Miscellanious, January THE UNION Articles

Plotting and prioritizing action for 2006 will be the topic of a two-day meeting of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors Monday and Tuesday.

According to Chairman Nate Beason, goals and objectives like workforce housing, methamphetamine, roads and water treatment plants will be some of the topics covered for the meeting to be held in Room L101 at Sierra College in Grass Valley. Accomplishments will also be discussed.

"The major thing we have done is to cease hostilities," said Beason, who represents the Nevada City area. "My goal is to make decisions based on merit."

For county CEO Rick Haffey, "Tuesday will be a key day. We'll have projections for revenue and the availability of services and we'll get our marching orders from the board," about the 2006-2007 budget. "We'll have signs up saying BOS Workshop with an arrow," pointing to the room.

"I think the importance of a priority list is to get the board on the same page to give staff direction," said Supervisor Ted Owens of Truckee. "Infrastructure needs and road funding are high on my list."

Owens also wants to discuss using design and build plans for water treatment plants, instead of bidding them out. He called the methodology of the bid process "archaic" and added that it doesn't allow the county to take advantage of current technology. He also said the county's Fire Safe Plan is important to him personally, "because I live in the middle of the forest."

The highest priority for Owens, however, is to get an advocate for the county to lobby its interests in Sacramento.

"We're one of the few counties that doesn't do it," he said. "I want to move us into the 21st century."

The eastern county supervisor said he also shares Supervisor Robin Sutherland's interest in battling methamphetamine.

"I think we've made a lot of headway with the issue of meth," said Sutherland who represents Penn Valley and the San Juan Ridge. "We were able to have two workshops with Placer County to set up a substance abuse coalition and in the next few months, we'll finalize it."

Sutherland said she was been working with Congressman John Doolittle's staff to get funding for the coalition. She also wants to explore getting money for it through the United Auburn Indian Community tribe, of which she is a member.

Highway 49, Sutherland said, is also on her agenda for the year.

"The accident rate is very alarming," she said. "We need to find a way to alter the road and widen it."

Also on Sutherland's list is the proposed Dorsey Drive interchange for the Golden Center Freeway and "the age-old issue of affordable housing."

Sutherland wants to get more money for mental health issues and, she said, her pet project is to keep excessive regulation off of the back of agriculture.

Supervisor Sue Horne of Lake of the Pines and John Spencer of Grass Valley could not be reached for comment Friday.

Know & Go

What: Special meeting of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, a workshop to discuss goals for 2006 and past accomplishments.

When: 8:30 to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Where: Room L101, Sierra College in Grass Valley. Follow the signs that say BOS Workshop with an arrow on them.

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

Recreation rates at Scotts Flat and Rollins reservoirs will be increased this year by the Nevada Irrigation District.

In recent years the district has established a philosophy of having water and electricity sales pay for operations. But when it comes to recreation at the two lakes, public service is the driving force according to NID executive Peggy Davidson.

"We're in the red, we're not making money," Davidson said this week. With increasing costs and bills for recent improvements at both public outlets on Scotts Flat, "were not even covering costs."

The current budget for the 2006-07 year foresees $915,000 in recreation revenues and state grants compared to expenditures of $1,185,000. That means NID will have to move $270,000 over from its water division to break even. NID has been reported to have more than $70 million in reserve funds.

Boaters will pay the largest increases, with a daily mooring at Scotts Flat going to $8.75 from $7. Monthly mooring fees there will increase to $100 compared to last year's $70.

Boat slips are used for three of the four Rollins Reservoir campgrounds, and the daily rate of $15 will be maintained at Greenhorn Campground. However, the seasonal slip rate there will go to $700, up from last year's $650.

Boat slip day rates will increase to $20 from $15 at Orchard Springs Campground with season rates increasing to $650 from $600. Day boat rates at Long Ravine Campground will go to $25 from $20 and seasonal rates will jump to $600 from $555.

The district will raise rates for day-use vehicles with four persons to $6.25 from $6 at the Scotts Flat Campground and the four others at Rollins Reservoir. Overnight campers will pay $1 to $4 more per night than before.

Davidson said the new rates compare favorably with others in Northern California. Day use recreationists pay $7 per vehicle at Folsom Lake and anywhere from $4 to $14 at state parks compared to NID's new $6.25 rate.

Campers pay anywhere from $20 to $33 per night at Collins Reservoir in Marysville. The cost to camp at Bullards Bar Reservoir near the San Juan Ridge is $17 per night.

