​LOYALTON CITY COUNCIL met in special session March 30th in Loyalton City Hall. Council member Pat Whitley remains in Renown Intensive Care.
Under Public Comment, Realtor Bonnie Jessee asked how to get the sewer situation resolved and stated the Cox & Cox contractors probably have plans and that Craig McHenry and Brooks Mitchell had not responded. She said she’s lost two potential new household buyers. Mayor Mark Marin thought there should be a map.
Brooks explained they can’t go on private property with a camera and scope. Potential buyers need to do that and there is a map of water and sewer. Bonnie called the need, “crucial.”  Jason VanDaam, in the audience, said he’s gotten it for the property he’s just bought. Bonnie stated this is the only county that doesn’t require the seller to have sewer lines checked prior to sale, making it a guarantee.
Brooks stated he’d gotten a request on dealing with water bills and the right of the public as to hook ups and the list and amounts owed.
Also in the audience, Mark Lombardi was trying to understand City finances, and submitted a list of questions.
Under question, Brooks stated the City set up a plan for those behind, to pay 1.5 times the water rate when $167,000 was owed in back water bills. Now it’s $300,000 and he admitted the biggest problem was the trailer park and they haven’t made progress.
Sierra County’s Office of Emergency Services Officer Lee Brown was there to discuss contacts for emergency funding and he stated Downieville’s PUD shut people off.
Brooks told how the Council had voted to give 90 days for shut off at the trailer park yet the legal opinion said to review.
Lombardi thought that “not sound advice.” He told how the supervisors were having a 9 a.m. week day meeting nobody would attend and get  nothing done. He urged the Council to be a “leader not follower.” He continued, “Take a leadership role for what’s good for Loyalton.” He questioned, “What can they do?”
Brooks agreed and suggested they agendize it for the next meeting for a 14-day water shut off notice. There was further discussion on how the lines are all hooked together with only some paying their bill.  Brooks talked of having to have a solution and disconnecting laterals.
In the audience, Don Yegge  told of no maps and to shut others off would require work on private property. Lombardi thought they were compounding the problem and urged them to do what’s best for the city and to quit being pushed around.
City Clerk Tracy Smith agreed.
Lee Brown’s agendized item discussed designated contacts for FEMA/OES with a kick-off meeting to be announced to look at projects. Small projects are those $3,100 - $123,000 and large projects, those over $123,000. Lee said he’d be happy to come when scheduled.
Brooks talked of road damage and Lee stated it would be a direct result of disaster within the jurisdiction with pictures prior to the storm. Decisions can be appealed and funding is 75% federal, 18.75% state and 6.25% city. If the project runs under, they’re allowed to keep FEMA funds but not by the State. Donated material and labor can go toward the 6.25% and allow administrative costs 1-10% per project with a functional time card.
Lee also told of an Environmental Historical Preservation Act which has to be approved.
Concerning road shoulders and pavement, there is a service category for debris removal and a category for emergency work and permanent work.  If contractors are hired, state law kicks in prevailing wage. Lee called it “lots of red tape.” A recovery team will come up and meet and Lee suggested Bryan Davey to help in engineering. A resolution was adopted as a formality.
 
 

On Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown, President pro Tempore Kevin de León, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced a ten-year, $5.2 billion road repair and transportation investment package, the largest potential overhaul of transportation funding in the state in more than 25 years.    
The $5 billion per year in new revenues will come from a 12-cent gasoline excise tax (effective November 2017), a new transportation improvement fee charged on vehicle registrations (based on the value of the vehicle), an additional $100 zero-emission vehicle fee (effective 2020), a 20-cent diesel excise tax (effective November 2017), and a 4 percent diesel sales tax increase.  The Governor stressed that the package comes with strict new accountability provisions to ensure funds can only be spent on transportation. 
The proposed package allocates $3 billion per year to fix-it-first road and highway maintenance projects, split evenly between state and local governments.  RCRC’s Board of Directors debated Senate Bill 1 (Beall)/Assembly Bill 1 (Frazier), the legislative transportation funding package introduced earlier this year, at the March Board of Directors meeting in Sacramento.  While this initial package proposed significant tax increases, SB1/AB1, like the recently unveiled transportation funding package, was thought to offer the best opportunity for rehabilitating rural county’s local roads and rural state highways.
The newly proposed deal is expected to be amended into Senate Bill 1, and an April 6, 2017 deadline has been set to approve the package.  

By Dr. Glenn Mollette


I dreamed I had come up with a solution to America's greatest problem, eliminate Congress. Unfortunately when I awakened I was in greater distress because the television was on and Congress was in session haggling. Tragically my dream awakened to America's ongoing nightmare.


Politics and Congressional gridlock has come to dominate America's way of life. American's have come to live and breathe the tension of Capital Hill through Internet and cable television. People have chosen sides or removed themselves totally from the fray to enjoy their remaining days of life. Hold everything, now there is an idea. Totally shut off CNN, MSNBC, Fox, NBC, all news feeds from The Washington Post and New York Times and just simply have a marvelous day! In the meantime totally unplug from Facebook, Twitter, and get away from the computer because every time you log on you are bombarded with something to incite you or suck you into the daily fray for all. Hey pal, is this really the life you dreamed of living?


