MADERA COUNTY

June – September 2011 Issue

WITH OVER 515,000 TOURISTS AL-READY TAKING A YARTS BUS FROM MERCED VIA THE 140 . . . . WHAT HAPPENS TO OAKHURST AND THE MOUNTAIN ECONOMY WHEN FRESNO LAUNCHES THEIR PROPOSED BUS SERVICE (COG) UP HIGHWAY 41 TO YOSEMITE?

IF YOU THINK OUR MOUNTAIN ECONOMY IS BAD NOW . . .

DEVELOPMENT

QUARRIES

TRUCKS & TRAFFIC

Q and A’s

TRAFFIC SAFETY

EDITORIALS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OUR HISTORY ECONOMIC ISSUES

S P O N S O R E D B Y T H E M A D E R A O V E R S I G H T C O A L I T I O N

The Presidents Report

Madera Oversight Coalition (MOC) was conceived in 2007 by the people, for the people. The

members of MOC are committed to responsible growth thru adherence to California Land Use

Law, Madera County General Plan Policies and to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the pub-

lic is held in highest regard.

Organized to educate and facilitate information to better serve the public on subjects beneficial to

the community. MOC welcomes the public at all meetings to express their issues and will make an

effort, if possible to extend its knowledge on where and how to obtain a resolution.

MOC has not hesitated to voice its opinion when it feels the county is falling short and more of-

ten than not they hear it but as my dad used to say, if the lights are out no one’s home.

MOC was not afraid to take on large developers after the Board of Supervisors approved their

projects, proving the Counties decisions were flawed, resulting in a high cost to MOC, the develop-

ers and the County (you and me).

Not that the economy is down, the developers are on a mission to gain approval on new projects.

Our involvement now is more important than ever to ensure the County does not just see the imme-

diate dollars signs, ensuring the county ask the developer what he can do for the County and not

what the County can do for the developer.

MOC is here for the people, by the people – Please feel free to contact us regarding issues you

feel need attention in our County.

Bruce Gray,

MOC Chairperson

The County Line—Madera - Magazine, is not a po-litical publication with a liberal or conservative agenda. We are a quarterly publication which provides accurate, up to date, and important information rele-vant to citizens of Madera County and the Sierra Mountain Communities.

PUBLISHER Mr. William Whitehead

EDITOR Mr. James Chappel

Send all submissions to: jfchappel@gmail.com

COUNTY LINE MADERA MAGAZINE

TESORO VIEJO – McCAFFERY DEVELOPMENT

The McCaffrey Group, located in Fresno, was es-tablished in 1979. Tesoro Viejo (Project), is a devel-opment in which McCaffrey, together with builder Gary McDonald and Lyles Diversified, would de-velop 1579 acres of Madera County’s farmland to more than 5,000 residential units, and about 3 mil-lion square feet of commercial, retail, office, public institutional, and light industrial uses. Located in the Rio Mesa area of southeast Madera, this Project would permanently take a sig-nificant tract of farmland out of production and would locate approximately 15,000 residents in an area 13 miles distant from the City of Madera and 9 miles north of the City of Fresno. The Project is bordered to the west by Highway 41, between Avenues 12 ½ and 15, and to the east by the San Joaquin River. McCaffrey Group President Bob McCaffrey has joined with two other Fresno builders – Gary McDonald and Lyles Diversified – to complete the project. Although opposition was presented from the Cha-wanakee Unified School District, Sumner Hills resi-dents, Madera Oversight Coalition (MOC), Revive the San Joaquin and the Dumna Indian Tribe, and others, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the project.

(MOC) alleged that the cumulative impacts from the Project will be profound, and are not adequately ana-lyzed or mitigated in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Impacts include those related to both water sup-ply and water quality, traffic, air quality, land use, biological impacts, cultural resources, agricultural re-sources, region impacts, housing, human heath, utilities and infra-structure and growth-inducing impacts. In spite of the objections, the Madera County Board of Supervisors approved the project at a special meeting held on December 8, 2008, by a vote of 5-0.

MOC, in conjunction with the Dumna Tribe, and Revive the San Joaquin (RSJ) opened litigation against Tesoro Viejo for reasons stated above in Superior Court of Madera in January, ‘09. Superior Court Judge Oakley decertified the EIR in June of 2009, based on the fact that the Project did not meet CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) failing to provide a cumulatively analysis of the water supply and failing to pro-vide substantial evidence that Holding Contract #7 provides diversion rights independent of state water rights. Currently, The McCaffrey Group has appealed this decision. In addition, MOC, Dumna and RSJ have ap-pealed the decision as it pertains to the additional problems as stated above. MOC, et al filed their appeal on July, 2010, with the Superior Court of Fresno. A date for the appeals has not been set.

