I was excited to learn last year that Tuolumne residents, the Brittons, would be in Chile on a homestay during the first five months of 2010. Many of you know that I lived in Santiago, Chile as a teenager and have a deep affection for the nation and its people. Boy, am I glad they went! Their timing was uncannily perfect, arriving in time for t

What follows is Holly’s exceptional account of how things are going down there. If you would like to help them reach the hidden homes and Chilean communities, please go to Holly’s Facebook page (Holly Britton) and “friend” her or watch for more info here.  You may never have a more immediate connection to Chile or opportunity to use the Brittons as your hands and feet to demonstrate compassion to Chile: a nation desperately in need.

Hope for the Hidden: An story from the Chilean Quake March 8, 2010, by Holly Britton

Until last week I’d only ever witnessed natural catastrophes on the television. In the couple of days following the 8.8 Chile quake we watched as the government, military, and international organizations rushed in to rescue victims and restore order. Within 24 hours water and electricity was restored to our neighborhood and the television news revealed the devestation. Talk about feeling helpless in the face of such tragedy. Immediately we wondered how we could possibly help?

Where does one start?! The Britton family started with prayer, then emails and phone calls to friends and contacts we have here in Chile. We received a call from Juan Tagle, describing the damage and needs of some small communities near his summer home, about 3 hours south of us. We immediately considered running supplies to the families of this devestated area. Unfortunately, grocery stores and home supply centers are carefully guarding their stocks, for fear that Chileans will hoard or resell to quake victims. A local grocer and new-found friend of Zach’s generously offered to sell us whatever we needed to help our neighbors to the south. An answer to prayer! We loaded up with oil, rice, wheat, sugar, beans, potatoes, and milk. We were able to buy quite a bit of Ibprofin and headache meds from the pharmacy. Other supplies included diapers, toilet paper, tents, and a huge roll of plastic.

Cities and towns nearest the epicenter are receiving aid first. A large percentage of the population is still without electricity or water. Firefighters comb the streets distributing water to those who can carry bottles, buckets, and cans. The small village of Moscoso, tucked into beautiful hillsides strewn with grapevines, like many others, suffer undetected with very little hope of outside aid. Multiple families collect under the roofs still remaining and endure the continuing aftershocks.

It was here we took our first load of supplies. We drove down the main street unsure of how to begin the distribution. We approached a family of 4 or 5 adults working on their broken house. We rattled off a list of things we had to offer and the woman nearest me began to cry. As suspected, they had not received any outside help and were still without water or electricity. Worse, these field laborers had not been paid since the earthquake 5 days prior, so they had very little food. We spent about 5 hours handing out tents and food and assuring them that people cared about them. We took note of some special needs and told the people we would return.

The next day, Juan visited Moscoso with more provisions. He informed us that they needed more tents and some blankets. Our friend, Meche was able to get gigantic roles of blanket fabric at a discount and Friday night we had a “blanket-making” party at our house. Two hundred warm, clean blankets for the families! Through local connections, she also found discounted boxes of candles. We loaded three trucks and our suburban with enough supplies for Moscoso and the surrounding area!

By now, word had gotten around to our friends that we found a way to help. Total, there must have been over 40 people wanting to help distribute items! We started once again on the main street of Moscoso. Then, Zach, using Google-Earth satelite imagery, began to find roofs obscurely located down narrow lanes and tucked into the hillsides. Every home we visited accepted only what they needed and were quick to point to a neighbor who could use some help. The people were kind and grateful. Wanting to show their gratitude, they would often return to our convoy with fruits or tomatoes as gifts of thanks.

Theirs is a long, hard row to hoe. But we are praying that the Lord will help us establish some way of getting more help to their little town. We envision teams of volunteers helping with clean up and maybe with the construction of small homes before the winter hits. I know that all things are possible with Christ who gives us strength, but certainly the task is daunting.

Tuolumne Cancelled, please call to schedule an appointment for an alternate day.
Weds., Mar. 3, 10:00-11:30 am, Tuolumne Parks and Recreation District Office.

