Serving the communities of Valley Springs, Burson and Wallace

Oct. 31

Susie Marin has opened Valley Springs Sign & Graphics on Laurel Street near the downtown intersection of Highways 12 and 26.

Downtown shop offers wide variety of signs, other print items

By Nick Baptista

   Valley Springs has a new sign shop catering a wide variety of signage and other print needs.

   Susie Marin opened Valley Springs Sign & Graphics in August on Laurel Street near the downtown intersection of Highways 12 and 26.

   “When the other sign shop closed I saw an opportunity,” Marin said.

   She does full color banners, real estate and construction signs, magnetic signs, posters, window graphics, large format digital printing, business cards, vehicle and boat lettering and graphics, construction plans, T-shirts and more.

   She uses a large-format digital printer and plotter to do the work in her shop.

   Valley Springs Sign and Graphics is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The shop is closed on Thursdays.

   Marin can be contacted at 772-1188 or 918-4665. The shop’s email address is vssigns@att.net.  

State Sen. Dave Cox

State approaching financial disaster says State Senator

By Nick Baptista

   The state is approaching a financial disaster, according to State Sen. Dave Cox.

   Sen. Cox, who represents the residents of the First Senate District, which includes all or portions of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Placer, Plumas, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Sacramento and Sierra counties, issued the assessment at the Oct. 30 meeting of the Rotary Club of West Calaveras.

   The unemployment rate is at 7.7 percent and projected to go up to 9 or 9.5 percent, which will be a financial disaster for the state, he said.

   “We have to get back on track growing jobs,” he added.

   Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set Nov. 5 - the day after the General Election - as the start of an emergency legislative session to address the state budget deficit.

   Cox, a Republican, attributed the flawed budget to a process that gives the minority party no say-so in the initial budgeting process. The only time the minority party has any leverage in budget talks is at the very end when a super majority of two-thirds in necessary for passage, he said.

   The budget process begins in January at the committee level and the Democrats have two members on each subcommittee to the Republican’s one, he said, and the minority’s views generally are ignored at the committee levels.

   Cox said he has been in conversations with Democratic Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the Senate President pro Tempore-elect, to change the process.

   Cox has suggested expanding the number of subcommittees from five to 10 and giving both parties two senators on each committee. Cox believes compromises will be reached at the subcommittee levels and that will translate into the budget being adopted sooner when it reaches the full legislature.

   In addition, Cox advocates changing the state constitution to create a two-year state budget. A two-year process would add a measure of funding stability to government entities such as schools and the counties, he said.

   In regards to the Nov. 4 election, Cox said he is in favor of Proposition 11, which will take state Senate and Assembly redistricting out of the hands of the state legislature and give it to a 14-member citizens commission.

Oct. 29

Power Up! Fitness Studio owner Jennifer Scheidt with her daughters Ginger, center, and Summer. Scheidt has created a family-friendly and supportive environment at the fitness studio and welcomes all fitness levels, men and women.

Power Up! encourages healthy life with exercise

By Nick Baptista

   Power Up! Fitness Studio opened its doors at the beginning of the month in Suite E at 42 Highway 26 and offers a wide variety of activities whether young or mature, man or woman.

   Owner Jennifer Scheidt has been in the fitness business for more than 15 years starting in Santa Cruz.

   “I have a passion to teach and I love to see people excited when they see changes in their body,” she said.

   The studio opens at 8:15 a.m. Monday through Friday and closes as 7 p.m. except for Friday when there are no p.m. classes. Noon to 2 p.m. is quite time at the studio.

   Scheidt is offering 25 classes at the studio ranging from Fitness For Fun, which encourages parents and children to play and exercise together, to Seated Cardio, designed for the maturing population or physically impaired.

   Other classes include Cardio Kickboxing, Praise Moves (a Christian alternative to yoga), Cardio-N-Core, Total Power Sculpt, Ball Pilates and Power Cardio.

   The classes, for all fitness levels, are an hour long. She also has two other instructors to help her with the wide variety of classes.

   The family oriented fitness studio features a childcare room with plenty of toys, but older children are encouraged to exercise with their parents.

   The 2,100-square-foot facility also features special flooring comparable to suspension floors to help absorb the impact on the body during workouts, and a wide variety of exercise equipment including barbells, dumbbells, Versa tubes, mini-Pilates balls, stability balls, hula-hoops, and exercise steps.

   For more information, call the studio at 772-2898.  

Oct. 24

Madam Butterfly's owner Teri Hooper displays some of the clothing and accessories available at her new store.

