual Citizen of the Year Award Saturday evening.

The couple instrumental in working behind the scenes organizing the annual Christmas Parade will be close to the beginning of the entourage at next year’s event in the grand marshal car as Liz and Phil Weaver have been named the Valley Springs Area Business Association’s Citizens of the Year.

Liz, among her many civic duties has been the parade’s chairwoman, and Phil does the heavy lifting.

Phil has lived in Calaveras County for 20 years and Liz for nearly 12. Phil has been in the martial arts business for 15 years and seven years ago the couple opened Sheng Chi, which is located at 139 Main St.

In addition, the couple can be found in the kitchen cooking for the Valley Springs Friends of the Library’s annual melodrama, and their business sponsors the annual Kid’s Day celebration.

Phil is also a director for the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, while Liz has been a board member for the Calaveras Unified School District’s Education Foundation the past six years, is an advisory member on the ABA board, and is a member of the Rotary Club of West Calaveras.

The couple also started the Sheng Chi Foundation, which provides funding for the area’s returning veterans, at-risk and special needs children to receive martial arts instruction and enjoy its mental and physical benefits. The foundation is looking at the possibility of expanding the program next year to serve the area’s senior citizens.

“We were very surprised, especially after hearing who else was under consideration,” Liz said. “We’re in very good company.”

In addition to the Weavers, Dr. Jim Green, Dave and Jan Evans, Valley Springs News owners Nick Baptista and Vip Hale, and Cliff and Willene Seavey were under consideration.

The multipurpose room at Toyon Middle School was filled last Wednesday with more than 300 pieces of student artwork on public display.

Students at Toyon Middle School treated the public to more than 300 pieces of artwork during Wednesday’s end of the semester art show.

The show was entitled “The Power of Peace – A Journey Towards Peace As Seen, Imagined and Painted by Toyon Middle School Art Students” and also contained poems by students in teacher Teresa Fasola’s creative writing class and students in teacher Cyndy Larson’s tech class used their computer skills to typeset the poems in customized fonts.

The artwork of approximately 168 students appeared at the exhibit, said art teacher Kevin Hesser. Student paintings, collages and other pieces of artwork from the semester were displayed in the school’s multipurpose room. Almost every art class student chose to display at least one of the pieces they prepared during the semester.

Another art show is planned for the second semester and students can submit pieces from either semester.

Junior and Natalie Hernandez of Valley Springs take advantage of Monday morning’s rare snowfall by tossing snowballs at one another near the Chevron station located on Highway 26 at Nove Way.

It was turmoil for some and fun for others as Calaveras County was hit with an unusually cold storm that left snow at low levels Monday morning including a few inches in Valley Springs.

Between 5 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday, the San Andreas office of the CHP responded to 72 weather-related incidents. Of those, 26 were traffic collisions or spinouts. In addition, there were numerous reports of downed trees, power lines and rockslides blocking lanes and disrupting traffic. PG&E crews were hard at work in the wet and cold conditions on several power outages throughout the county.

It was fun for local youngsters as the Calaveras Unified School District and the county’s other school districts closed for the day. The telltale signs of the snow mixed with children included a number of snowmen dotting the local landscape.

State Route 4 was closed for approximately three hours between Angels Camp and Copperopolis due to numerous vehicles, including a big rig, spinning out.

The county Government Center closed at 3 p.m. Monday due to the storm and did not resume regular hours until 10 a.m. Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors meeting was delayed from its regular starting time of 9 a.m. on Tuesdays until 10:30 a.m. yesterday.

The National Weather Service issued a frost advisory through Wednesday morning and the CHP has issued a warning due to the cold weather and icy roads.

The CHP is asking motorists to carry chains at all times since the snow level may fluctuate and reduce speed and allow additional space between vehicles. In addition, allow extra time for travel in inclement conditions and carry blankets, water, food and extra warm clothing in case of emergencies.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department is asking residents to limit their movement to essential travel only during the icy conditions.

The five-day forecast calls for stormy weather to return on Thursday and last until Sunday.

Although flooding is not expected, sand and sand bags are available locally at the county road department’s Jenny Lind station, 11558 Milton Road, or at the government center in San Andreas below the red barn and past the series of modular buildings.

Historically speaking, it was back in 2006 when the snow level reached New Hogan Reservoir. In the spring of 2007, snowfall was recorded at Pardee Lake and in March of this year, a storm left several inches of snow on nearby Buena Vista Mountain.