A letter from the State Water Resources Control Board, dated November 3, 2010 states the following: “…there

is no record of a water right authorizing the direct diversion of water from the San Joaquin River at Holding Contract No. 7’s point of diversion below Friant Dam. Thus, it appears that much of the diversion being made pursuant to Hold-ing Contract No. 7 is being made without substantial basis of right under California water law. The far eastern portion of the lands covered by Holding Contract No. 7, located immediately adjacent to the San Joaquin River, was not severed from the river at the time of patenting and likely possesses riparian status.”

COMMUNITY SPOT LIGHT TOM WHEELER — MADERA COUNTY SUPERVISOR — DISTRICT 5

Photography by — William Whitehead

YARTS vs. COGS

Supervisor Wheeler, What are your feelings on Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) and the Fresno Council of Governments (COGS) proposed bus systems to Yosemite. First off I will not speak to YARTS because it only gets me in trouble. I do not like it that YARTs can do anything they want and we can’t say a word. In 1999 the board, by ac-tion, withdrew from YARTS as did Tuo-lumne. Note: YARTS bus system is a gov-ernment subsidized system.

Lets talk about COGS - Fresno COGS had a consultant called me and wanted an interview on the idea of run-ning a bus system from Fresno Airport (FAT) to Yosemite Valley straight up hwy 41. In the interview I told them our history with YARTS and then I told them they should speak to Max Stauffer (Yosemite Visitors Bu-reau) and Lou Aceto (Oakhurst resident). I do believe this could be a good thing if done right so we are wait-ing and watching it to see if we can have some input to make it a benefit to the County and business along the route.

GREAT WALL OF COARSEGOLD

Supervisor Wheeler, What can you tell us about “The Great Wall” - I can talk about it but not in great detail due to the legal suit ongoing. The wall was proposed to be in 4 retaining walls but ended up 3 walls which in-creased the height, weight and downward pressure on the wall. It’s the down pressure that is crushing the bricks not the hill pushing them out. The biggest problem is the postponements of the law suit by them which drags out the fix for years. This wall has been in a law suit since I came onto the board. We took it the Judge and he said we could take it over so we hired an engineer and they hired an engineer and they came to the con-clusion that it will be torn down and moved back onto their property and redo it. This issue is a continuing topic of discussion at the board and hopefully resolved and work started this year.

.NUCLEAR FRESNO

Supervisor Wheeler, this March the Board of Supervisors drafted a letter of support for the Fresno Nuclear En-ergy Group (FNEG) developing an Energy Park in Western Fresno. The primary focus of this park would be Two Nuclear Reactors the size of Diablo Canyon. The reactors would generate the power needed to operate a desalination plant and then sell the water and excess power to consumers. What do you think about Nuclear Energy in the Valley? I think it’s the way to go, I have always been for Nu-clear Power. I think the technology we have now is 20 times better. All those plants in Japan that got knocked down are 20 to 40 years old. The technology from then and even in the last five years, you cannot compare. Nuclear power is cheaper, cleaner and more efficient and better for the environment as long as you can get rid of the waste and their doing it all over the world. As far as will it help Madera, I think we have better housing prices and most everything Fresno has so yes it think it would help our economy.

Tom Wheeler — Supervisor, District 5 Bruce Gray — County Line

HIGH SPEED RAIL

Supervisor Wheeler, High speed rail, good or bad for Madera? Well I think it could be both, this is one of those subsidy deals that drive me crazy. It’s not a couple thousand dollars; Amtrak is a costing a billion dollars a year and guess what this will cost us. I am presenting an outline to the board in which I want to put a committee together with Max and I with the city council from here and chowchilla, the farm bureau representing ranchers and farmers and then a person outside of government. The purpose would be to think outside the box and figure what is going to be the best for Madera. Thinking about the route, how to ne-gotiate the lands being taken or cut in half because they have not given any idea as to what is going to happen with lands and businesses so we want to be proactive. There is a lot of money involved and if we can direct some of it to Madera that works for me.