Women's boutique opening in downtown Valley Springs

By Nick Baptista

   Madam Butterfly’s Unique Fashions & Accessories opened Friday at the corner of Highways 12 and 26, across the street from Good Friends Restaurant.

   Owner Teri Hooper, who has lived in the area since 2004, decided to venture into the fashion boutique business after undergoing heart surgery.

   “The entrepreneur in me said the area needed a nice affordable shop and now was the time,” she said. The shop offers a wide variety of women’s clothing, including evening clothes, jeans, sportswear, Capri’s, dress blouses and sweaters at reasonable prices.

   The list of accessories includes belts, purses, bracelets, hats, tattoo jewelry and scarves.

   Hooper is partnering with Renee Donofrio who will expand the accessories line.

   After Friday’s soft opening, Hooper held Madam Butterfly’s grand opening on Saturday.

   The grand opening included a fall fashion preview and light refreshments.

   The fashion boutique shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

   The telephone number is (209) 772-9300, or (209) 981-2248.  

Oct. 22

Josh, Elizabeth and Rohls Hemmes accept the first-place trophy for the chili cookoff, a part of Saturday’s Community Day in the Park festivities. The Bank of Rio Vista finished second and took the People’s Choice Award, while the Valley Springs Area Business Association took home the plaque for third place.  

Oct. 17

Foothill Fire Protection District Station No. 2 in Valley Springs will be a topic of discussion at next week’s meeting of the Valley Springs Public Utility District Board of Directors. The utility district, which owns the property and has received an offer to sell it to a private interest, will talk to fire district officials about the matter.

Utility, fire districts ponder what to do with VS firehouse

By Nick Baptista

   Two of Valley Springs’ special districts are trying to figure out what to do with the downtown fire station.

   The Valley Springs Public Utility District owns Foothill Fire Protection District Station No. 2 at 129 Highway 12. The utility district leases the property to the fire district for $1 a year.

   However, the utility district has received an offer to sell the property to a private party.

   PUD General Manager Mike Fischer and Foothill Fire Chief Mike Siligo have been in discussions with each other and their boards on the matter.

   The fire district at this time cannot afford to buy the Valley Springs station and the utility district would like to realize more than $1 a year from the property.

   “We’re trying to work something out where it works for both of us,” Fischer said, but he admits it’s new territory for the utility district to explore.

   “We don’t know if we can just sell it to the fire district,” he added.

   The utility district needs to research questions into how it should handle the sale of surplus property, he said.

   “We hope to work this out and come to an agreement,” Siligo said, but the fire protection district at this time does not have $220,000 to match the offer made to the utility district.

   The fire district likes the site because of its quick access to Highways 12 and 26, but has outgrown the existing building. Some of the district’s equipment, such as its ladder truck, cannot be housed in the current station.

   The fire district had been in discussions with developer Ryan Voorhees about a new Valley Springs fire station site in the proposed Ponte Ranch subdivision, but those plans died when the Voorhees project was scrapped.

   If the utility district were to sell the property to the fire district, the station could be modified to meet the fire district’s needs, Siligo said.

   The history of the building also needs to be taken into consideration, he added, since residents financed and built the building to serve as the community’s fire station.

   If the utility district sells the property to a private party and the station is closed, fire district response times in Valley Springs would double as units would have to dispatched from the fire station in Burson, Siligo said.

  “We don’t want the fire district kicked out,” Fischer said.

   Discussion of the fire station situation is on the agenda for the utility district’s next board meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the PUD office at 150 Sequoia Ave. 

Oct. 15

Financial Advisor Chris Schurawel refers to a chart that shows the Stock Market's major ups and downs since the Great Depression.

Advisor: Main Street "cautiously riding out storm" on Wall Street

By Nick Baptista

   The woes on Wall Street this past week have kept one man busy on main street Valley Springs.

   Although stock prices have taken a tumble, Financial Advisor Chris Schurawel of the Edward Jones office in Valley Springs said most of his clients have stayed invested in the market.

   The past week has been a hectic one for Schurawel, who saw call volume to his office triple as the Dow Jones Industrial average slipped to a low of 8,451.19 by Friday.

   Last week was the worst ever for the Dow, which lost 1,874 points, or 18.2 percent, erasing $612 billion in market capitalization. The index also saw its most volatile day ever, swinging 1,000 points in Friday's session.

   Schurawel was in the office by 6:30 a.m. most of last week as the market continued to slide each day, prepared to handle those calls and making his own calls to clients.

   Overall, Schurawel said his clients were "cautiously riding out the storm." In all, 90 percent remained invested in the market and most of those clients have a long-term investment horizon, he said.