Twain Harte Cancelled this month, please call to schedule an appointment for an alternate day. Weds. Mar. 10,  10-11:30 am, Twain Harte CSD Office

Mi-Wuk Village
Weds., Mar. 17, Cancelled this month, please call to schedule an appointment for an alternate day, Mi-Wuk Village Library (Little Library in the Woods).

Office hours can be scheduled in other communities and at other times, as desired. Please call Teri at 533-5525 to arrange.

“I am proud to support Teri Murrison for State Assembly.  She is a leader with integrity and dedication to Republican values,” said Jones.

“Too often, the needs and concerns of rural communities are ignored at the State Capitol,” continued Jones. “As the State Assembly Representative for the 25^th District, Teri Murrison will be a strong and effective voice for farmers, ranchers and small businesses.”

“I’m impressed with Teri Murrison’s plan to protect rural economies by reducing job-killing government regulations, increasing local control and creating a firewall between the State and local revenues, and promoting sustainable management of our abundant natural resources,” continued Jones.  “Central Valley, Mountain, and Eastern Sierra residents can count on her to fight for our concerns.”

“Bill Jones is one of the most respected and influential Republican leaders in the Central Valley and California.  I am greatly honored. His endorsement will be well received by voters throughout the 25^th District,” declared Murrison, who is completing her first term on the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors.

Teri Murrison is a graduate of CSU Stanislaus (1989) who later earned a Masters Degree in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.  She is trained in community and faith-based mediation.

Teri represents the 3^rd District on the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors and served as Chair of the Board in 2009.  Known as a strong agricultural water advocate, Teri was appointed to the California Natural Resource Agency’s Statewide Watershed Planning and Advisory Committee in 2008.  She is a member of the California Women’s Leadership Association and a past officer in the Tuolumne County Republican Women’s Federation.

A nationally published writer, Teri has written for Range Magazine and Adventure West Magazine.  She lives in Tuolumne with her husband Richard, an adult school teacher, and her daughter Megan.

The 25^th Assembly District includes all of Calaveras, Mariposa, Mono and Tuolumne counties and portions of Stanislaus County (Modesto, Oakdale, Riverbank and surrounding areas) and Madera County (Chowchilla, Coarsegold, Oakhurst and surrounding areas).  It is a Republican stronghold that voted for John McCain for President (52%) in 2008 and for Governor Schwarzenegger (68%) in 2006.

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1. Attend a Board meeting in Twain Harte, Tues., Feb. 9, at 6:30 pm at the Twain Harte-Long Barn Union School District Office (Telele Lodge – auditorium), 18995 Twain Harte Drive;
2. Attend a Town Hall meeting in Tuolumne on Weds., Feb. 10, at 6:30 pm at Summerville High School’s library; and/or
3. Take a survey online at www.TuolumneCounty.ca.gov.

The Board would like District 3 residents’ opinions on the following:

• What are the greatest needs within the County right now?
• What are the highest priority County services?
• What are the main issues the County should be planning for in the future?
• How should County leaders go about balancing future budgets?

County staff will draft a 5-Year Strategic Plan reflective of citizen input for Board consideration. Citizens will be asked to comment on the draft plan once completed. The Board will adopt the final 5 year strategic plan in 2010.

PRESS RELEASE

Date:               Monday, January 25, 2010; 10:00 am
Contact:          Kathleen K Rustrum, OES Coordinator, (209) 533-5511

Sonora - According to today’s report for Tuolumne County from the Forecast Desk at the National Weather Service, we are still under a Winter Storm Warning until Tuesday, January 26^th at 4 am. We expect rain to pick up in the late morning through the afternoon amounting to under 1” of precipitation in the lower elevations.

Snow is expected today from 5000’ upwards, lowering in elevation tonight to possibly as low as the 3000’ elevation, for a light dusting. Higher elevations could get as much as 1’ of new snow from this storm. We expect today to be breezy with wind gusts up to 40-50 mph at the mountain crest.  The forecast is for a shower or two tomorrow, then a drying trend through Friday, January 29^th.