REDISTRICTING

Supervisor Wheeler, will the 2010 census help or hurt your district? It will add 7,000 more people to District 5 and 3,000 more to District 1 which will make all the districts at right around 30,000 people. Su-pervisor Bigelow is the chairman in charge of putting the plan together by October to be able to have a public scoping meeting in August.

FAIRMEAD LANDFILL

Supervisor Wheeler, The grand jury report concluded that money is owed to Madera County due to over-charges and sale of recyclable materials. What can you tell us? I can’t say much because it is now in negotia-tions/ligation. We can only go back 4 years but it adds up to approx. 4 million per year. Once this is settled the county should go over every contract to verify what they are telling us is correct.

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MADERA QUARRY UPDATE

Yes the Board of Supervisors has approved Madera Quarry AGAIN and Yes it is being challenged in Again.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THIS PROJECT

In 2003 the residents surrounding the proposed quarry got a call from an insider at the County telling them that they should get informed because the County was not giving notice, even to the residents adjacent to the property.

The proposed quarry was to be located on road 209, five miles north of its junction with highway 41, back in behind the 22 mile house gas station.

The neighborhood rose up and said “HELL NO” you will not bull us over with a project of this magnitude affecting so many people in so many negative ways.

Supervisor Bigelow of District 1, publicly announced that since he had property adjacent to the project he must separate himself from the residents and the project.

In 2005, after 3 years of worrying the Environmental Impact Report came out and it was as bad as expected. The water report on surround wells proved that there was a connection from their wells to surrounding wells and a drawdown was confirmed when their well was running. If that was not bad enough there would be up to 350 truck trips per day (350 in and 350 out) on our 2 lane road out to hwy 41. At hwy 41 there will be no signal allowing the trucks to turn left in front of south bound traffic coming down the hill rain or shine.

These were only a few of the countless examples of the project, Oh by the way the residents of these 40 acre parcels with horses, cows etc. were promised bottled water if their wells went dry. Yes bottled water to drink and gray water to shower in and water the livestock.

In 2006 the Planning Commission was ok with the mitigations and the Board of Supervisors put their rubber stamp on the project. In 2007 the Superior court in Bass Lake was ok with whatever the Board said. In 2008 the California Appeals Court reversed the decision sighting a landmark decision regarding bottled water for a mitigation. They almost laughed them out of court. In 2010 they came back to another approval from the Planning Commission and another rubber stamp from the Board. In 2011 the neighborhood that will not quit will be going back to court on the same water issues, traffic, noise and bio-logical issues.

So Yes a Neighborhood of little people can make a difference and will.

Brue Gray, Resident

www.SellingTheSierras.com 40282 Highway 41, Suite 1

Oakhurst, CA 93644 Toll Free (800) 325-1593

Melanie Barker (559) 760-3860

Melanie@sellingthesierras.com

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BARBER CHAIR POLITICS I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

One day a florist went to a barber for a hair-cut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community ser-vice this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door. Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut. And that, my friends, illustrates the funda-mental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it. BOTH POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON!

Cat urine glows under a black-light.

The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.

A Snow leopard’s tail is as long as his body and he can jump 40 feet.

The elephant is the only mammal that cannot jump.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.

Proportional to their weight, men are stronger than horses.

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.

Dogs and cats consume almost $7 billion dollars worth of pet food a year.

It’s against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland.

Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms every day.

Fleas can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms, 6 ft person jumps 780 ft.

The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.

Cool... I’m A Hippie Kitty

I’m BAD To The Bone, No, Scratch That. I Forgot,

I Have No Bones

“THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE HILL” Historical Stories of the Early Days of Madera County

The first Manzanita School was built on Old Yo-semite Road, in 1915, on Bissett land about a half mile north of present day Bissett Station Road 620. Some of those that contributed to building the school were the Bissett, McPheeters, Manning, and Mealley families. Sugar Pine Lumber Company donated the lumber for the building. It was board and batten, never painted. It was on a hill - a one room school house, with a covered porch. A cloakroom and a supply room were at the front. You entered the classroom through the cloakroom. The teacher's desk was at the far end of the class room, and the wood stove was somewhere near the middle. In the early days of the school, there weren't many kids and some-times the only ones attending were Ruth, Hazel and Lester Bissett, Rela Bolton, and Walter Chepo. If the teacher didn't live in the community, he or she had to board with one of the families. At one time, the teacher Mr. Bacon, lived with my family. In 1930 I started school. Manzanita was about to shut down for lack of students, so they let me go to school just in order to keep it open. I was only five years old and there was no kindergarten, so it didn't count. In 1931 I started first grade for real. By this time there were Highway 41 construction families living in the area with school age children. We still only had one teacher for all eight grades. I nearly always walked to school. Sometimes in the winter the snow was so deep that Dad broke trail for me. I carried a little tin lunch box with a thermos in it. Lunch usu-ally consisted of a meat sandwich and a sweet sand-wich. During good weather we sat outside to eat. Sometimes if someone had something that looked especially good, we would try to trade food items. After lunch and during recesses, we played games such as Anti-Anti Over, Hide and Seek and soft ball. We had to be careful playing ball, because if the ball got away, we had a long way down hill to retrieve it. One time playing Hide and Seek, I was running in to tag free, and was looking over my shoulder at the person that was "it", and ran head long into a post. Sometimes we would chose up sides and play war. We gathered acorns and buckeye balls and threw them at each other. We made forts from brush

