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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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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MMP:H will hold an organizational meeting next Thurs., Jan. 21 and a benefit concert – ‘ROCK.RELIEF.RESCUE’  – at Sierra Bible Church in Sonora on Feb. 8, 2010. If you’d like more info, their website should be up later today at www.mountainmercyproject.com and their phone number is 209-586-0700.

From MMP:H‘s email this morning:

This organization is being birthed from hearts of people who actually have been in Port-au-Prince and saw their plight before the earthquake. The pictures in the media can only begin to show the loss.

Getting off the plane in Haiti, one can just smell the hopelessness and despair, along with the stench of burning refuse and human waste, no sewer systems. Your eyes cannot believe so many people could live in such a small space and such squalid conditions. “Tap-taps,” small pick-up trucks, filled with 15 to 20 people, race up and down the streets; women and children begging at your car window for any donation of food or money just for survival – abject poverty and corruption, everywhere. This was all before the quake; one can only imagine what it is like now.

We have an overwhelming burden to make a difference, to see Haiti rise from her ashes and become a strong nation. They have suffered loss many times, but this exceeds them all. Having been there and experienced this despair, before the quake, we cannot turn our backs on this call and opportunity to make a difference….

Our river of mercy may only be a small trickle right now, but with your help it can become a powerful river that will bring refreshing to a parched nation. Please join us and be confident that your raindrop can become a river, that you too can change the world!

We are partnering with at least two reliable missionary groups that have been in Haiti for over 25 years. These people have been in the trenches making a difference and they need our help more than ever before. Their question is, “When FOX News and CNN go away, will we?”

Fishers of Men Ministries is an organization that founded and oversees over 25 regional schools and churches in the island, as well as a church in downtown Port au Prince, with over 7500 in attendance on Sundays. Their schools and churches feed over 1500 children a day. Their home campus is located in downtown Port au Prince and suffered great loss, physically and personally. Over 30 people were crushed under the collapsed roof of their church building while conducting a Bible class, along with many of their 7500 members’ families losing loved ones.

RHEMA International has a small medical clinic and maternity hospital in Bocozelle, a rural region in the Artibonite River Valley, located approximately 70 miles north of Port-au-Prince. They faithfully have delivered over a thousand babies in the last few years and are blessed to say they have not lost one baby or mother. They tend to the medical needs of this growing community on a daily basis, seeing over 150 patients a day.

Their facility is functional, having not suffered any significant damage from the quake. They are now beginning to see many people fleeing the city and coming to them for medical aid as all the hospitals in Port-au-Prince were destroyed.

We are certain there are other such faithful organizations that will need support also. As the dust settles in this heart-torn nation, we will be there with as much aid as we can supply – financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We will do the best we can to be like Him and not fail these devastated people. We will indeed gather all our “raindrops” and create a “river of mercy from the mountain.”

Pastor Celine McDonald, Word of Life Fellowship, Mi-Wuk Villlage, CA

Rol Bergen on Copper

As you may or may not know, Rol Bergen was recently involved in an accident while working with a mule near Tuolumne. He is currently at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. His wife, Linda Miller-Bergen, has established a website to let us know how things are going. Thanks, Linda! Please let us know if there is any way we can help.

****

Dear Family and Friends,

To keep you up to date on Rol Bergen, I created a CaringBridge website. You can follow Rol’s progress and show your support.

Visit Rol’s website in two easy ways:

1. Visit the CaringBridge website by clicking the link below.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rol

2. Enter the website name, rol, at www.CaringBridge.org.

When you visit you’ll be asked to log in, because I’ve chosen to keep the site private.

Linda

Sonora, Calif., (November 16, 2009)… The Forest Service today announced dates, times, and locations for five public meetings that will provide information on the upcoming Stanislaus National Forest (NF) Motorized Travel Management (MTM) Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. The release of the decision and legal notice is expected within the next three weeks.

Current MTM information is available on the Forest website at:

http//:www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

• 3, 2009, 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Sonora Best Western, Oak Glenn room, located at 19551 Hess Road, in Sonora.
• December 5, 2009, 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Harvest Hall located at 3800 Cornucopia Way, in Modesto.
• December 9, 2009, a hosted Webinar from 7:00 to 8.30 p.m., check the Stanislaus NF website for additional information http//:www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv (before December 1, 2009).
• January 6, 2010, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (to be announced) in Groveland or Arnold.
• January 7, 2010, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (to be announced) in Groveland or Arnold.