The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department and Foothill Fire Protection District cordoned off Laurel Street last Wednesday morning after an explosive device was found in the area.

Three Valley Springs residents were arrested last week on suspicion of a variety of felonies – including drug, cruelty to a child and possession of explosive device offenses.

Vernon Keith Moore, 25, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday a short distance from his Sequoia Avenue residence. He fled on foot from his residence while Calaveras County deputies were attempting to serve a warrant. A day later, a pipe bomb was located in the vicinity of his initial arrest. The Calaveras bomb squad was dispatched to the scene and Laurel Street between Sequoia and Daphne Street was closed for about an hour.

The sheriff’s department then obtained a search warrant for a residence Moore was frequenting.

Cameron Patelzick and Brandy Felts-Patelzick, both 36, were arrested at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday after the search warrant was served at their 5975 Thornicroft Drive house.

Approximately .6 grams of methamphetamine and approximately 20 prescription pills were located inside the house, according to the sheriff’s department. A .357-caliber revolver and ammunition were located in a case in the garage.

In the course of the investigation, bomb making materials and unspent explosive devices were also located. The department says Moore made numerous destructive devices and he detonated three of them and two more unspent devices were taken as evidence.

The Patelzicks were arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, committing a felony while armed and willful cruelty to a child. Bail for each has been set at $105,000.

In addition, to Moore’s warrant, he faces new charges of resisting arrest, destroying or concealing evidence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of an explosive device in public, use of an explosive device with intent to injure, willful cruelty to a child, committing a felony while armed and conspiracy to commit a felony. Bail for him has been set at $7.3 million.

The latest Rogers Media sign advertising an out-of-town business has rekindled controversy surrounding the installation of a billboard between Burson and Valley Springs.

The Davis, Calif., billboard company that has had a stormy relationship with the Valley Springs business community again has drawn the ire of some local business people.

Rogers Media in February erected a billboard along a stretch of Highway 12 between Burson and Valley Springs advertising the Black Oak Casino in neighboring Tuolumne County. A few weeks later the company made a gesture to help Calaveras County merchants by placing a sign on the opposite side with the image of a jumping frog and saying “Shop, Stay & Play in Calaveras County.

“We want to be a positive part of the community,” Matt Rogers, president and CEO of Rogers Media, said at the time. He added that the Calaveras sign would remain up for at least a year and was being provided at no charge by Rogers Media.

However, eight months later, the Calaveras billboard has been replaced with one advertising the RoShamBo Salon & Boutique across the county line in Lockeford.

The new sign was the subject of several conversations when members of the Valley Springs Area Business Association gathered Nov. 18 at El Torero for their monthly luncheon meeting. The VSABA last year opposed Rogers Media’s original proposal to Calaveras County that called for three signs on the Foothill Sanitary property located about a mile west of downtown Valley Springs.

“That’s nice,” was the reaction of Candace Keesey, an ABA board member and critic of the original proposal. “We knew when this was proposed, this was going to happen. We need to be supporting our local businesses.”

The county Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote allowed Rogers Media one sign on the location for a five-year period as work on the General Plan is completed. At the end of five years, Rogers Media will have to re-apply for a conditional use permit to keep the sign up.

Rogers objected to the vote saying it was not worth the investment in a new sign for only a five-year period and called the board’s action a de facto denial of his project. He left the Sept. 23, 2008, board meeting threatening to sue the county.

Significant portions of West Calaveras, depicted in red, have been identified as new flood hazard areas.

Two hot West Calaveras issues – flooding and traffic congested at the Highway 12/26 intersection – will be the topics of discussion when District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli and District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas hold a town hall meeting sometime in December.

Within the past few weeks there have been new developments concerning both issues and the supervisors want to bring those matters to the public’s attention, Tofanelli told The Valley Springs News earlier this week.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors last week voted 5-0 authorizing a professional services agreement that could be the last step before actual construction begins to improve the Highway 12/26 intersection in downtown Valley Springs. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released new flood hazard maps for the county with some significant changes in the West Calaveras area.

Tofanelli said he and Thomas are working to reach a definite date for the meeting.

The professional services contract with Dokken Engineering out of Folsom will provide improvement alternatives including signalization and non-signalization options to solve traffic conditions at the intersection, along with the environmental studies and right-of-way acquisition paperwork needed to move forward toward construction, Tofanelli said.