piles and so forth. No real fights, but sometimes it hurt when you got hit with a buckeye ball. We also sometimes took our own toys from home to play with during recess. My first teacher was Clara Larsen, whose son Cedric was a good friend. My second teacher was Mae Wright. Her son Bub went to school there, too, and he is still my good friend. Other kids there were Henry Martin; the Vetter boys: Edmund, Bobby, and a third one, whose name I have forgotten; Rowena Wright; and others whose names I can't recall. All but the construction kids had anywhere from one to three miles to walk to get to school. Some of them lived part way down the Bass Lake Road. Most of the construction families lived along Old Yosemite Road not far from school. Lessons consisted of the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic. We practiced penmanship; mine was at one time legible, but not so much so now. Quite often we would put our heads on our desks and the teacher would read to us after lunch. Water came from a spring at the bottom of the hill next to the road. A crock, five gallons or larger was on the porch, and it was the job of the seventh and eighth grade boys to fill it with drinking water. This took more than one trip to the spring. No indoor plumbing, of course. We had to walk a couple of hundred feet or so to the outhouses. There were two - one for boys, one for girls. The ornery kids would chuck buckeye balls at the outhouse when someone was inside. There was also a woodshed for the wood storage. The older kids or the teacher would feed the stove. It was also a place for disciplining troublesome kids. I can proudly say I never got sent to the woodshed. The Old Manzanita School or the Little Manzanita School, as it was sometimes called, was open and used until 1934, when Highway 41 was completed, and the New Manzanita School was built near Big Ce-dar Springs. The building remained until my folks made arrangements with the Shepherd family to tear it down and take the lumber.

My family still refers to the location as:

“The Schoolhouse Hill".

Ralph Bissett - October 2002

(559) 658-7618

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COMMERCIAL BUSES FROM FRESNO TO YOSEMITE AN ECONOMIC DISASTER FOR MOUNTAIN BUSINESS

If you’re wondering why so many commercial enterprises in and around Oakhurst are struggling to survive, or have noticed scores of once busy storefronts sitting vacant as a testament to failed business, you are not alone. The mountain economy is up-side-down and the tourist traffic and related spending patterns are far from what had once been a thriving and prosperous economy.

One major reason is YARTS, the Yosemite Area Rapid Transit System, which since its inception has trans-ported over 515,000 tourists up the Highway140 corridor to the National Park. This commercial and govern-ment subsidized busing service operates from Merced through Mariposa and into Yosemite National Park with connections through Tuolumne Meadows and over to Mono County. The loss of tourist traffic to our commu-nity represents an estimated $15 million to $20 million dollars in lost revenue.

But this is only the first attack on what had once been a nearly exclusive Coarsegold / Oakhurst revenue re-source. Beware of neighbors offering gifts. Or in this case Fresno County and City offering free bus transpor-tation down to Fresno. Just think...you’ll be able to shop all those discount stores and save on wear and tear on your vehicles, not to mention all that gas money you will be saving. Yes, but at what cost?

Fresno County is planning to launch a commercial busing service up Highway 41 into Yosemite National Park.

The adverse economic consequences are three fold:

First- All those tourists will NO LONGER be staying at local hotels and motels; renting cabins and chalets; shopping at our local stores; dining at our local restaurants or renting boats or purchasing gasoline from our locally owned stations. They’ll be waving at us through windows of a 54 passenger bus.

Second- Adding insult to injury, when our mountain residents no longer patronize our local businesses opting to spend their money at stores down in Fresno, Coarsegold and Oakhurst will become ghost towns. Third- When we loose our business infrastructure, property values will fall like a rock.