My fear is if I keep my head buried in the sand that I will pull it out and ISIS will be driving down my road dragging my neighbors by their necks with a noose reserved for me. I don't want that for my neighbors or for me. I have to try to stay with it because if all Americans go on our merry way neglecting what freedoms we have left we will have no freedoms at all.  So I say this to you dear friend let us not give up on doing what is right. There are little children in this country who deserve a free and safe place to live. We must stay alert and do our part every day. This doesn't mean that we don't get a little sick and tired though.


Many of us were irked last week with how the new health care bill played out. I want a new health care bill as bad as anyone, but hold the phone. Buying insurance across state lines was not part of the new proposal. If I had been there voting, then I would had to say no deal. All we have heard about for two years is the promise to reign in these insurance businesses and give Americans a chance at more reasonable, competitive insurance rates. Capital Hill still has a lot of work to do on a new healthcare bill. 


 Medicaid has to be fixed. Medicaid should only be for the very poor and the truly disabled. There also should be a lifetime limit on Medicaid. Healthy poor citizens should be limited to a maximum of five years on Medicaid with never more than a two-year increment of Medicaid coverage. People should have to go off a year before coming back into the system. When your five years are complete then it's over. Five years should give people enough time to move to a part of the country where they can find a sustaining job.


Also, any health care bill that hints of bailing out insurance companies will not work. They make billions and must be responsible. Bailing out banks and insurance companies will only add to America's debt and lust for more of your tax dollars.


Find some ways to relax and live the life you have dreamed about. First step is to 
disconnect from anything that plugs you into Congress and Capital Hill. But wait; don't stay unplugged forever because you might not have an America when you reconnect. 






Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of eleven books. 
He is read in all fifty states.  Visit   www.glennmollette.com 
Contact him at [email protected].   Like his facebook page at www.facebook.com/glennmollette

​

by AMAC Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor

Association of Mature American Citizens
                                                                     
Ask Rusty - Hold Harmless Provision
 
Dear Rusty:  I'm totally confused after a conversation with some friends about Social Security and Medicare.   All three of us are 68, but two of my friends are already collecting Social Security while I'm waiting to apply so I can let my benefit grow.  The confusion came in when we talked about Medicare and the premium for Part B.  My friends both say they have their Medicare premium deducted from their Social Security payment and are paying about $114 per month.  However, my Medicare Part B premium, which I pay separately, is now $134 per month.   It just doesn't seem fair.  Why is their Medicare premium so much lower than mine?  Signed:  Confused
Dear Confused:  Yes, it might seem unfair, but the difference in your Medicare Part B premiums has to do with something called the "hold harmless provision" of the Social Security Act.  This provision essentially states that a beneficiary's Social Security benefit payment cannot decrease due to an increase in Medicare's Part B premium.  This is an important provision because Medicare costs tend to rise annually often resulting in higher premiums.  However to be protected by this provision, your premiums must be automatically deducted from your Social Security benefit payments.   Since your friends' Part B premiums are deducted from their Social Security, they enjoy this "hold harmless" protection; since yours is not, you pay the standard Medicare Part B monthly premium.
About 70% of all Social Security beneficiaries enjoy this hold harmless" protection, which means that the other 30% (as well as others who are on Medicare but not collecting Social Security) bear the brunt of covering the total costs of the Federal Medicare program.  Since your premium is $134 you are paying the "standard" premium that applies to anyone earning $85,000 per year or less.  You may take some comfort in knowing that higher-earners can pay up to $428.60 per month for Medicare Part B coverage (these are 2017 numbers).   When you eventually apply for your Social Security benefits and have your Medicare premiums deducted from your payments, you will automatically become protected against significant future Part B premium increases, because the hold harmless provision will prevent your Social Security benefit amount from going down.  As a side note for awareness, it sometimes happens that when a Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is given, it is partially or entirely offset by an increase in the Medicare premium.  So, even with hold harmless protection, while your Medicare premium may technically go up somewhat, your Social Security payment will remain the same.
A point of information:  Any time you switch from one Social Security benefit type to another (e.g., from your own benefit to spousal benefits, from survivor's benefit to your own benefit, from spousal benefit to your own benefit, etc.), you are subject to your Medicare Part B premium amount being adjusted (increased) to the most current standard Part B premium amount.  
The information presented in this article is intended for general information purposes only. The opinions and interpretations expressed in this article are the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation's Social Security Advisory staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA, the AMAC Foundation, and the Foundation's Social Security Advisors are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. Furthermore, the AMAC Foundation and its staff do not provide legal or accounting services. The Foundation welcomes questions from readers regarding Social Security issues. To submit a request, contact the Foundation at [email protected].
Media Contact
Name: John Grimaldi
Phone: 917-846-8485
Email: [email protected]

​

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From the same governor who brought you the illegal fire tax now comes a plan to blow the top off California’s spending cap and leave taxpayers on the hook for tens of billions in extra taxes. It’s a bad idea that fractures the faith between citizens and government and spells trouble for California’s fiscal future.


With California’s runaway spending, it’s hard to believe the state even has an expenditure limit. But in 1979, a year after signing off on the revolutionary Prop. 13, voters passed Proposition 4, implementing the “Gann Limit,” which would peg California’s state spending to the 1978-79 level and only let it grow adjusted for inflation and population.  State revenues above the voter-approved limit actually had to be refunded to taxpayers, an event that would cause panic attacks in today’s money-hungry capitol.


In 1986-87, a boon year for tax revenues, the state issued more than one billion dollars in rebates to relieved taxpayers who finally had some protection from an insatiable Sacramento.


Alas, it was too good to go on forever. Proposition 111 in 1990 defanged the Gann Limit, weakening its terms, and it now rarely factors into budgeting decisions.