Regarding power outages

Mi-Wuk Village is PG&E’s current focus with 1634 customers without power.  PG&E now has 30 crews of 4-5 persons each plus vegetation management staff in Tuolumne County working around the clock to restore power. Helicopter assessments were made over the weekend. Many pole replacements are in inaccessible areas and need to be replaced by staff hiking in and replacing poles by hand. Other poles are more accessible and more easily accessed by snow tractors.

PG&E will be re-energizing power lines in the Mi-Wuk area today at 10:30 am and should be able to further assess where power is still out later on this morning. We hope to update the community with PG&E’s action plan later on today.

Mi-Wuk Fire Station, located at 24247 Highway 108, next to Big Daddy’s Restaurant, has been turned into a warming station for those without power.  You are welcome to stay for a couple of hours or overnight as there are cots and blankets available, provided by the Red Cross.  Also, oxygen tanks are available for those who need theirs refilled. Please contact the Mi-Wuk Fire Station directly if you have this need: 209.586.5256

Tuolumne County residents and visitors are reminded to:

• Reduce or eliminate unnecessary travel during periods of severe weather.
• Have emergency supplies on hand: sandbags in flood-prone zones, food/water, flashlights, battery-operated radio, ‘live’ batteries, prescription medications, etc.
• Check in on neighbors who may be elderly or have special needs.
• Continue to prepare for the potential of more power outages due to wind, downed trees, and resultant downed power lines.
• Check to insure pets/livestock are safe, especially those animal that may live outdoors.
• Listen to your local radio stations (and TV stations) for changing weather conditions.
• And, please use 911 only when it is vitally necessary.

Sandbag Resources

County Emergency Services, in conjunction with County Public Works still has three locations for emergency sand to assist County citizens with mitigating flooding at their homes or businesses.  County residents may pick up sand at the following locations:

• Columbia Airport; Airport Rd at the edge of the paved parking lot
• The City of Tuolumne; on the corner of Baker and Birch Streets
• Jamestown Road Yard; 7^th Avenue, behind Jamestown Elementary

Please bring your own shovel and bags to fill. Empty sandbags may be purchased at any of our local hardware or ranch supply stores.

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Wind and heavy snow knocked down trees, some of which are entangled in power lines and across roads. PG&E crews had to be called off for a time due to the numerous downed (and live) power lines. They are out in force now.

Restoring power in Tuolumne County is a #1 priority for PG&E. Some communities (Twain Harte and communities above in the Hwy 108 corridor) have been without power for several days.

PG&E has assigned 8-10 crews (of 4-5 people each) to remove trees that are entangled in power lines in District 3.

Public Works crews are working on snowplowing District 3 County roads that do not have downed trees and/or electric lines across them. But Public Works can’t move in to take care of some impacted roads until PG&E has finished its work.

If your power is out, it’s likely you won’t be able to read this but if you can, please try to be patient until PG&E and Public Works get to your area. If you have an emergency, by all means call 9-1-1.

And if you do get out, you should check on your neighbors and make sure you and they have food, water, and anything else you might need for a few more days. 

Here’s hoping the next storm won’t be quite so ferocious.

The Board is preparing a first-ever 5-year strategic plan to guide our direction and management efforts and would like your input.

We’ll post an online survey you can take between Jan. 26 and Feb. 23rd  (at www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov) and hold a series of Board meetings in each supervisorial district to hear from you.

Meetings schedule

Specifically, the Board will ask you to answer a few questions:

1. What are the greatest needs in the County now?
2. On what services should the County place highest priority now?
3. What main issues should the County be planning for in the future?
4. How should the Board go about balancing future County budgets?

For more information, please call the County Administrator’s office at 209-533-5511.

I look forward to hearing from many of you in the upcoming weeks. Thanks for your help as we work together to make Tuolumne County better for our children and our future.