   The recent crisis in the financial markets points to the importance of having a diversified investment portfolio with not only stocks, but bonds and cash reserves, Schurawel said, something he stresses as a financial advisor.

   In addition, at the beginning of any investment relationship with a client, Schurawel said he gauges the client's tolerance for risk.

   Fear had entered into last week's sell off, Schurawel said, and he was cautioning clients against pulling out in the middle of a panic.

   Schurawel expected the market to rebound, but not by as much as the 900-plus gain on Monday.

   The Dow closed at 9,388, a one-day 11.1 percent gain from Friday's closing numbers.

   "Most are feeling validated they didn't pull the plug," he said, and one of his investors saw it as an opportunity to buy.

   Pinpointing the bottom of a market is impossible, Schurawel added, but investors see some high growth companies looking very attractive at current prices.

Oct. 10

Last Wednesday's Candidates Night in Valley Springs drew an audience of approximately 50 voters to hear Zerrall McDaniel and Gary Tofanelli's views on local issues.

Supervisor candidates voice subtle distinctions

By Nick Baptista

   District 1 voters looking for differences between the two candidates running for supervisor had to dig deep to find some nuggets of distinction at Wednesday’s Candidates Night hosted by The Valley Springs News.

   One question posed by an audience member to candidates Zerrall McDaniel and Gary Tofanelli said, “The two of you sound a lot a like to me tonight. You must disagree on some issues. To help me understand better, please answer the question which current supervisor do you most agree with.”

   Both candidates managed to sidestep the question, with McDaniel saying she has agreed with all five supervisors from time to time, while Tofanelli said he wants to work with all four supervisors and did not want to take sides.

   Both agree something needs to be done immediately to clean up Cosgrove Creek and reduce the potential of flooding in the area. Tofanelli said he would form a coalition of concerned citizens to trek to federal offices on a regular basis if necessary to convince those officials to issue permits for the clean up.

   The pair agreed it was important for the county to continue funding public transportation, especially now as gas prices have increased and many people are out of jobs and can’t afford to run their cars.

   Both outlined their support for a Delta College satellite campus in Valley Springs. McDaniel, a member of the Calaveras Unified School District Board of Trustees, said the district would offer several portables being replaced at Toyon Middle School to the five-acre site the Coe family has offered to Delta, while Tofanelli said he has been working behind the scenes to convince Delta to accept the free five acres, although college officials have reservations the site is too small.

   Tofanelli said research supplied to Delta officials shows other community colleges have five-acre satellites and if Delta does not take advantage of the offer, other colleges such as Columbia, should be approached.

   The two candidates were reluctant to show their cards concerning the proposed Trinitas development. The project off of Ospital Road calls for a clubhouse, lodge and gated community surrounding an 18-hole golf course that was built without an environmental review.

   Tofanelli said the county is at legal risk whether the board votes for or against the proposal and he would follow the guidance of the county’s attorneys on the matter.

   McDaniel said the county’s handling of Trinitas was “a formula for failure” and “county leaders need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

   Both candidates said they were against the trio of billboards proposed off Highway 12 between Burson and Valley Springs. Both said they would not like to see the matter go to litigation. McDaniel said she did not believe it was too late to speak with the billboard company and reach an agreement that would take into account citizens’ concerns, while Tofanelli said the applicant was following the law and it is the county ordinance that needs to be changed.

   Both said changing the sign ordinance would be high on their priority list, but Tofanelli cautioned that total elimination of billboards might be impossible. McDaniel said an updated ordinance should encourage signs to follow a historical “Gold Rush” era theme similar to the Calaveras Chamber of Commerce’s welcome signs at the county line featuring enlarged ore carts.

   Hiring additional county staff to complete the necessary paperwork to obtain a complete allotment of $1.2 million in Proposition 40 parks and recreation funding also received the blessing of both candidates.

   Neither balked at diverting 10 percent of the funds from recreation projects to staffing.

   “As a businessman you need to spend money to make money,” Tofanelli said.

   Although McDaniel said she had some reservations about spending the 10 percent on staffing, she did not want to jeopardize the bulk of the funding.

   On the question of re-opening the Sheriff’s Department’s substation in Valley Springs, both candidates said public safety is a top priority and they would work toward re-opening the office. McDaniel said she has spoken with CUSD Superintendent Jim Frost and the school district has office space they can offer the sheriff’s department.

   Tofanelli said he has concerns about too many holes in the department’s radio communications system and he would work diligently to upgrade the system.