But, weak as it is, it’s still on the books, and there is no ceiling too high for the Democrats when it comes to government spending. Governor Brown’s new budget proposal is straining against even the wilted Gann Limit, and he’s going to do something about it.


Is he going to cut spending? Is he going to refund taxpayers? Or is he going to manipulate the budget to carve out more room to spend?


If you went with manipulate, I’ve got a job in the California Department of Finance for you.


Brown proposes taking $22 billion off the Gann Limit books this year. The money would not be accounted for as state spending or as local spending, as required in the original Proposition. For Gann Limit purposes it would just disappear, like the hopes of fiscal conservatives all around the state, if his scheme is successful.


In essence, he would open up an avenue for another $22 billion in spending by reclassifying the current $22 billion. He would not spend less, he would not adhere to the even the watered-down mandates of the 1979 Gann Limit reform, he would just trick his way around the spending cap.


Try this sort of deception on your tax return to see how the state normally views creative exemptions of the sort they are practicing now.


Spending is taxes. The two can’t be separated, and Governor Brown’s bad-faith end-run around the Gann Limit guarantees a heavier load for California taxpayers and a California perpetually stretched to its fiscal limit.


I have a novel idea: Live up to the law. If taxpayers deserve rebates, give them rebates! Don’t twist and distort or outright ignore the law just because it lets taxpayers keep more of their money. They earned it in the first place; it’s not a gift that a benevolent government doles out.


If the state is bringing in too much money and spending too much, get rid of the illegal fire tax or cut the Vehicle License Fee. Cut tax rates! That would put more money back in people’s pockets without putting the government in the way as a rebate middleman.


The Gann Limit has been little more than a rumor for decades, but it is a rule passed by the people to protect them from just the kind of spending excess proposed by Governor Brown. It’s a sad commentary on our state, but when it comes to raising your taxes, rules seem made to be broken.


Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties.

at the Sierra County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, March 21st in Loyalton, Planning Director Tim Beals stated he had been attending recovery meetings sponsored by Office of Emergency 
Services (OES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and learned rules have changed with respect to financial obligations related to the recent disasters. 
He said one directive stated any work done on recovery up to this point would not be covered and added no work can be done until a joint field inspection is 
completed by FEMA and OES. Beals told the Board with the eventual opening of the backcountry after the snow melts and this significant delay on the restoration of County roads, it will be a long-term process, adding he does not expect all roads to be open this year. He stressed this was not within the County’s control unless the Board wanted to fund it off the back of the General Fund, which he was sure they wouldn’t. Beals stated OES and FEMA were allowing debris removal as a qualified expense and in the case of a slide they do have authorization to allow minimal traffic to get through, but final repairs, contractor hiring, and bidding is not to happen until an approved report is done.
Beals said they filed two Resource Advisory Committee grants; one is requesting assistance with Aquatic Invasive Species on inspections of vessels before they enter lakes and formulating a tree mortality task force. He hoped to get approval in some form of assistance on these efforts. Beals said they were also pursuing a State Fish and Game Grant Program to augment the Resource Advisory request.
Beals told the Board and audience members that Webber Lake will be open this year for the first time for public use. He said the executive director is hoping to be at a Board meeting in April to make a presentation. 

A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE LANDFILL CLOSURE PROCESS was given by Sierra County Planning Director Tim Beals at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, March 21. Beals said directions were given the solid waste committee, which conducted a number of items to serve those directions. He stated Plumas County has an ordinance now that prohibits out of county waste. Sierra County has asked for a meeting with Plumas County in the near future. Beals met in Lockwood with staff and requested a minimum 15-year contract proposal which would include a tipping fee estimated to be between $20-30 a ton. Beals stated Lockwood would haul waste directly from Loyalton to Lockwood and Sierra County would avoid a tipping fee in Portola, which could be $56 a ton. He said the plan is to convert the landfill to a transfer station, adding it will not change drastically. He said residents will still bring waste to the transfer station throughout the west side of the county and should have very limited interruption, with the only change being the point of delivery for the bins whether that will be Delleker, Loyalton or directly to Lockwood. Beals felt they’ve made good progress and expect to close in the next two months, adding it’s been a pretty expensive issue. He stated right now all material is going to Portola, since the landfill has been a “mud bowl” from all these storms. 

AUTHORIZATION to move forward with the purchase of property located at 202 Front Street in Loyalton for the Sierra County Department of Health and Human Services was discussed at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in Loyalton on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Supervisor Paul Roen said this was a 40-year contract set to expire in a couple years. He stated it was hard to do capital improvements on property they don’t own. At a prior meeting, the Board authorized a property appraisal and the property was appraised by Mark Warren, MAI, Real Property Consultant, who gave a market value opinion on January 25, 2017 for $25,000. 
Roen made the motion to direct staff to move forward with an offer to the City for the appraised value of the property, which was approved unanimously.

A RESOLUTION approving an agreement between the City of Loyalton and the County of Sierra to lease an office for the Probation Department was approved unanimously at the Sierra County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, March 21st in Loyalton. Chuck Henson, Senior Deputy for Sierra County Probation Department stated their current building was given a safety inspection by the county safety officer as well as representatives from Trindel. The inspection failed and the Probation Department was given a 30-day notice and asked to vacate by April 7th. County Counsel stated he reviewed the lease and made some changes to it. The department will move to the vacant half of the Loyalton Social Hall.