State campgrounds run from $11 to $40 per night, while the new NID rates vary from $17 to $36.30. For more information, call NID at 273-6185.

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

Uncertain if he'll adjust to a life of leisure after 35 years of dedicated fire service, 52-year-old fire chief Tony Clarabut reluctantly signed his retirement papers last Friday.

"I'm not really going anywhere yet," said the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit Chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on Thursday. "I have a few projects I want to work on."

He's not entirely sure if he's going to enjoy retirement, something most relish.

"I've got some separation anxiety," he said, sitting in an old, worn office chair inside the Nevada City CDF station on Ridge Road. "I've done this since I was 17 years old and I've got mixed emotions. This is what I do and who I am."

Clarabut decided he wanted to be a firefighter when was home one summer from Chico State, where he studied as a math major. He joined a fire crew for a summer job.

"Two weeks into it I decided this was it," he said. "I changed my major to forestry and transferred to Humboldt State."

He moved to Nevada County from the Mendocino Coast in 1983 and worked his way up from battalion chief to division chief in 1996, then unit chief in 2001.

"It was almost like a 24-hour job," said Peter Brost, Public Services Staff Officer for the Tahoe National Forest. Brost has worked with Clarabut on joint fire protection projects for several years. "He had to go to meetings day and night."

His wife, Susan Clarabut, the Nevada County School District assistant superintendent responsible for special education, anticipates seeing her husband much more often.

"Maybe now when I get home, he'll be there," she said. "He's a dedicated CDF employee and his heart is in some of these projects. It's hard for him to leave, but I look forward to not washing those uniforms."

The couple has two children together, Allison, 24, a teacher at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School; and Alex, 20, a mechanical engineering student in his junior year at Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo.

"We'd like to be able to get down to San Luis Obispo more often," Susan said. Clarabut does look forward to spending more time with his family. "I'm very proud of them," he said.

Administrative Chief Gary Brittner will now serve as interim unit chief until the CDF regional chief in Redding appoints a successor.

Clarabut will miss the sense of camaraderie and accomplishment that, he said, only a career in public safety can provide.

"People are usually pleased to see us and are grateful for the work that we do," he said. "Firefighters and police officers tend to have passion about their work, and usually stay for their entire careers."

Brost said the fire protection is losing an unusually dedicated leader.

"(Clarabut) has always dealt with all the groups very honestly and with a lot of integrity," he said. "He knows how to work through bureaucratic barriers and got things done. He took his job very seriously."

Clarabut said he will work as a consultant for CDF, possibly until completion of the Nevada County Fire Plan.

To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.

Citing shoddy police work at the crime scene, the public defender has filed a motion to dismiss allegations against murder suspect Lauren Hayes.

Nevada County Public Defender Thomas Anderson filed the motion last week, "based on failures of the government to properly secure, preserve and protect critical and exculpatory evidence."

Anderson claims Nevada County Sheriff's deputies destroyed footprints, tire marks and blood evidence in and around the Cadillac in which Lawrence Leffingwell's body was found Sept. 5, 2003.

Hayes, Leffingwell's ex-girlfriend, was charged with his murder and pleaded innocent Sept. 24, 2003.

The trial is set for Feb. 15 in Nevada County Superior Court.

Included in Anderson's motion is a report by forensic scientist Dr. John Thornton. Thornton's report is based on a videotape of deputies processing the crime scene.

Anderson says the sheriff's department allowed a woman onto the crime scene and close to the body to calm Leffingwell's dog, which was removed from the car by an Animal Control officer.

Thornton states the woman could have altered or contaminated evidence. The report also alleges deputies mishandled the firearm later determined by the California Department of Justice to be the murder weapon.

Allegedly handling the weapon without gloves when they first encountered it, Thornton's report states deputies removed the rubber grips to retrieve a serial number.

"The failure of the officers to properly maintain the integrity of this evidence ... comes dangerously close to a willful destruction of evidence," Thornton states.

Deputy District Attorney Ron Wolfson said Anderson's claims will be easily refuted.

"I can tell you with confidence that (the motion) is without merit and we're confident it will be denied," Wolfson said Wednesday.

Anderson also claims deputies stored the Cadillac in the county sheriff's evidence yard with a missing window for months, exposing physical evidence to rain and snow.

Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said he thought it would be inappropriate to comment on Anderson's claims until after a judge rules on the motion. A Nevada County Superior Court judge is scheduled to hear Anderson's motion and Wolfson's opposition at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 3 in Nevada County Superior Court.