The agreement is expected not to exceed $422,784 and $350,000 of the money comes from the state through so-called Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds, he said. Countywide Road Impact Mitigation fees will be used as the local match to fund the difference between the contract price and state funding.

The process includes three public workshops, with the first anticipated in several weeks, and Tofanelli said he wants to see those meetings well publicized so the public will have ample opportunity to voice any concerns or issues.

The Highway 12/26 engineering project is expected to be completed at the end of next year and actual construction could begin shortly afterward if funding is available, he added.

“We don’t know the actual construction costs, which this study will give us,” he said, but some state funding has been earmarked for construction and improvements at the intersection are at the top of the list for the use of county RIM fees.

Although Valley Springs was the site of the county’s most recent flooding back in April of 2006 when approximately 20 area homes and businesses were damaged by flood waters and more than 100 other households were evacuated, two public meetings to discuss the recently released FEMA flood maps and insurance program are scheduled Wednesday, Dec. 2, in San Andreas.

Those meetings will be at 4:30 and 6 p.m. in the Calaveras High School Library at School Street in San Andreas. Both meetings will cover the same material.

For West Calaveras area residents unable to make it to the San Andreas meetings, many of the same information will be covered in the later supervisors’ town hall meeting, Tofanelli said.

The previous FEMA flood map dates back to the 1990s and the new map shows additional parts of the county located within flood hazard areas.

Homeowners within those hazard areas will have a limited time to obtain federal flood insurance at discounted rates.

The "Something From Nothing, The Early History of West Calaveras County" Volume II cover has an early photo of the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad station in Valley Springs that still stands today.

West Calaveras resident Sal Manna’s latest compilation of his popular “Something From Nothing” series was released last week in magazine form.

“It’s amazing how much history is here and how it relates to places elsewhere,” Manna, founder and president of the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, said at Thursday morning’s meeting of the Rotary Club of West Calaveras as he discussed his new publication.

Volume II of “Something From Nothing, The Early History Of West Calaveras County” is the second collection of the monthly columns Manna has penned for The Valley Springs News since March 1, 2006.

Did you know that a woman rancher in West Calaveras inspired the 1960s “Big Valley” TV series? Or that both the first and the most famous olive orchards in the entire region were in Wallace? How about Capt. Messenger during the Civil War or Catts Camp or the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad or the area’s connections with Charles Darwin and Old Ironsides?

The 48-page, full color magazine adds numerous photographs to the original columns and follows Volume I - which was published earlier this year. The only authoritative color publication ever produced about the area’s history, most of the magazine’s subjects had never before been written about.

“You can’t read this anywhere else,” Manna said, a veteran journalist and writer. “There was a vacuum and I stepped into it. Some day I hope to achieve sort of critical mass where there will be a rack of materials and people can get most of the history of this area.”

In addition, the Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History now has 2,140 items in it archives, Manna said. Could a West Calaveras museum be in the offing?

“We’ve explored the idea about a museum,” he said. “We’ll see about that over time.

Copies of the magazine are available at The Valley Springs News office, 10-G Nove Way, and from the author (for $12.50, including postage and handling, sent to the Society for The Preservation of West Calaveras History, PO Box 714, Burson, CA 95225).

Cpl. Anthony Vranicar, left, and Pvt. John Vranicar, members of the American Civil War Association's Co. H of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, fire a salute at the Nov. 7 ceremony honoring Calaveras County's Union Civil War vets.

Sgt. John W. Dawson's descendants at the Nov. 7 ceremony - from left - Malachi Manning, Lorraine Dawson, Edwin Lyons, Thomas Lyons and Karen Dawson.

Calaveras County’s “forgotten heroes” – those who served and died during the Civil War – were honored in a Nov. 7 ceremony at the Jenny Lind Cemetery nearly 150 years after the conflict began.

Sal Manna, president and founder of the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, organized the event.

“There is no monument to our Civil War veterans in Calaveras County, whether Union or Confederate,” Manna said in his opening remarks. “Three years ago, despite objections by some of us, the memorial overlooking the graves of many Union veterans at the San Andreas Peoples Cemetery was dismantled by the county with the assistance of our county Sheriff. The memorial now at the Government Center, flanked by two Civil War cannon, lists the names of those from Calaveras who perished in various wars - but none from the Civil War. People have asked, why? There are many reasons but perhaps the most important is that none of those men have descendants who are still in the county. The Calaveras men who died, as well as all of those from here who served, are truly Calaveras County’s forgotten heroes.”