By Dr. Glenn Mollette


We hope for fewer taxes instead of more taxes. We hope for better fiscal spending and less wasteful spending.  It would be nice if the very poor who are hurting could be helped until they are back on their feet. However the idea of delivering lifetime checks to adults who will not try to work has become a tiresome practice for many Americans.


Millions of Americans are addicted to their welfare and would rather hang on to the addiction of their welfare than go and find a paying a job. Welfare must become a temporary source of relief and not a lifestyle that's passed on to future generations. Most Americans are willing to help anybody a couple of years but the time comes for change.


We all know of cases of long-term debilitation. America should help those who are blind, suffering with chronic diseases that keep them imprisoned in wheelchairs and other forms of diseases and handicaps that imprison people and prevent them from 
doing life and working like other Americans.


Americans hope for better days. We have been flooded with immigrants in this country. We cannot continue receiving a hundred to hundred fifty thousand illegal immigrants pouring into this country. Regardless of how sorry you feel for the hurting people from other countries how many people can we absorb into our schools? How many can we absorb into our welfare system? How many Americans who have been here for years can afford to lose his or her job to someone who is willing to come and work for slave wages? How many refugees can we bring into our country? Since the 1980 Refugee act we have averaged 98,000 refugees per year.  By the way Senator Joe Biden was one of the sponsors and Delaware has taken in very few refugees.


Nine nonprofit organizations are making millions of dollars every year by bringing anybody they can into this country? They are the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Lutheran Immigrant Aid Society (LIRS), International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Relief Corporation, Immigrant and Refugee Services of America (IRSA),
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Church World Service (CWS),
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Service of the Episcopal Church of the USA,
Ethiopian Community Development Center (ECDC).  The money comes from the federal government or our pockets. Below are some of the sources of income for Volags, the nine nonprofit organizations:


a.  $1,850 per refugee (including children) from the State Department.
b.  Up to $2,200 for each refugee by participating in a U.S. DHHS program known as Matching Grant. To get the $2,200, the Volag need only show it spent $200 and gave away $800 worth of donated clothes, furniture or cars.
c. The Volag pockets 25% of every transportation loan it collects from refugees it "sponsors".
d. All Volag expenses and overhead in the Washington, DC HQ are paid by the U.S. government.
e. For their refugee programs, Volags collect money from all federal grant programs - "Marriage Initiative", "Faith-based", "Ownership Society", etc., as well as from various state and local grants.


The program is so lucrative that in some towns the Catholic Church has lessened support for traditional charity works to put more effort into resettlement. It uses collection offerings to promote the refugee resettlement program. When you start multiplying Seventy thousand to a hundred thousand refugees times even just a $1,000 you come up with some nice profit. The Volags get millions of dollars of other support from foundations and other nonprofits and a lot of community volunteers who help them with assimilating the refugees into their community.


The nonprofit agencies only have to spend four months with the refugee until they are free to be anywhere in the United States doing whatever they want to do. The refugee program is a multi million-dollar moneymaker to these nine nonprofits. The Catholic Charities group is the largest group and surprisingly they have been bringing in thousands of Muslims who in turn have been buying their old churches and turning them into mosques. So let's get this straight. Our federal tax dollars are funneled into the Catholic charity, a Lutheran charity and seven other charities. This money is supposed to be used to bring seventy to a hundred thousand refugees to America. This number changes year to year. These people come from all parts of the world.


Refugee access to welfare on the same basis as a U.S. citizen has made the program a global magnet. The federal programs available to them include:
∙ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) formerly known as AFDC
∙ Medicaid
∙ Food Stamps
∙ Public Housing
∙ Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
∙ Social Security Disability Insurance
∙ Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) (direct services only)
∙ Child Care and Development Fund
∙ Independent Living Program
∙ Job Opportunities for Low Income Individuals (JOLI)
∙ Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
∙ Postsecondary Education Loans and Grants
∙ Refugee Assistance Programs
∙ Title IV Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Payments (if parents are qualified immigrants - refugees, asylees, etc.)
∙ Title XX Social Services Block Grant Funds


The numbers of people coming to your state are not exactly proportionately. As I said earlier Delaware, where Joe Biden lives, receives hardly any refugees. Other states like Florida, New York, Texas, Maryland and Kentucky have been bombarded with refugees. How many thousands can any one city and state take on? We are talking about year after year thousands of people being transplanted to your town, your subdivision. Since 1980 with the act we have taken in over three million refugees. The additional cost to the welfare system is between 10 - 20 billion dollars. There must be major curtailing of this program until we can get this nation on its feet.


Americans are hoping that Congress and our new President Trump will help us. Will jobs really come back to America? Will Congress really cut the corporate tax rate and make it more affordable for corporations to operate in this country? We need jobs. Our children are graduating high school and college every year. They want to move on with their lives and have a life. We need to help them.


Our Veterans struggle with employment, housing and medical care while we bring in 70,000 refugees and treat them better than our Veterans.


Our military is surviving in old beat up barracks. They often do not even have air conditioning in the summer and have old decrepit furnace systems in the winter. They are driving old equipment that mechanics work on every day to keep running. Over the years our government has lessened the numbers of our servicemen and women making it more difficult for soldiers to advance having to leave the military because they could not promote. It's time our government brought our military out of the doldrums of despair and made it once again the shining star of the world.


America's high school students should have access to community colleges and we should keep them as cheap as possible. Every kid in America should have an opportunity to go to college. Our country may not be able to offer community college for free but it needs to be as close to free as we can make it. Professors have to be paid and buildings built but let's keep both within reason and we can make college accessible for all.