Interested individuals and groups are invited to attend one of the above meeting dates, times and locations. For more information see www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv, or call Sue Warren at (209) 532-3671, extension 321.

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Moisture from the remnants of super typhoon Melor has the potential to produce a significant amount of precipitation for the interior of northern California Tuesday and Wednesday along with strong winds. Recent burn areas are especially susceptible to mud-slides and debris flow with the amount of precipitation that is expected. Foothill areas could see 3-4 inches and mountain areas up to 6+ inches. Winds of 25-35 mph are expected with gusts to 45 mph. Snow levels are high, at 7,500 feet Monday night before they rise dramatically to 9,000 by Tuesday.

Flash flooding and mudslides are a possibility in this past summer’s burn regions, such as the Mt. Knight fire area and the Big Meadow Fire area in the vicinity of Yosemite. Excessive amounts of rain of this magnitude may produce flooding in locations that normally do not flood during a normal early autumn rainfall.

How to Prepare

Tuolumne County residents and visitors are reminded to prepare for this storm by:

• Reducing or eliminating unnecessary travel during the storm period;
• Having emergency supplies on hand: sandbags in flood-prone zones, food/water, flashlights, battery-operated radio, live batteries, prescription medications, etc.;
• Checking in on neighbors who may have special needs – in advance of the storm;
• Readying for the potential of a power outages due to wind, downed trees, etc.;
• Removing debris from gutters and drainage areas; placing sandbags out before the storm arrives in flood-prone zones;
• Checking to insure pets/livestock are safe, especially those animal that may live outdoors; and
• Listening 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 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* after 4 pm on Monday, October 12, 2009:

• Columbia Road Yard; North Airport Rd (near the Airport);
• Tuolumne City Fire Department; 18690 Main Street, Tuolumne; and
• Jamestown Road Yard; 7th Avenue, behind Jamestown Elementary.

* Please bring your own shovel and bags to fill.

The County has confirmed that there are amply supplies of empty sandbags for purchase at the following locations:

Twain Harte Hardware
Andy’s Hardware
J.S. West
Orchard Supply Hardware
Hurst Ranch Supply

County Fire, Cal Fire, Public Works, Safety and Law Enforcement personnel are currently on stand-by, preparing for this storm.

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The Tuolumne County Association of REALTORS® and the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency Will Present a Workshop on Foreclosure Options

Sonora, California – Families in Tuolumne County have been negatively effected by the economic downturn and declining home values, which in many instances has resulted in the threat of property foreclosure or actual foreclosure.

In response to this community situation, Tuolumne County Association of REALTORS® (TCAR) and the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency (A-TCAA) will present a free workshop called Foreclosure Options: Retention & Exit Strategies on Friday, October 23 from 1:30 – 8:00 PM in the TCAR Conference Room at 14195 Tuolumne Rd. in Sonora. The workshop is sponsored in part by the Sonora Area Foundation.

Presenters will be HUD Approved Housing Resource Counselor Susz Lay, and Spanish speaking Housing Counselor Yolanda Miranda from A-TCAA. They will demonstrate how to apply for a loan modification through the Making Home Affordable program, and provide information on other foreclosure prevention assistance such as the new FHA program. REALTORS® Diana Foyil and Robin Rowland will present information on the short sale process, recommendations for the best possible exit from a home, the foreclosure process, and the “cash for keys” program. Presentations will be at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. Participants can also view a KVIE DVD called Facing the Mortgage Crisis.  

Information will be available on deed in lieu of foreclosure, renters’ rights with foreclosed property, property tax reassessment, foreclosure prevention scams and rental scams.

Help for homeowners threatened with foreclosure was established through the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program (information at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov ). Families should beware of foreclosure rescue scams – help is free.

Susz Lay says “This workshop can help homeowners get a head start on the application and intake process – which is the big first step in getting help from the program.”  

Interested participants should call 209-532-3432 to reserve a space.

Contacts:

(TCAR) Ann Ritchie – 209/532-3432
14195 Tuolumne Rd., Sonora, CA 95370
(A-TCAA) Beetle Barbour – 209/533-1397
427 N. HWY, Ste. 305, Sonora, CA 95370

Frankly, Facebook and other new forms of social media are opening doors that didn’t exist six months ago. 