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To contact Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@ theunion.com or call 477-4236.

January 26, 2006, The union staff

The Nevada County Fair took 10 first-place awards, including two featured program awards, at the recent Western Fairs Association convention in San Diego.

Nevada County's fair received the top award for the "Best Single Day Promotion," which recognized the Scholar Students Day program, developed in partnership with Dr. Terry McAteer, Superintendent of Schools. The fair also received the top award for its security program, which is under the direction of Lt. Mike Hughes of the Nevada County Sheriff's Department.

"These awards are the outcome of tremendous effort on the part of staff and volunteers to create the best possible fair for the enjoyment of the people of this county and the fair's many out-of-county visitors," Nevada County Fairgrounds CEO Ed Scofield said. "We're extremely pleased that the Western Fairs Association has seen fit to honor our labors."

The Nevada County Fair placed first in several categories, including Fair Sponsorship Involvement, Fairtime Employee Program, Event Sponsored by the Fairgrounds - The Draft Horse Classic, Media Kit, Outdoor Advertising, Best New Idea This Year and "Give It Your Best Shot!"

The fair also scooped up eight second-place awards, three third-place wins and six honorable mentions.

Elaine Channel slipped away on Saturday, January 6, 2006, after a long illness. She fought hard until the very end, and the world is a very different place because of her good and generous life. Elaine was born in Montrose, Colorado, on January 1, 1928. She was the third child of Clement and Vinnie Leech who would have five additional children after her. The family moved to Pasadena in 1936. She received her Bachelors Degree in Mathematics at Pasadena College, teaching credential at UCLA and Masters in Education from Cal State University, Los Angeles. She married Larry Channel on August 31, 1947 in Pasadena.

Elaine was wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and long term library volunteer. Her first teaching job was at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra. In 1955, Larry and Elaine had their first child, and Elaine became a fulltime wife and mother. She raised five children and moved the family several times between California and Washington D.C. Elaine eventually went back to work, teaching math at Marshall High School in Pasadena, and later in Maryland high schools. She accepted a position as Professor of Mathematics at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. In 1990 Elaine and Larry retired and moved to Nevada City.

Elaine soon became very involved in Nevada County public libraries. She served as President of Friends of the Library and worked on Measures B and C for tax support for the libraries. She served on the Library Foundation and the Oversight Committee. She was webmaster and newsletter editor for the Friends. Elaine was also active in California Retired Teachers Association, service clubs, and church and social organizations. She enjoyed travel, computer games, solving puzzles, rugmaking and knitting. She was an excellent writer and had a keen analytical mind.

Elaine is survived by her husband Larry and five children, Robert Channel of Pacifica, Susan Channel of South Lake Tahoe, Cheryl Matern of Spokane, WA, Timothy Channel of Huntington Beach, and Janet Tajii of Torrance. She saw all of her children receive college degrees. She has seven grandchildren: Christopher, Kevin and Brian Tajii, Ryan and James Matern, and Heather and Bryce Channel. Her surviving siblings are brothers Richard of Parker Arizona, Ralph of Monrovia, David of Loveland, Colorado, and Ronald of Hurricane, Utah, and sister Ruth Feldman of Glendale, CA. She was predeceased by a brother Robert in 1943 and a sister Marilyn in 1967.

Elaine was a loving, caring woman who grew more wise and beautiful with each passing year. Family, friends, and acquaintances were moved by her sensitivity and acceptance. Throughout her illness, and even into her last hours, she touched those around her with her dignity and courage.

As the Grass Valley/Nevada County chamber's new board chairman and publisher of this newspaper, I have a vested interest in seeing our community of mostly small businesses succeed.

I'm not alone. Every single citizen of this rural slice of paradise we call western Nevada County ought to feel the same sense of urgency as more and more retail money leaves the hill for Sacramento, Roseville, Marysville and the World Wide Web. An estimated 37 cents of every shopping dollar is now spent out of our market, according to our recent Pulse research. If the trend continues, we will finally be that "Bedroom Community" some would actually like us to be.

Why should we care? For starters, there are more than 300 nonprofit organizations that primarily depend upon local businesses for support. Not a day passes when a business owner isn't asked for money or goods to support local theater, music, Little League, art, schools, drug prevention programs, or myriad other community causes. Under difficult economic conditions, those are the first cuts a business must make as it struggles to meet payroll (with benefits), rent, rising utility costs and taxes.

And those sales taxes also finance our government infrastructure, pouring money into general funds for roads, police protection, etc., a point some municipalities need to remember as they continue to make it more difficult to do business here.