There is a lot of worry and fear in America these days. Will Congress cut the Social Security checks of aged America? Are we safe as there are more and more random acts of violence? Congress and President Trump are wrestling verbally, tweeting, debating and voting about our future.  Americans can make phone calls and write emails and letters to our leaders in Washington. We can protest and organize in our own communities to work for change.


 We can only hope our elected leaders will work to help this nation and preserve an America that our grandchildren might wake up to enjoy.


Thanks to refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com for their statistics and information.




Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of eleven books. 
He is read in all fifty states.  Visit   www.glennmollette.com 
Contact him at [email protected].   Like his facebook page at www.facebook.com/glennmollette

​

Releases Could Result in Above-Normal Stream Flows
 

SACRAMENTO – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) said today boaters, anglers and residents downstream from Lake Davis in the Feather River watershed should be prepared for increased water flows and higher stream levels due to overflows from the Grizzly Valley Dam’s spillway.  Water began flowing into the spillway March 21 for the first time in nearly 21 years.


The Grizzly Valley Dam spillway releases water from Lake Davis into Big Grizzly Creek and then to the Middle Fork Feather River. While DWR does not anticipate problems downstream of the reservoir near Portola, flows below the lake could exceed what residents, businesses and anglers have experienced over the past three decades. DWR in recent years has maintained lower Big Grizzly Creek flows between 10 and 200 cubic feet per second (cfs), but with the uncontrolled flows over the dam’s spillway, flows could increase substantially. Until this week, the reservoir had not reached its full elevation and capacity since May 20, 1996, when less than half an inch of water rose above the spillway. 


DWR lowered Lake Davis in the 1990s to prevent storms from spilling invasive northern pike into downstream waterways. Out of an abundance of caution to protect native fish species, DWR has kept the reservoir level well below the dam’s rim. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has seen no indication of northern pike inhabiting the lake since eradication efforts took place in 2007. In December 2016, DWR notified water users that it intended to resume normal operations at the lake and allow the reservoir to fill.


Rainfall this winter in northern California has been approximately twice the historical average.


Lake Davis is part of DWR’s Upper Feather River Project within Plumas National Forest. In addition to water supply, the 84,000 acre-foot reservoir provides recreational camping, fishing, picnicking and boating. The reservoir is created by Grizzly Valley Dam on Big Grizzly Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork Feather River.


# # #   

A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE LANDFILL CLOSURE PROCESS was given by Sierra County Planning Director Tim Beals at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in Loyalton on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Beals said the solid waste committee conducted a meeting recently and at the last Board of Supervisors’ meeting directions were given the committee, which conducted a number of items to serve those directions. He stated Plumas County has an ordinance now that prohibits out of county waste. Beals said Sierra County has asked for a meeting with Plumas County in the near future. He met in Lockwood with staff and requested a minimum 15-year contract proposal which would include a tipping fee designed to meet the county’s needs. Beals stated Lockwood would haul waste directly from Loyalton to Lockwood and Sierra County would avoid a tipping fee in Portola, which could be $56 a ton. He expected to see a tipping fee in Lockwood between $20-30 a ton. Beals added this was an opportunity to have “tools in our holster” to negotiate a contract with Inter Mountain Disposal. He said the plan is to convert the landfill to a transfer station. Beals stated, if and when it is approved Sierra County can operate as it has operated in the past, adding it will not change drastically. He said residents will still bring waste to the transfer station throughout the west side of the county and should have very limited interruption, with the only change being the point of delivery for the bins whether that will be Delleker, Loyalton or directly to Lockwood. Beals felt they’ve made good process and expect to close in the next two months, adding it’s been a pretty expensive issue. He stated right now all material is now going to Portola, since the landfill has been a mud hole with all this rain. ​

 
SACRAMENTO – Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) today issued the following statement regarding Governor Brown’s attempt to side-step the Gann Limit, which restricts California’s government spending to the 1978-79 level and only allows it to grow adjusted for inflation and population. Under the Gann Limit, state revenues above the voter-approved limit are required to be refunded to taxpayers. 


“From the same governor who brought you the illegal fire tax now comes a plan to blow the top off California’s spending cap and leave taxpayers on the hook for tens of billions in extra taxes. It’s a bad idea that fractures the faith between citizens and government and spells trouble for California’s fiscal future.


“It’s hard to believe the state even has an expenditure limit and that 30 years ago, during a boon year for tax revenues, the state issued more than one billion dollars in rebates to relieved taxpayers who finally had some protection from an insatiable Sacramento. This would create a wave of panic attacks in today’s money-hungry capitol.


“Although the Gann Limit has since been watered down, it’s still the law designed to protect taxpayers. According to a recent report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, Governor Brown’s new budget proposes taking $22 billion off the Gann Limit books this year. That money would not be accounted for as state spending or as local spending, it would just “disappear.” This allows the Governor to trick his way around the spending cap.


“I have a novel idea: Live up to the law. If taxpayers deserve rebates, give them rebates. Don’t twist and distort or outright ignore the law just because it lets taxpayers keep more of their money. They earned it in the first place. It’s a sad commentary on our state, but when it comes to raising your taxes, rules seem made to be broken.”


Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties.