Remember when we focused on Sacramento last week as they toyed with California’s water supply? Tuolumne County had a lot to lose and frankly, nothing to gain. Well, we not only watched the Conference Committee on the Internet, we “Facebooked” five senators and assemblymembers during the hearings.

We didn’t have to go through their staff, drive to Sacramento, or make an appointment to get to them. We posted a question, lobbied for Tuolumne County, counties of origin, and championed the needs of agriculture. We told them what we need and they responded. Some of them even agreed. Never mind that they didn’t ultimately solve the problem – given those Delta bills, that was a good outcome!

No, our point is that social media connects us with people about whom we care, people who have info we need, and people we want to influence. The video below calls it a social media revolution. We call it amazing.

Long live the revolution! And send us your friend request on Facebook.

Last night I began blogging and partially completed this when I clicked “SAVE DRAFT,” or so I thought. Some of you received it last night… before it was finished.

So here then, is the complete post. Last night’s post is indicated by blue ink and italics.

BOS to meet 2x next week

The BOS will be in session both Monday and Tuesday next week.

On Monday the 5th of January at 12:00 noon, Supervisor Dick Pland and Supervisor-elect John Gray will be sworn in and the Board will conduct its annual election for Chair and Vice Chair. The Chair is traditionally rotated by District and this year District 3 (that’s us) is next in line for Chair and District 1 (Supervisor Bass) should be Vice Chair. The normal rotation got disrupted with the passing of Supervisor Jim Peterson (District 3 was skipped while I got a few years under my belt), but if all goes as planned, we’ll get back on track this year.

If you’d like to join us, please do. It’s a very short meeting and a good opportunity to meet our newest Supervisor.

Our first regular meeting of the year will follow on Tuesday at 9:00 am. There are some interesting items on the agenda. Among them:

• Consideration of a draft revision of the Board of Supervisors Committees, Organizations, and Partnerships Handbook. Staff has proposed streamlining some Board committees to improve efficiency and productivity. We want to ensure that our committees are still relevant and that they help us accomplish the business for which you elected us. Several committees are proposed to be eliminated, others are proposed to be restructured.
• A staff report on progress toward meeting 2008 Board goals. Despite a constrained budget, we’ve accomplished quite a bit of what we laid out at the beginning of 2008. The Union Democart thought so too (but hasn’t posted the published editorial online yet).
• A draft of our first-ever County of Tuolumne 5 Year Plan. County administrator Pedro is seeking Board direction on approving, removing, and prioritzing plan components. Board discussion and direction will be reflected in the draft’s return – likely on the 13th – for final approval.

There’s more on the agenda – you can check it out at our Board of Supervisors’ Agenda page. The Board Clerk will provide copies of staff reports for all agenda items, if requested. Call 533-5521 for more info.

Not on the agenda but something I’ve requested Public Works to address during Oral Comment (at 9:00 am) is the snow plowing situation, particularly in District 3. If you are concerned about cars still parked on the streets, particular problem areas, or other, please let me know. Because it’s not on the agenda, we won’t take public comment, but can get it on an upcoming agenda if there’s interest.

Unfortunately, we don’t yet have live or archived online streaming video of Board meetings, but thankfully KVML AM 1450 features live audio streaming of Board meeting, as does www.mymotherlode.com.

Have a great weekend and Happy New Year!

Fortunately, District 3′s Greg Falken of webdancers (www.webdancers.com) has brought Teri’s List back and is creating a new and improved website, as well. Greg and webdancers are now hosting our website and blog and administering Teri’s List and they do a great job. Longtime Teri-team-member Lorraine Schultz of The Alexandra Group (lschultz) also helped with the design of the new website. Please talk to them about your Internet website hosting, graphic design and publishing, marketing, and related needs: their customer service is tops and both are local District 3 businesses!

On the new website, you’ll see:

• Teri’s Blog is now the main page of the new website. You can access past blog postings readily and the information pages (About Teri, Tuolumne County, News Clippings, Office Hours, etc.) are still conveniently accessible.
• Feedback is the place for you to share your concerns and opinions about county policies and decision-making and also where you can ask questions to which Teri will respond online. Do you have heart-burn over the proposed Law & Justice Center? Do you have an idea for improving a county service? This is the place to weigh in.

As the economic times get tougher, it is increasingly more important to stay in close contact. We hope you’ll take advantage of our combined efforts (county, Greg, Lorraine, Teri, etc.) to communicate more effectively on important issues and to hear back from you. It takes a team to get it done and folks have stepped up to help. Together we can! Thank you!