A quality community must have strong social, environmental and economic features. One, or two, out of three won't cut it. In fact, I'd suggest that a strong economy is the foundation of a quality community.

Why is 37 percent of the shopping money slipping through our fingers? According to our research, it's not just price. In most cases, shoppers don't even know the items or services they are looking for are available here.

Convenience is also a factor. Life is no longer 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Many of our local business owners need to review their hours of operation to ensure the hours work best for the customers, not themselves. The Internet allows you to shop whenever you like and from the comfort of your own home or work desk. Many businesses operate "inside/out," failing to put the customer's schedule, or needs, first.

Unfortunately, not a single penny from an Internet transaction returns to our community. Nor does the money spent at Wal-Mart, or Costco, or Sam's Club, or myriad other Big Box stores down the hill.

Customer service is also critical to any shopping decision and, frankly, we can all improve in that area. Most of the time it's as simple as making sure your employees are empowered to solve a customer's problem. A good friend and business manager in town told me last week that the goal of her company is to get to a "yes" when it comes to customers. "We need to remove all the obstacles that get in the way of answering every customer demand with a simple 'yes,'" she advised.

One national high-end retailer has only one rule for its employees: "Use good judgment in all situations."

Most know what "good judgment" is when they run across it, but how many of us practice it? How many of us have been in shops or restaurants where we've been treated to less than acceptable service or poor judgment? I was at a restaurant a couple of weeks back and sat for 15 minutes before I was even offered a glass of water. I stood at a checkout line for 15 minutes while the overwhelmed clerk pleaded without success over the loudspeaker for some help. She finally turned to those of us in line and said, "This place sucks, doesn't it?"

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy when it comes to attracting and keeping local shoppers.

The shopping survey, however, points to nothing but opportunities, once our local business community really understands what our customers want, when our customers want it, and what it's going to take to keep them shopping on the hill.

And some of that information is a little scary. An estimated 1,700 of you, for example, indicated you were in the immediate market for some new brakes. Another 8,000 of you said you needed new windshield wipers, which means I don't want to be anywhere near Highway 49 on the next rainy day.

It also appears, at least according to the shopping survey, that we spend more money on our pets ($95) every month than we do on fast food ($69). And, interestingly, cat owners outnumber dog owners, which indicates there might be a great business opportunity for some feline fancier. How about a fast food joint for cats and dogs?

As you make your shopping plans, I really encourage you to consider the benefits of shopping local. It's an old and perhaps tired cliché, but it really is an important one in terms of ensuring that we can continue to provide the quality of life all of us moved here to enjoy.

Jeff Ackerman is the publisher of The Union. His column appears every Tuesday.

The Nevada County supervisors will turn their attention to road and building projects when they meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Rood Center in Grass Valley.

A master plan for facilities will be unveiled at the meeting. The plan is a guide for what the county needs in government facilities in the next 20 years to do business.

On the needs list are:

The board will also get a report recommending $1.2 million in road repair projects for streets damaged by the New Year's storms. Those projects include reconstruction on Pleasant Valley Road below Penn Valley, Maybert Road in the Washington area, and Donner Pass Road in the Truckee area.

The board will also consider a loan from the general liability fund to the Cascade Shores Treatment Plant Improvement Fund for cash flow. The county is awaiting insurance coverage to pay for repairs to the plant, which was knocked off line by a landslide.

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

Citizens in the Deer Creek watershed below Scotts Flat Lake learned Thursday night that no quick evacuation plan is in order if the dam had a catastrophic break.

On the other hand, Nevada Irrigation District General Manager Ron Nelson said a severe earthquake would be needed to topple the dam, which is in an area of low seismic activity. Nelson said NID - which operates the dam and lake - has to pass three government inspections of the dam every year and it is monitored for safety constantly.

Nevada City area Supervisor Nate Beason got Nelson and Nevada County Director of Emergency Services Director Rich Reader to talk about the dam at a town hall meeting.

Reader said if the dam was to collapse, NID would notify his office, which would dispatch sheriff's office and Nevada City Police into the watershed, and they, "Would madly drive up the road with bullhorns to alert you."

However, Reader said a dam failure at Scotts Flat is, "extremely remote. You couldn't blow it up, you'd need an extreme earthquake event."

Reader said county technology exists for a telephone warning system that can call 16 people per minute. The county is looking at an expanded date base for a new system, he said.