 
On March 9th, Nancy Ann Schlefstein, 45 of Loyalton,  was driving southbound on US 395 south of Long Valley UC in the #2 lane at a speed of 70 mph in her 2015 Volkswagon Golf. As Schlefstein continued south a deer entered the roadway from the west shoulder traveling in an easterly direction. Schlefstein applied the brakes of the vehicle in an attempt to avoid a collision with the deer but was unable to and struck the deer. Following the collision with the deer she pulled her vehicle to the shoulder and contacted law enforcement.
 
On March 12th on SR-70 east of Long Valley Creek, Rebecca C. Kinkead, 68 of Loyaton was driving her 2016 Kia sedan when she observed a Subaru stoped ahead of her in the eastbound lane. Kinkead stoped behind the Subaru and she observed an animal (later identified as a beaver) crossing the highway. A vehicle approaching westbound on SR-70 also had to stop to allow the beaver to continue crossing the highway.
Ramon A. Rivas, Jr. 24 of Sparks, NV was driving a 2014 Chrysler and was approaching eastbound on SR-70 and failed to realize that traffic was stopped ahead of him within the eastbound lane. Rivas was unable to safely slow or stop as the front of his Chrysler impacted the rear of Kinkead’s Kia sedan.
 
On March 19th at 5:45 a.m., on US-395 northbound .5 miles south of Long Valley undercrossing, Jaiden M. Hicks, 18, of Susanville was driving a 2004 Kia Sorento at a stated speed of 65-70 mph with passenger,  Stephen Twizere, 21 of Susanville. Hicks fell asleep and allowed his Kia to enter the grass median west of US-395. Hicks awoke and turned the Kia to the right in an effort to return to the northbound traffic lnes. Hicks subsequently lost control of the Kia as it veered across the lanes, left the road and entered an ascending dirt embankment east of US-395. The Kia continued to slide and overturned multiple times. Hicks and his passenger were both wearing safety belts and minor injuries were reported as a result of the collision.

Congressman McClintock today delivered the following remarks on the House Floor:
 
Repeal and Replace
House of Representatives
March 21, 2017

Mr. Speaker:
Any discussion of the American Health Care Act needs first to consider where we will be without it.  Obamacare is collapsing.  More people are paying the steep tax penalty or claiming hardship exemptions than are choosing to buy Obamacare policies.  In a third of the counties across America, there is only one provider to choose and soon we will see counties where there are no providers at all. Obamacare premiums soared an average of 25 percent last year, and we’re warned this year will be worse. 
I have strongly advocated that the House address this crisis in a single comprehensive bill that fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with a healthy, competitive market.   
Instead, we rely on the reconciliation process to bypass Democratic obstructionism in the Senate.  This only allows us to repeal parts of Obamacare and enact only parts of a replacement.  Finishing the job will require administrative actions and follow-up legislation requiring Senate Democrats to cooperate – something not very likely.  So we need to ask if this bill alone is enough to produce a better healthcare system for the vast majority of people.  
Its biggest defects are its failure to restore to consumers the freedom to shop across state lines and to fully free consumers from purchasing coverage they don’t need and don’t want.  I fear that in states where insurance commissioners refuse to approve innovative replacement plans, consumers will be stuck in a market still governed by Obamacare mandates.  
Critics cite the Congressional Budget Office estimate that “24 million Americans will lose their coverage.”  But this conclusion is based largely on the premise that unless people are forced to buy health insurance, they won’t.  In fact, people won’t buy health insurance that’s not a good value for them – and clearly Obamacare isn’t.  We envision a vigorous buyers’ market where plans across the country compete to offer consumers better services at lower costs, tailored to their own needs and wants.
And this is the AHCA’s biggest achievement: replacing coercion with choice for every American.  It ends the individual mandate that forces Americans to buy products they don’t want.  It ends the employer mandate that has trapped many low-income workers in part-time jobs.  It begins to restore consumers’ freedom of choice -- the best guarantee of quality and value in any market.  It allows Americans to meet more of their health-care needs with pre-tax dollars.  It relieves the premium base of the enormous costs of pre-existing conditions by moving them to a block-granted assigned risk pool.  
In making this transition, though, it’s important to leave no one in the lurch.  That’s where we need to heed the CBO’s warning.  
The fact that many low-income families could no longer afford basic health care is what produced Obamacare.  When fully implemented, our reforms will correct the government mandates that trapped people in restricted markets that forced healthcare out of reach.  But until then, the CBO warns that a 64-year old, for example, earning $26,500 will see her out-of-pocket health costs balloon from $1,700 to $14,600 per year.  This is neither morally defensible nor politically sustainable.  
The Budget Committee adopted my motion on a bipartisan vote to ask the House to correct this inequity by adjusting the tax credits to assure that health plans are within the financial reach of every family.  I want to thank the leadership for responding to this motion by creating architecture in the bill to shift an additional $75 billion for this purpose.  
As our pro-growth economic reforms cause incomes to rise and our health care reforms bring costs down, families will earn more and pay less for their health care, and reliance on these tax credits will recede.  But we need a bridge from the present to the future, and we simply can’t get there without addressing the bill’s initial impact on older, low-income Americans. 
    
It is also important that we assure stability in the Medicaid system as we transition to flexible state-run programs that correct the inequities of Obamacare that have pushed the elderly, blind and disabled to the back of the Medicaid line.  This bill does so.
I wish it did everything necessary to restore an optimal health insurance market.  But it moves us toward that goal, and even as a stand-alone measure, I am confident it will ultimately create a market in most states that will produce better services, greater choices and lower costs for the vast majority of Americans.   