We cannot help but reflect on days gone by when looking at this rare picture of Millerton in 1870. A Dumna Village is seen on the shore edge of the San Joaquin River, Kuvu Illik, now sadly enough under the waters of Millerton Lake State Recreation Area. The center of the Dumna territory was at Millerton, their largest village, the territory for the Dumna's extends to present day Table Mountain Rancheria. Kuyu-Illik was the main village (largest village, a-tbu) and home to Chief Tom Kit and his family, the Dumna people. The Kechayi Village, Aho-luT, was just north of the Dumna's, Tom Kit's relation; Gai-da-na was Chief. There was another village along the river edge, con-sidered Kechayi Territory, Taka-tipao The Aho-lu village was right along the edge of the San Joaquin River and unlike some of the other Tribes across the river, the Kechayi and the Dumna's were particularly strong in swimming. The story told by Yet-choo-nook, with great pride to Anna Gayton, is that her people led by her father would carry the Chukchansi people on their back and swim them across the river.."they no good swimmers, Kechayi the best Swimmers". Coiled baskets were used for the young, ta'okach. The swimmer would push the basket with one arm while using the other arm for his stroke. Frank Latta writes of the Mayfield Family, in the book they were assisted across the San Joaquin River by "friendly bathers and fishermen" these people were the Dumna's and the Kechayi people. Yet-choonook goes on to say, if the Kechayi were mad at the Chukchansi, they would not bring them across the river, leaving them stranded to fend for themselves and one can assume consequences were not happy. The Kechayi realized they had strong abilities with the water and excellent prowess for fishing and be-ing the best of all salmon fishermen. They soon be-gan a business and selling their catch. This was the day when salmon was the main stronghold of the San Joaquin River.

Life as we see it in this photo was the beginning of the end for our people as the white man came upon the rich, peaceful living of the Yokuts Indians, lead by Supreme Leader of many of the Tribes in the San Joaquin, Chief Tom Kit. Their lives would never be the same with the intru-sion of the Spanish, the gold miner, government sol-diers and the government interference and as fate brings to all, progress. We were shuttled from Rancheria to Rancheria, Res-ervation to Reservation and finally settling on Ancestral Land, Table Mountain Rancheria, which was created by the Federal Government for displaced Indians, Indians that were taken from their ancestral lands. Table Mountain Rancheria was and continues to be a Rancheria for displaced Indians. Table Mountain Rancheria and lands in question are ancestral lands of the Dumna/Kechayi and Pitkache people. Pitkache Chief on these ancestral lands was the grandfather to the Dumna Chief, eventually becoming Supreme Leader of Tribes on the San Joaquin River. The Dumna/Kechayi Tribes are petitioning for Rec-ognition and presently working with the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the California Native American Heritage Commission. We are not asking for enrollment in Table Mountain and are not connected to any coalition pursuing these efforts; our focus is accurately portraying the historical facts. We wish Sovereignty and Recognition and wish the Table Mountain Rancheria and county to work with us, rather than alienate us, if our history continues to be used.

"Easy to do justice, but hard to make right"

Sir Robert Morton, The Winslow Boy

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LITTLE KNOWN FACT

This year the month of July has 5- Fridays, 5- Satur-days and 5- Sundays. The event happens just once every 823 years and is called: “Money Bags”

JULY 2011

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

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“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.” “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and ty-rannical.” “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”

THOMAS JEFFERSON QUOTES

Many of us here in the central valley would wel-come HSR to Los Angeles or San Francisco but does it make economical since? Florida’s Governor Rick Scott makes the decision to reject the High Speed Rail project on three main economic realities: 1) Capital cost-overruns would put Florida taxpay-

ers on the hook for an additional $ billions.

2) Ridership and revenue projections are histori-cally overly-optimistic and would likely result in ongoing subsidies that state taxpayers would incur.

3) If the project becomes too costly for taxpayers and is shut down, the state would have to return the $ billions in federal funds to D.C.

The truth is that this project would be far too costly to taxpayers and I believe the risk far outweighs the benefits.

The French, Germans, Koreans and the Chinese are all wanting contracts but with a guarantee.

GE joins with China and points out that by doing final production and assembly here instead of China, GE/CSR would meet "Buy America" stan-dards established by the Obama administration as a requirement of federal stimulus funds given to states for high-speed rail systems.

If I’m not mistaken our Government might pick our Largest Debt Holder to get the contract which means the money will not stay or be spent here.