   Road repairs were also called into question. Both agree the county needs to better inform the public about road projects, the sooner, the better. They also questioned the rational in determining which roads are repaired.

   The need for a traffic signal at the downtown intersection of Highways 12 and 26 was also questionable, both candidates said.

   They were in favor of exploring other alternatives.

   McDaniel said a signal would ruin the downtown, while Tofanelli said a mile of roadway linking Hogan Dam Road with Lime Creek Road would alleviate most of the existing congestion during rush hour.

   A video of the Candidates Night can be seen at www.thepinetree.net.  

Oct. 8

Sitting in front of the goat bridge at the Dodasa Ranch Pumpkin Patch are, from left, Sara Parker, Dawn Parker, Riley Barney with Buttercup, and Don Parker.

Family ready to start a Halloween tradition

By Nick Baptista

   A variety of activities await families as the Dodasa Ranch Pumpkin Patch opens on Friday for its inaugural season.

   Dodasa Ranch owners Don and Dawn Parker want to make a visit to their pumpkin patch a Halloween season tradition. The pumpkin patch is located 1.4 miles south of Highway 12 on Burson Road and Carol Lane.

   In addition to grabbing a soon-to-be-jack-o-lantern from the seven acres planted in pumpkins, visitors can pan for gems, or visit a petting corral with a wide variety of animals including chickens, ducks, emus, geese, goats, horses, llamas, pigs, and even a buffalo.

   There is a catch-and-release fishing pond at the ranch and a hay bale maze. A tractor tire pyramid and giant slide also await visitors, along with a kiddies cow train and hayrides to and from the pumpkin patch.

   Visitors entering the ranch will be greeted by a wide variety of scarecrows, all vying for the public's votes to win the honor of best scarecrow.

   The Parkers, who bought the ranch in 2002, had offers to subdivide the property for housing, but want to make it an agri-tourism site eventually open nine months out of the year. They are in the process of obtaining a winery license and plan to make the former chicken farm someday resemble an old western town.

   Beginning this Friday, the pumpkin patch will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 2.

   Oct. 24 to 26 is Wallace/Burson Weekend sponsored by the Wallace Burson Association and will include games, activities and entertainment. Visitors during the weekend are asked to bring non-perishable food items for the WBA's annual holiday food basket drive.

   To add to the festivities at night, the Rotary Club of West Calaveras is sponsoring haunted hayrides the evenings of Oct. 24, 25, 26 and 31, and Halloween will be especially entertaining as the Parkers host safe-and-sane trick-or-treating on Oct. 31. Those festivities will include a costume contest.

   Fresh baked pies and other refreshments, including beer and wine will be available at the pumpkin patch.

   Group and school field trips are also available by appointment from Tuesdays through Thursdays.

   Formerly the Nunes Ranch, the Parkers added the first two letters from their first names and their daughter Sara's to come up with Dodasa.

   For additional details, visit www.dodasa.com.  

Oct. 1

Crews were busy installing artificial turf last week at Toyon Middle School.

Toyon's new field expected to be ready later this month

By Nick Baptista

   A field of dreams is being installed at Toyon Middle School.

   Crews from Beyond the Barn, ProGrass, SDS Grading and John Allen Construction have been busy the past few weeks at the lower field on the campus and last week work began to roll out the new, green artificial turf.

   Project Manager Donald Kountz of Beyond the Barn said the lower field should be completed by Oct. 20.

   “It’s moving along pretty good,” he said.

   In all, 19 people are working on the project.

   In addition to the new full-sized field for football and soccer use, a 440-yard synthetic, oval track will begin to take shape in a few days, Kountz said. The field will be fully lined for the area’s youth sports, which are expected to begin using the field shortly.

   Toyon’s artificial surface differs from the one installed at Calaveras High School, Kountz said. The Toyon field has less of the rubbery feel as the turf at the high school.

   ProGrass is based on the East Coast where their artificial turf is very popular, Kountz said. The installation at Toyon will be one of the firm’s first in California.

   In addition to the new track and field, a block retaining wall and concrete curbing have been installed between Toyon’s lower and middle fields, and four-foot fencing is also being installed.

   Kountz expects work will begin in January to install artificial turf on the middle field. It will be identical to the lower field turf, but it will not include a track.

   All of the portables adjacent to the middle field will be moved except for one pair, which Kountz, who serves on the local soccer board, hopes to use for construction of a snack bar. The snack bar would be for the use by all of the youth sports organizations using the fields.

   Volunteers will be needed to transform the portables into a snack bar. Volunteers can contact Kountz at (209) 223-1575.