Manna’s research indicates 554 men from Calaveras County served the Union during the Civil War and 27 of them died in uniform.

Sgt. John W. Dawson, a longtime Calaveras County resident and perhaps the only African-American Civil War veteran buried in the Mother Lode, was spotlighted at the ceremony, which was held at his gravestone. Two generations of Dawson’s descendants attended.

Dawson was born a slave in Virginia in 1826. In the months after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, regiments of freed slaves were formed and Dawson enlisted as a private in Company C, 22nd U.S. Colored Troops, attached to the Union’s Pennsylvania Infantry.

He saw action at the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond. It was after Petersburg when Dawson was promoted to sergeant, likely in recognition of his actions to help prevent a hasty Union retreat from turning into a rout.

“His troops continued to fight through the end of the war, including the Battle of Fair Oaks,” Manna said. “They then helped occupy Richmond and set up refugee camps to house former slaves. The 22nd and other Colored regiments of the Richmond occupational force were on hand when Lincoln visited the conquered city and perhaps it was then that Dawson reportedly received a citation signed by the President for his bravery at Petersburg.”

Dawson and his wife Lucy settled on a 160-acre farm near Jenny Lind sometime after 1880. He died at age 69 on March 1, 1896.

Great-great-granddaughters Lorraine and Karen Dawson and three great-great-great-grandsons – Malachi Manning, Edwin and Thomas Lyons were on hand to hear about Sgt. Dawson’s service to his country.

“For so many years I heard a few stories, but this was leaps and bounds more than I had ever known,” said Lorraine.

Many of the family’s documents about Sgt. Dawson were lost when the family house on Southworth Road burned down in the 1960s, Lorraine said. She was able to find a few photos at the time sifting through the rubble.

She added that it was important for the next generation to know about the family history.

Sylvia Roberts, executive director of the Mother Lode Black Heritage Foundation, recited “Memorial Hymn,” written by Job Francis Thomas, a Civil War veteran and Burson postmaster in the 1890s, in honor of the service and heroism of Sgt. Dawson.

The ceremony reached its conclusion with Manna reading a list of the 27 men from the county who died while serving the Union.

“None of them have ever been acknowledged or honored here,” Manna said. “We will redress that wrong, right here, right now - by recalling their names in Calaveras County for the first time in nearly 150 years and tolling a bell in their honor.”

Vietnam veteran Michael McDaniel tolled the bell for each one and former U.S. Army band member Gail Belmont played “Taps.” Members of the American Civil War Association’s Co. H of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry fired a salute to the Civil War veterans.

For more information, including the entire roster of 554 Union veterans identified to date, visit calaverashistory.org, the web site of the Calaveras Heritage Council.

Members of the public and public servants from law enforcement and firefighting gather along Highway 12 Tuesday morning waving U.S. flags as the hearse containing the body of Army Spc. Kyle Coumas passes through Valley Springs.

West Calaveras residents lined Highway 12 and paid their last respects as the body of Army Spc. Kyle Andrew Coumas, 22, of Lockeford entered Valley Springs shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday in the back of a black hearse en route to burial in Wilseyville.

Coumas, who was killed as the result of an Oct. 21 bomb attack on his vehicle in the Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, was laid to rest in to a private ceremony at the Sandoz-Fuchs Family Cemetery in Wilseyville.

More than an hour before the motorcade procession reached Valley Springs, people began lining the street and firefighters from the Foothill Fire Protection District attached a United States flag to the end of the hose on their ladder truck in honor of the fallen soldier. Firefighters from Jenny Lind Fire Protection District and CalFire were present to pay their respects, along with Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department deputies and an American Legion Honor Guard at the entrance to Valley Springs.

Approximately 400 people were on hand in the two block area from Pine Street to the intersection with Highway 26, most carrying the U.S. flag, and there were many wet eyes as the motorcade passed through town. Up the highway, Toyon Middle School students also paid their respects when the motorcade passed.

Guy Meyers was one of those waiting as the motorcade approached Valley Springs. On his motorcycle nearby a magnetic sign said, “Freedom is not free.”

“That young man paid the ultimate price for freedom and that’s why I’m here today,” Meyers said.