Participants will discuss steps to grow the economy and put Americans back to work. The primary focus will be on ideas to accelerate job growth in rural America. Some of the topics to be discussed are:

• Rejuvenating and promoting local businesses;
• Creating jobs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure;
• Creating new opportunities from existing ones (such as value-added agricultural products);
• Supporting job growth among small businesses; and
• Preparing workers for 21st century jobs.

The forums will be co-hosted by USDA’s Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service as well as a wide variety of local organizers including economic development corporations, U.C. Cooperative Extension, Resource Conservation and Development Councils, California State Universities, the Valley Health Network, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Farm Bureaus, Tribal governments, Self-Help Housing Groups, and more.

Unfortunately, by the time we received the announcement, the Tuolumne County forum had already been held, but there will be forums in counties in or near the 25th District including:

• Jan. 25, 9-11 am, Modesto, Stanislaus County Agricultural Center, Harvest Hall Rooms A-C, 3800 Cornucopia Way;
• Jan. 25, 9-12 noon, Mariposa, Mariposa County Board of Supervisors, 5100 Bullion St.;
• Jan. 26, 9-12 noon, Madera, Madera County Social Services, 720 E. Yosemite Ave.;
• Jan. 26, 2-5 pm, Atwater, Castle Conference Center, 1900 Airdrome Entry;
• Jan. 26, 6-8 pm, Mammoth Lakes, Eastern Sierra College Center Mammoth Campus, Room 215-6, 101 College Parkway; and
• Jan. 27, 3-4:45 pm, San Andreas, Calaveras County Library, 1299 Gold Hunter Road.

For more info, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ca.

Date:               Tuesday, January 19, 2010; 8:30 am
Contact:          Kathleen K Rustrum, OES Coordinator, (209) 533-5511

Sonora - According to the Forecast Desk at the National Weather Service this morning, we are still under a Winter Storm Warning until tomorrow night. We will be experiencing light precipitation this morning which will pick up by mid-day. Showers will continue through Wednesday or Thursday.

Currently, we are experiencing wind gusts of 40-50 mph, which will increase up to 60 mph through today, but will wind down tonight. Then the wind is expected to pick up again to 60-65 mph at the highest elevations with tomorrow’s incoming storm in the late morning.

Snow levels are at about 4500’ right now and will drop tonight to 3500-4000’.  There is a possibility of another foot of snow through tonight at the higher elevations.

So far, we have received between 2”-4” of rain in the County, depending on the elevation.  For the storms that have taken place from last Sunday, January 17^th through this coming Friday, January 22^nd, the expectation is for 4-7” rain overall and 4’-7’ of new snow overall.

A high pressure system may move in Saturday and Sunday giving us a reprieve from the storms for the weekend. This will probably be followed by more storms next week.

Tuolumne County residents and visitors are reminded to:

• Reduce or eliminate unnecessary travel during periods of severe weather.
• Have emergency supplies on hand: sandbags in flood-prone zones, food/water, flashlights, battery-operated radio, ‘live’ batteries, prescription medications, etc.
• Check in on neighbors who may have special needs – in advance of the storm.
• Ready for the potential of a power outages due to wind, downed trees, etc.
• Check to insure pets/livestock are safe, especially those animal that may live outdoors.
• Listen to your local radio stations (and TV stations) for changing weather conditions.
• And, please use 911 only when it is vitally necessary.

 Sandbag Resources

County Emergency Services, in conjunction with County Public Works, has established three locations for emergency sand to assist County citizens with mitigating flooding at their homes or businesses.  County residents may pick up sand at the following locations: 

• Columbia Airport; Airport Rd at the edge of the paved parking lot
• The City of Tuolumne; on the corner of Baker and Birch Streets
• Jamestown Road Yard; 7^th Avenue, behind Jamestown Elementary 

Please bring your own shovel and bags to fill. Empty sandbags may be purchased at any of our local hardware or ranch supply stores.

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