By Greg Dill


Having practiced pharmacy for many years, I often find myself talking to people about their Medicare prescription drug, or Part D, plans.


People with Part D usually share their thoughts about a favorite pharmacy or pharmacist, or how their plan offers medicines at affordable prices. Sometimes they report problems with a Part D plan, ranging from the cost of drugs to difficulty in getting a specific medication their doctor prescribed. 


A first step to correcting problems is always to contact your drug plan (contact information is on the back of your drug card). A call to the plan usually will resolve your issue. If that doesn’t work, you can file a complaint.


You can do that by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or going online at www.Medicare.gov. Complaints can be made against Part D drug plans as well as Part C health plans, also known as Medicare Advantage plans.


The online Medicare Complaint Form is easy to use. Medicare takes the information you send and directs it to your plan. Then we follow up and monitor how well the plan resolves your complaint.


To find the complaint form, go to www.Medicare.gov and locate the blue box near the top of the page that says “Claims & Appeals.” Place your cursor over that box until a dropdown menu appears and click on “file a complaint.” When the next page comes up, click on “Your health or drug plan.”


You can also lodge a complaint by calling or writing to your plan. Your complaint could involve a problem with customer service, difficulty in getting access to a specialist, being given the wrong drug, or being given drugs that interact in a negative way.


If you file a complaint about your Part D drug plan, certain requirements apply:

• You must file your complaint within 60 days from the date of the event that led to the complaint.
• You must be notified of the decision generally no later than 30 days after the plan gets the complaint.
• If your complaint relates to a plan’s refusal to make a fast coverage determination or redetermination and you haven’t purchased or gotten the drug, the plan must give you a decision no later than 24 hours after it gets the complaint.  

In addition, you can make a complaint if you have a concern about the quality of care or other services you get from a Medicare provider. This includes doctors, hospitals, or other medical providers; your dialysis or kidney transplant care; or a Medicare-certified supplier of durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen equipment.


How you file a complaint depends on what your complaint is about. For more information, go to www.medicare.gov/claims-and-appeals/file-a-complaint/complaint.html.
As a Medicare beneficiary, you also have certain appeal rights. What's the difference between a complaint and an appeal?


A complaint is generally about the quality of care you got or are getting. For example, you may file a complaint if you have a problem contacting your plan or if you're unhappy with how a staff person at the plan treated you. However, if you have an issue with a plan's refusal to pay for a service, supply, or prescription, you file an appeal.
For more information on appeals, take a look at your “Medicare & You” handbook, mailed each fall to every Medicare household in the country.
Or go online at www.medicare.gov/claims-and-appeals/file-an-appeal/appeals.html.


Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

‘Tipsy Tow’ Program Helps Keep Impaired Drivers Off The Road


EMERYVILLE, CA March 15, 2017 – AAA wants St. Patrick’s Day partygoers to celebrate and enjoy the day safely. To assist, AAA Northern California will offer its Tipsy Tow service free of charge to anybody who feels they’re too impaired to drive.You do not need to be a AAA Member to take advantage of this free service to the community.


“AAA wants everybody to have fun on St. Patrick’s Day, but don’t press your luck if you feel impaired, call AAA and we’ll make sure you get home safely,” said John Moreno, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “AAA’s Tipsy Tow is free to anyone in need. You can’t beat the price.”


AAA’s Tipsy Tow service will start at 6 p.m. Friday, March 17, and will run through 6 a.m. Saturday, March 18. Drivers, passengers, party hosts, bartenders and/or restaurant managers should:

• Call 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357) between 6 p.m. March 17 and 6 a.m. March 18. 
• State that they need a “Tipsy Tow.”
• Provide the driver’s name, home address, phone number and vehicle/driver location.

The service will provide a one-way ride for drivers and their vehicle to the driver’s home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver’s home as long as they can be transported safely in the tow truck. Tipsy Tow does not  take reservations.  


According to California Highway Patrol (CHP) crash data, during last year’s St. Patrick’s Day, three people were killed and nearly 60 others were injured on California’s roadways due to alcohol related collisions.  That same day, CHP made 145 arrests statewide for driving under the influence (DUI).  


AAA estimates that a first-time misdemeanor DUI conviction in California can cost approximately $15,649 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and increased insurance costs. DUI-related costs have risen sharply in recent years largely due to steep increases in fines and insurance for DUI drivers. The estimated cost of a first-offense misdemeanor DUI for those under age 21 is $21,500.


There is no price tag on a crash that causes an injury or death.


Download a high-resolution Tipsy Tow logo here.


AAA Northern California offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance, DMV, financial services and consumer discounts to more than 4 million members. AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers since it was founded more than 117 years ago.   

Due to recent flooding from the Feather River, the Feather River Hatchery in Oroville will remain closed to the public until further notice.


The hatchery's infrastructure and public viewing areas were damaged by high flood waters, silt and debris, making it unsafe for the public to be on the grounds or access the river via hatchery property.


"Our staff is focused on keeping the hatchery salmon and steelhead alive, and facility cleanup efforts won't be completed for some time," said Anna Kastner, Feather River Hatchery Manager. "We appreciate the public's patience and support of our efforts to preserve these critical stocks under unusual and challenging circumstances. We'll be very happy when all operations are back to normal."


On Feb. 9 and 10, more than 60 people from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and other agencies successfully transferred more than five million Chinook salmon to an annex hatchery nine miles away. Fisheries staff also constructed an emergency filtration system for the remaining salmon and steelhead at the Oroville facility.