ADDITIONAL FACTS:

1) For every $1 billion dollars spent – an estimated 20,000 jobs will be created.

2) Homeland security at rail stations could make taking bullet trains faster and cheaper.

3) California faces a $20 billion deficit until 2016 4) Rising oil prices will affect the total cost of HSR

5) Nobody knows (or isn’t saying) the real cost of HSR

6) We voted in 2008 @ $33 billion, in 2009 @ $43 billion, in 2010 @ $65 billion and what is yet to come?

7) Ticket prices from L.A. to San Francisco, in 2008 @ $55, in 2009 @ $105, in 2010 @ $190.

8) Finally, little known facts about the Central Cali-fornia AMTRAK rail system:

9) High speed ribbon rails were installed over a decade ago that are designed to handle speed in excess of 90 to 100 miles per hour. Yet Sacra-mento will not permit AMTRAK to operate at speeds above 70 mph. The Big Question is— WHY?

HIGH SPEED RAIL SERVICE GOOD FOR CALIFORNIA BUT AT WHAT COST?

Central valley developers and Counties are salivat-ing at the thought of High Speed Rail stations in the valley. These areas are boom towns/bedroom com-munities waiting to happen. The more efficient trains, emitting fewer pollutants will be trumped by the influx of population devouring farm land and priceless water and yes they still need their cars to get to the stations. Farmer John -

HIGH SPEED RAIL BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

Enjoy the finest in Northeast China Cuisine

Whether for lunch or dinner

The Taste Of China

Is Always The Perfect Choice

With family and friends

IN VON’S SHOPPING CENTER

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You might ask yourself if reading this publication, is worth your time? The “County Line Maga-zine” is created specifically for residents within Madera County. You will discover a variety of community interest news articles as well as special interest historical pieces written by residents living in Madera County and most specifically from the mountain communities. We call this sec-tion “The Way It Was”.

The theme of “County Line” is to educate residents on what is going on in Madera County that might be of interest. There is no other source for much of this information unless you review the Board of Supervisors agenda, and/or attend the Planning Commission meetings or review in detail the Environmental Impact Reports (EIR’s) associated with planned development projects.

We will objectively review, upcoming new development projects “In the Pipeline” as well as pro-vide updates on projects that are in the process of approval. We will evaluate the details in the EIR’s for these projects. We are providing this information so that the citizens of Madera County can make informed decisions on current and proposed developments.

The most important item here is that this publication will follow a strict discipline of objective re-porting. The specific purpose is to inform the public without bias, political objectives, or hidden agendas. Content will be predicated upon researched facts, issues, and interviews incorporating the highest standards of ethical journalistic reporting.

We welcome your participation through submissions including articles, and letters to the editor, etc. for possible inclusion within our quarterly publications. Thank you for your readership and support and we hope to hear from you on important points of interest as well as historical stories that our community will find of interest.

William Whitehead - Publisher

(Sponsored by Madera Oversight Coalition)

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

“What’s wrong with the U.S and how to fix it.” One man’s opinion…

Written by: Tim Troutner

1st- Our senator and congressmen spend $10 and get about .25 of worth out of it… Instead they should spend a $1 that can help people in three different ways or more. For example, take the problem in New Orleans, The US border and un-employment spending is something that will help all these areas in the future and in the future brings down cost. In the case of New Orleans to rebuild below sea level is just asking to do the same problem twice. The cost being spent on the US border just keeps going up. A wall isn’t the answer. So what can be done to help these problems and even a lot more problems in a lot more areas to come? What about building a canal from the Gulf of Mexico to San Diego California? The dirt and Rock can be used in New Orleans to raise ground level. The cost of the US border would go down. The border would then be managed at a profit where over-passes could be set up. The Army and navy core of engineers can be utilized in building the canal since they are already on our payroll and since we would need to pump water from these oceans and lakes along the way could be set up for many things like water storage for the future. Arizona, New Mexico and across the border of Mexico could tap into these lakes and set up water, desalination plants changing the salt water to fresh water. If we plan ahead and start it now it would help in so many areas for so many things. Not just one or three, but the BIG PICTURE… the future. Remember, Man is a builder, but not like others before. If they stop building and growing, they stand to lose everything. Once built, we could have jobs that run 24/7. The cost to shipping the canal… fee would be offset by fuel saved to sail down to Panama and back. They would be saving time. How much would shipping lines save? Time is money! New Or-leans could raise ground level above sea level. Land (reefs) could be used to stimulate life… to promote game fish and other things. Planning now would stop prices on fresh water going up like gas prices. The border would no longer be a growing cost factor. On a project like this, the benefits would be for every dollar spent and you would help at least 8 different areas. Cost? It would be worth more tomorrow than today. Need? Yes… for many reasons:

Boarder Control New Orleans (rebuild to make safer) Water for Arizona and New Mexico Even Mexico would benefit Jobs-Even after built. Recreation Areas ( salt & freshwater areas)

Running the canal…Create turbines that will generate power. Fuel cost for shipping would go down, but would offset cost of usage of canal and energy to run it… Solving problem of low cost energy. Our economy would then be growing. Our kids, grand-kids … the next generation would be better off. By using the Rio Grand River that runs between Texas and Mexico for most of the way… The river’s fresh water can be put into the water table for western states water table. Replenishing water supply. Taxes- People working earning pay-check can pay income tax. People working can make mortgage payments.

THE PUBLIC FORUM

Madera is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. The vast majority of Madera is part of California's 19th congressional district, which is held by Republican Jeff Denham; a tiny part of Madera is in the 18th district, which is held by Democrat Dennis Cardoza. In the State Assembly, most of Madera is in the 25th district with a small part in the 19th district. Both districts are held by Republicans, Kristin Olsen and Linda Halderman respectively. In the State Senate, Madera is part of the 12th and 14th districts, which are held by Repub- licans An-thony Cannella and Tom Berryhill respectively. District One: Frank Bigelow District Two: David Rogers District Three Ronn Dominici District Four: Max Rodriguez District Five Tom Wheeler Chief Clerk of the Board: Tanna G. Boyd Contact the Board of Supervisors

U.S Senators Senator Dianne Feinstein 2500 Tulare Street, Suite 4290 Fresno California 93721 (559) 485-7430 Fax: (559) 485-9689 http://feinstein.senate.gov/public 331 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510-0504 (202) 224-3841 Fax: (202) 228-3954 Senator Barbara Boxer 2500 Tulare Street, Suite 5290 Fresno California 93721-2201 (559) 497-5109 Fax: (559) 497-5111 http://boxer.senate.gov/ 112 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510-0505 (202) 224-3553 Fax: (202) 228-2382

U.S Representatives District 18 Congressman Dennis A. Cardoza 2222 M Street, Suite 305 Merced, California 95340 (209) 383-4455 Fax: (209) 726-1065 http://www.house.gov/cardoza/ U.S. House of Representatives 1224 Longworth Building Washington D.C. 20515-0518 (202) 225-6131 Fax: (202) 225-0819 District 19 Congressman Jeff Denham 1040 East Herndon, Suite 201 Fresno California 93720 (559) 449-2490 Fax: (559) 449-2499 http://www.house.gov/denham/ U.S. House of Representatives 2410 Rayburn House Office Building Washington D.C. 20510-0519 (202) 225-4540 Fax: (202) 225-3402

County of Madera Board of Supervisors Supervisor __________ 200 West 4th Street Madera, California 93637 Phone: 559-675-7700 Fax: 559-673-3302 Email: supervisors@madera-county.com

HOW TO CONTACT A POLITICIAN Part - 1

California State Senate Cannella, Anthony 918 15th Street State Capitol (Rep) Modesto, CA 95354 Room 3048

(209) 577-6592 Sacramento, CA 12th District 94248-0001

(916) 651-4012 1640 N Street Suite 210 Merced, CA 95340 (209) 726-5495 369 Main Street #208 Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 769-8040 14th District Berryhill, Tom 6215 N. Fresno Street State Capitol (Rep) Suite 104 Room 3076 Fresno, CA 93710 Sacramento, CA (559) 253-7122 94248-0001 (916) 651-4014 4641 Spyres Way Suite 2 Modesto, CA 95356 State Assembly 25th District Olsen, Kristin 3719 Tully Road State Capitol Suite C Room 2111 Modesto, CA 95356 Sacramento, CA (209)576-6425 94249-0025 (916) 319-2025 29th District Halderman, Linda 6245 N. Fresno Street, State Capitol Suite 106 Room 4009 Fresno, CA 93710 Sacramento, CA (559) 446-2029 94249-0029 (916) 319-2029