Phone numbers of those in attendance were taken for the data base. Others suggested a horn system, but Reader said the cost was prohibitive and Nevada City has not embraced that idea.

When asked about evacuation lanes, Reader and Nelson said laws enacted since 9/11 allow agencies to give that information out to individuals, but not the public in general.

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

The Nevada County Supervisors gave themselves a 6 percent raise Tuesday, the board's first pay increase in three years.

Four percent of the raise is retroactive to Jan 1., with another 2 percent to be added in July. When the full raise is in effect, it will take the supervisors' yearly salary from $37,186 to $39,446 per year. The board chair, who is now Supervisor Ted Owens, will go from $39,046 to $41,419.

Supervisor Nate Beason said the pay hike was "a subject of considerable agony" politically, but "It's time to recognize we do contribute to the benefit of the community."

The board tied the increase to that of other elected officials in the county, a move that pleased Supervisor Sue Horne.

"It depoliticizes it a tad," Horne said.

Supervisors Horne, Beason, Owens and John Spencer voted for the increase. Absent was Supervisor Robin Sutherland, who said in June she would not accept a raise to fulfill a campaign promise.

The board also heard from county CEO Rick Haffey that the lifetime health insurance benefits for former members established in 1995 is illegal. The board members had opposed the ability to get the benefit in June and said retiring members should pay for coverage.

Haffey said his office is looking into how many former board members who qualify with five years of service or more enjoy the benefit. Haffey later said former Supervisor Peter Van Zant may be the only board member getting it, and that it was not a large cost to the county.

Van Zant said in June that the lifetime coverage has no vision or dental coverage and is worth about $170 per month. Van Zant has been off the board one year.

In other business:

• The board learned that the county suffered almost $5 million in public and private damage during the recent storms. About $2.9 million of it was in public property, mostly roads, and includes $800,000 of damage to Nevada Irrigation District facilities, including three major canals.

The board declared an emergency in an attempt to get state funds for repairs. Emergency Services Director Rich Reader said he is not sure how many private landowners in the county will qualify for federal relief, but prospects do not look good. State funds will not pay for private repairs, Reader said.

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

The United Nations - the same organization that has been fraught with mismanagement, ineptitude, nepotism, and corruption - now wants to take over the world's most innovative and robust medium, the Internet. As your representative in Congress, I am fighting to make sure that the Internet stays in the hands of the country that created it - the United States.

For years, I have been an outspoken opponent of the United Nations and its attempts to create a one-world government. Its recent oil-for-food scandal has underscored why it is critical that we not allow the United Nations to become too powerful. That is why I became alarmed when United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan recently called for increased international control of the Internet.

There are three principal reasons why every American should be concerned about this power grab. First, turning over the Internet to the United Nations could result in your paying a tax every time you send an email, buy something online or surf the web. The United Nations has already calculated that it can raise trillions of dollars by levying a "byte tax" on all transactions conducted over the Internet. This would be a nightmare for businesses reliant on on-line commerce and for taxpayers alike.

Second, the Internet has become a beacon for democracy and freedom to people who have only known censorship and political oppression. Any organization that grants seats on the Commission on Human Rights to Cuba, Libya, and China, as the United Nations has done in recent years, cannot be trusted to safeguard the freedom of speech now available on-line. The fact that China currently bans the words "democracy", "Christian", "human rights" and "traitor" from being searched for on the Internet is ample evidence for our country's continued oversight.

Finally, the Internet has been our gift to the world. The research that helped create the Internet was done by our government at American taxpayer expense. As a result of this heritage, we have a vested interest in ensuring that the Internet remains a haven for free speech and tax-free commerce. No other entity is as likely to accomplish this result as is the nation with the greatest liberty and stability in the world - the United States of America.

To ensure that we protect this vital resource and keep it free, I recently introduced House Concurrent Resolution 268 that declares that the United States must prevent the United Nations or any other international organization from controlling the Internet. I am proud that my bill has received bipartisan support and was recently passed unanimously by the House of Representatives.

Given our reliance on the Internet for communication and commerce, information and industry, there is just too much to risk and nothing to gain by handing this robust global medium over to an unreliable international body. As your representative, I will continue to fight to make sure that the Internet continues to be one of the most valuable assets of our time.

U.S. Rep. John T. Doolittle has served in the House of Representatives since 1991. As Secretary of the House Republican Conference, he is an elected member of the House Republican Leadership. Doolittle represents California's 4th Congressional District and serves on the Appropriations Committee, Energy and Water, Agriculture, and Interior Subcommittees, and the House Administration Committee.