To date, losses at the hatchery have been minimal.

​

 
Downieville.
 
            Scott Humphrey (65) Susanville.  Unlawful take of deer. Eighteen months probation, fine $1055, and forfeit rifle.
 
            Michael Kerns (54)  Mt. Shasta.  Violation of terms of special deer tag.  He had a special tag for hunting on a certain piece of private property, and he was hunting outside of the boundaries of the designated property.  One year probation, fine $1055.
 
            Jarelle Budkheit (34) Susanville. Driving with a .08 or more blood alcohol level with a prior conviction.  Four years probation, ten day s jail, fine $2622, and attend alcohol school.
 
            Scott Arnold (34) Fortuna.  Take and transport wood products                                                                  FAX 530.289.2822                           FAX 530.993.1667
                                                                        [email protected]     
 
without permit (he cut two Christmas trees).  Fine $455.
 
            Shilo LeBlanc (26) Loyalton.  Driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more. Three years probation, two days jail, fine $1920, and attend alcohol school.
 
            Jason Kelly (34) Loyalton.  Drive with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more.  Three years probation, two days jail, fine $1920, and attend alcohol school.
 
            Christina Hendrix (46) Fresno.  Driving while her license was suspended with a prior conviction.  Four years probation, five day jail, and a fine of 2249.
 
            Shaun Fowler (48) Sierraville.  Violation of probation for absconding from supervision and drug court.  His underlying conviction was two charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance.  One year jail to be served on electronic monitoring, and probation reinstated.
 
            Shane Perkins (43) Oroville.  Sentencing for a conviction of residential (1st degree burglary).  Two years state prison, fine $2420, and pay restitution in the amount of $114,425 with 10% interest, and 10% payable to Sierra County to monitor payments.  Perkins and a partner went to a very remote area of Sierra County and came upon a cabin.  They entered the cabin stealing food and other things.  Later he and the partner got into a disagreement and Perkins left.  The partner wandered around this remote are for two days with no idea where she was when she decided to set a fire, and when firemen came to put out the fire she would be rescued. The plan worked except the fire got away from her and burned the cabin down.  The Forest Service will not allow the cabin to be re-built.  The partner remains at large.
 
            Levi Hyde-Beverage (23) Loyalton.  Violation of probation for failure to pay fine on driving under the influence and driving while suspended.   He sat out the fine of $5382 converted to 12 days jail, and must pay $845 of the non-convertible portion of the fine.
 
            Scott Ransom (46) and Terry Manning both of  Loyalton.  Disturbing the peace.  Both did two days in jail and were fined $653.  It was a rough night at the Golden West.
 

Loyalton, CA – March 8, 2017 – New data reveals chewing tobacco and flavored non-cigarette products still sold in all stores surveyed in Sierra County. These findings are part of new research released today on the availability and marketing of tobacco products, alcohol, condoms and healthy and unhealthy food options in California stores that sell tobacco.
 
Today, throughout California, health advocates held 13 press events to release results of the scientific survey, which is the largest its kind. It builds upon an initial research released three years ago in March 2014 and provides insights into changes in the availability and marketing of the studied products during this time.  Information was collected in the summer of 2016 from more than 7,100 stores in all 58 California counties including pharmacies, supermarkets, delis, convenience and liquor stores as well as tobacco-only stores. 
 
“Stores play a critical role on our community’s health, and our goal is to help calibrate the balance toward health,” said Anne Reugebrink, Sierra County Tobacco Use Reduction Program.
 
Another goal was to examine the accessibility and marketing of healthy and unhealthy products to youth.
 
“This survey found that youth Statewide are inundated with unhealthy messages and choices and this includes youth in our community. We need to change what information and options our kids are exposed to and work to surround them with healthy choices and messaging instead,” said Anne Reugebrink, Sierra County Tobacco Use Reduction Program.
 
The survey found the following for Sierra County:

• Unhealthy storefront ads are down significantly from 67% to 0% in stores surveyed. Statewide, unhealthy ads decreased only slightly from 71% to 70%.
• In addition to selling cigarettes, 100% of stores sell “little cigars” or cigarillos, as well as chewing tobacco. Statewide, chewing tobacco is available at a rate of 57% and “little cigars” or cigarillos at 78%.
• 67% of stores sold non- or low-fat milk, but 100% sell alcohol.
• Only 67% of surveyed stores sell condoms compared to 81% Statewide.
• 100% of stores sell non-cigarette tobacco products, which often have kid-appealing flavors, such as grape, watermelon, chocolate, gummy candies and even breakfast cereals. Statewide, the rate for non-cigarette tobacco products is 82%.

 
“Sierra County Health and Social Services is committed to continuing to work with local health advocates and partners to provide accurate information and help make the healthy choice the easy choice for Californians.” 
 
Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community is a statewide campaign formed by tobacco prevention, nutrition, alcohol abuse prevention and STD prevention partners collaborating to improve the health of Californians by informing them about the impact of unhealthy product availability and marketing in the retail environment.
 
Additional survey findings for Sierra County include:

1. Alcopops are sold at 100% of stores.
2. No stores near schools have tobacco marketing in kid-friendly locations.
3. Youth smoking rates have increased from 10% to 23% and this includes e-cigarettes.
4. Sugary drinks are not located at checkout areas in stores.

1. Fruit and vegetables were available at all stores.

 
 
For state and county-specific data and more information on Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community, please visit www.healthystoreshealthycommunity.com.