The Union Democrat, Sonora, CA News, Sports, & Weather

County schools board updated on Soulsbyville

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:20:57 +0100

The Tuolumne County Board of Education heard an update on Soulsbyville School at Monday night’s regular board meeting and also discussed the H1N1 influenza and participation in a county-wide shared services summit. “Our enrollment is up, surprisingly,” said Soulsbyville School Superintendent Jeff Winfield.

Public agencies brace for pension reform

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:19:30 +0100

Harsh economic realities may force Tuolumne County and the city of Sonora — as well as other jurisdictions statewide — to change the way they deal with their employee pensions. “I think pension reform is in the air,” said Sonora City Administrator Greg Applegate. “The way we did business a couple of years ago isn’t necessarily how we’re going to do business in the future.”

Tots and turkeys

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:17:30 +0100

Tara and Brian Thompson, of Tuolumne, moved from the Portland area and have taken advantage of life in the countryside by raising livestock such as pygmy goats and turkeys. The Thompsons brought their two birds, Tripp and Fin, who weigh in at just under 50 pounds each, to visit students at Summerville Elementary School. Kindergartners though second-graders were given the chance to pet the birds as they learned facts about turkeys, ranging from what makes a turkey’s head red to what Tripp and Fin’s favorite food is — watermelon.

Correction

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:39:28 +0100

A motion put forward during the Oct. 27 meeting of the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to establish continuing education requirements for the county's Treasurer-Tax Collector failed for a lack of a second. Incorrect information was published in an Oct. 28 story and Nov. 3 editorial in the Union Democrat.

Garcia to update county leaders

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:38:40 +0100

Calaveras County Public Works Director Tom Garcia will give a review Tuesday of the department’s accomplishments during his first five months as head, as well as its goals for the future. Garcia, who came to the county in May from a job as transportation engineer in Folsom, has been forced to institute unpopular new fees to close shortfalls as the department watched state tax grabs and shrinking county revenue dry up funds.

Probation chief ready to step down

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:37:36 +0100

The head of Calaveras County’s Probation Department, Mike Kriletich, will retire Dec. 18 after a four-year term during which he refocused the department on rehabilitation. Under the tall, bespectacled and personable former director, the department emphasized counseling, education and work programs for adults and youth.

RV dwellers need a break, Maffei says

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:36:11 +0100

The enforcement of rules governing how long people can live in recreational vehicles should be loosened to reflect today’s harsh economic reality, according to Tuolumne County Supervisor Paolo Maffei. In other words, Maffei said, there are a lot of unemployed people on the verge of homelessness in the county. And if living in a friend’s or relative’s recreational vehicle or travel trailer keeps them off the streets, so be it, he said in a recent interview.

Suspect: No memory of hit-and-run

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:34:51 +0100

The suspect in a hit-and-run accident that killed a Sonora woman on Oct. 19 had no idea that the accident occurred because of his level of intoxication, according to the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office. “This is a guy who drinks to the point that he hits someone and doesn’t even know it,” Deputy District Attorney Eric Hovatter said in court Friday.

Acting SCC warden eases in

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:33:21 +0100

Sierra Conservation Center’s new acting warden, Frank Chavez, is a week into his new job. The Southern Californian served as chief deputy warden for several years.

Cheap lodging Sonora High grad’s dream

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:27 +0100

Hostels offer cheap accommodation to independent travelers around the globe, and now Tuolumne County has one to call its own. Housed in a former dental office along Main Street in Groveland, the hostel has 17 beds that cost $25 each per night.

Crews recover car off Old Priest Grade

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:58:39 +0100

Emergency crews this morning are pulling a vehicle from the embankment off Old Priest Grade. Traffic was blocked from using the steep route to Groveland. The car was described by witnesses at a black pickup with furniture in the back. No details were available this morning. Look for further details in tomorrow's Union Democrat.

Letters to the editor for Nov. 6, 2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:51:17 +0100

News of Record for Nov. 6, 2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:44:45 +0100

Obituaries for Nov. 9, 2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:43:40 +0100

Fire destroys downtown building

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:55:19 +0100

Fire destroyed a small rental home in downtown Sonora Friday. The fire, at 113 North Shepherd Street, was reported at 5:57 p.m. and was visible from many downtown locations.

Election results show win for Downey

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:52:35 +0100

Rick Downey is the official winner of the Angels Camp City Council election, with 47 percent of the vote, the Calaveras County Elections Department confirmed Thursday. Downey will be sworn in at noon on Dec. 4, which, as required by California election code, is the first Friday in December.

Historic hotel back on market

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:50:34 +0100

In the late fifties, when the Mountain Ranch Hotel was last up for sale, it would have been charitably called a fixer-upper. Wallpaper hung from the stately home’s high ceilings, there were rats in the water tank and, said current owner Tim Lane. The home’s nearly wrap-around porch was so rotten one of his friends fell right through it.

Felony carjacking charge is filed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:36:56 +0100

The Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office charged a Sonora man with one felony count of carjacking with use of a deadly weapon in a complaint filed Thursday. Jesse Daniel Burkett, 19, was arrested in Modesto early Tuesday along with Duston Paul Jacobson, 20, of Columbia, and an unidentified female juvenile after allegedly forcing a 55-year-old woman and her passenger from a white Toyota Matrix at knife point in Sonora and leaving with the car.

‘MythBusters’ makes mysterious visit to Carson Hill

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:34:44 +0100

The Emmy-nominated reality show “MythBusters” paid a mystery-shrouded visit to Carson Hill on Thursday. Producers would not allow reporters on site of the shoot, Carson Hill Rock Products quarry, and requests for comment to the show’s publicist were not returned.

Hinman twice saved by sibling marrow transplant

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:33:35 +0100

WHEN IT COMES to saving his older brother’s life, 17-year-old Jesse Hinman is an old hand. He saved Ethan for the first time in 1995, with a do-or-die bone-marrow transplant at UC San Francisco Medical Center. And if Jesse doesn’t remember the clinical details, that’s understandable: He was only two-and-a-half.