HOW TO CONTACT A POLITICIAN - Part 2

Development and growth is an important and neces-sary part of any community’s financial solvency and stability, particularly during times of economic distress and limited new taxable resources. Cities, counties, states and of course the federal govern-ment find themselves funding programs they can no longer afford and facing huge deficits that cannot be financially justified. The federal government continues to increase the national deficit to a point where every man, woman and child in the United States shoulders a share equal to approximately $130,000 each. States and local governments are not permitted by law to oper-ate without a balanced budget. Governors and their state legislative bodies across the country are imple-menting stop gap measures to reduce or end finan-cially irresponsible and uncontrolled spending for social programs and union contracts they can no longer afford. The most difficult challenge facing our community leaders is which programs need to be cut and where they can reduce spending and waste. However, this is a two-edged sword. On one side is the sharp edge of a cry for help of the unemployed, underemployed, family & child hous-ing support, educational infrastructure and the mas-sive financial drain of a multitude of social welfare programs that our working and retired homeowners support with their ever increasing tax dollars. On the other side are developers and contractors and all that new found money that Madera County so desperately needs to balance their budget. But this side of the sword is even sharper. While devel-opment license fees and the promise of new prop-erty owner tax assessments may offer a short term fix, in the long run it becomes not just a financial nightmare but has the potential to adversely impact the quality of life for every existing home owner in the county.

Consider these issues: water quality and quantity; air quality; impact of excessive traffic on our highways and roads; new sewage systems and

plants and their impact on ground water, rivers and streams; construction and man power for new fire houses; road maintenance crews and equip-ment. Consider these issues: water quality and quantity; air quality; impact of excessive traffic on our highways and roads; new sewage systems and plants and their impact on ground water, rivers and streams; construction and man power for new fire houses; road maintenance crews and equip-ment; building new schools; hiring teachers and administrators for the new schools; adding new class rooms to existing schools; hiring teachers for those classes; and this list of new financial expenditures goes on and on. The question is who is responsible for paying for all of this new and extremely expensive infrastructure? Not just for the construction, but for all the new equipment and salaries of all these new county em-ployees year after year? The answer- You Are! If you believe you’re paying too much in taxes now, you haven’t seen anything yet. If you love the quality of life you have now, cherish it and implant that into your memory. It may be short-lived. Once you find your water is redirected up strata and contaminated by run-off and sewage; once you discover your children’s education is ad-versely affected by over-crowded class rooms; once you discover just driving to the local grocery store has become more dangerous than a Los Angeles freeway, and once you find you can no longer make ends meet nor afford the quality of life you once en-joyed, then you just might want to get more involved in what your community leaders are up too. Short term fixes often have a long term adverse im-pact on all of us. It’s time to get involved in what Madera County’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors are both doing.

-Frank Griffin-

Mountain Community Resident

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

EDITORIAL TIME FOR A MORATORIUM

Madera County is facing the most serious financial crisis in its history with a $16 million dollar deficit. Cutting County services and jobs may appear as though our Supervisors are responding to the crisis, but their efforts are a day late and offer nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

They say, “Our resources are not unlimited and we all have to sacrifice” which sounds suspiciously like a child desperately crying out for more. More taxes, more fees, more assessments and more ways to take away what little hard earned money we have left.

The problem is Madera County still keeps on spending like there is no tomorrow. Or in this case, a “Day of Reckoning.” What is most frustrating is that most of their so-called revenue generation schemes have destroyed the very foundation of our economic potential.

A CASE IN POINT - Madera County has managed through their special fees and assessments, to bring construction in our mountain community to a screeching halt. A good example is the ridiculous fees the county charges on new construction of a 2,000 sq ft. home. The fees exceeds $20,000 just for the permit to build. Nearly half of this fee is set aside for a so called Highway 41 freeway project which every-one acknowledges is nothing more than a clever taxation scheme. This added fee has driven up construction costs so high that no one is building. And the likelihood of this four-lane freeway ever being built is highly unlikely. The Madera County Su-pervisors have literally destroyed and or bankrupted hundreds of construction related businesses forcing lay-offs of thousands of hard working, tax paying, employees. What good are all these outrageous assessments when no one is building?

It is time for our County Supervisors to declare at least a 5-year moratorium on all special construction and development fees. And, we are not talking about some ri-diculous backdoor deferral program.

WE’RE ASKING FOR A TOTAL MORATORIUM.

It’s time Madera County ends the madness. Help our mountain communities build an atmosphere of growth and prosperity and put our friends and neighbors back to work.

JF Chappel Editor