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March 16, 2011     Indian Valley Record
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March 16, 2011
 
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Indian Valley Record Wednesday, March 16, 2011 5A Visitors Bureau reports tourism numbers up Joshua sebold Staff Writer ,:- jsebold@plumasnews.com Plumas County Visitors Bureau Director Suzi Brakken delivered good news about local tourism to the Board of Supervisors at a meeting Tuesday, March I. Brakken reported transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue and walk-in visits to her department were both up by 4 percent, while e-mail and phone calls to her agency were up I0 percent and visits to the visitors bureau website were up 17 percent cOmpared to the prior year. SJ1e explained the TOT number was about $100,000 short of the highest on record, which came in 2007, but represented a bounce back after dropping 4 percent in 2008 and 9 percent in 2009. "This certainly is an indicator that things are better and hopefully on the way up," she concluded. In a short interview, the director explained the differ- ence between her report of a 4 percent growth in TOT and County Administrative Officer Jack Ingstad's recent report of a 10 percent growth. She said the visitor's bureau always requested the TOT numbers as late, as possible in the fiscal year to make sure the majority of tax returns were in, while the county requested the numbers at mid-year, mean- ing late payments weren't collected yet. Essentially the county needs to get a preliminary number to make mid-year ad- justments, meaning Brakken's number is likely more accu- rate. Back at the meeting, Brakken said the Web visit number was rebounding from a 5 percent drop in the previous year., The director also reported that people used her web- sites' occupancy report page to link to websites for local accommodation providers 8,062 times in 2010. Brakken said the two highest traffic days on the website were the Monday and Tuesday before the Fourth of July weekend. Her annual report added that the highest month for walk-in visits was October, when a "record-setting". 753 walk-in visitors were tracked. The report also indicated articles in Via magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle created nearly a 300 percent increase in contacts tracked to publicity, with the number of e-malls and phone calls re- sponding to articles jumping from 140 to 411, also a record. The director explained the largest strides were likely made on the Internet, where the agency's e-mail news- letter recipient list grew from 3,436 addresses to 4,090, while Facebook fans jumped from 264 to 776 and Twitter followers ascended from 495 to 625. Brakken said 40 percent of e-malls and phone calls were generated by the website, 22 percent came from referrals or return visitors, 18 percent were regarding inquires about specific events like the High Sierra Music Festival or fall foliage, and 18 percent were in response to publicity. Graeagle Supervisor Jan Kennedy asked who managed the social media aspects of the visitors bureau cam- .paigns. Brakken said she and information specialist Karl Underwood split that duty. "Facebook, I believe, is a ridiculous tool, I mean it's so good," Kennedy com- mented, before asking what Brakken's strategy was for cultivating a larger audience through the social network- ing site. "Not a lot other than having it on our website," Brakken answered. "Because I think there's some room there to get the word out a lot more," Kennedy continued. "Yeah, it's one of those things. I don't want to be overly pushy when it comes to Facebook," Brakken re- sponded. "--the most effective social networking tool in the un'i- verse?" Kennedy queried. "Well let me just tell you, I had a big conversation with a guy from Facebook because we attend some train',rags and he looked at our Facebook and he said 'you haven't post- ed in three days,'" Brakken explained. "He said you should be posting something every day, and not everybody wants that. i,m not so sure. It's a strategy, certainly, bu.t I think it could get overdone." "The numbers that you have on Facebook, they seem like a good increase, but given Facebook's success, that's not that good so I think there is a lot of room for more Face- book," Kennedy persisted. "Keeping in mind we have 665 people visiting the website every day," Brakken responded. "I've been critical of Face- book in the past and I'll admit it," Quincy Supervisor Lori Simpson added. But "the younger generation, they're all wired. That's how they communicate." Water quality :esl:s show Lake Almanor s00ill healthy M. Kate West Chester Editor chesternews@plumasnews.com Public knowledge about the overall health of Lake Alma- nor was greatly increased when the Almanor Basin Watershed Advisory Commit- tee (ABWAC) met March 9. Peninsula resident Aaron Seandel, who has long been involved with the local and county level water quality program, offered his fellow members a brief synopsis of the program and most recent report: the health of the lake is satisfactory. "In summary, the lake is still pretty healthy and the temperature has not varied too much." Seandel said the lake moni- toring included reports about .d, INFLUX,ro= page 1A "Maybe with the DUI part of it, but we're seeing bur- glaries for people to steal those out of retirees' houses, people that are selling them." "We had one who came along, somebody who had 400 pills in their pocket. I mean they're not going to take 400 hydrocodone pills." "We're starting to see the effects of it, just very damag- ing to young folks -- very addictive -= and something we're really trying to watch." temperature, dissolved oxy- gen, electrical conductivity, turbidity, zooplankton, phyto- plankton and Secchi depth. Another topic broached by Seandel was cyanobacteria. He said, "This is a health fac- tor to be concerned about but no one is at risk right now." Also known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria can be found in many environments, including fresh- and sea- water, moist soil and even animal fur. The bacteria are best known for their widespread and visible bloom that resembles blue-green paint or scum. In citing cyanobacteria as a health factor, Seandel talked about the toxicity associated with the blooms, which have led to closures of recreational areas. The Hollister doctrine On his personal philo- sophy, Hollister told the board, "Politics stay out of the courtroom." The DA said this meant he would never have an answer for questions like "What's your policy on methamphetamine sales? What's your policy on murder, or child molest?" "That's not fair to the system. It's not fair to the defendant. It's not fair to the victim." "We look at each case individually," he concluded. He specifically spoke about the toxic effect the bacteria have on human cells and organs such as the liver. No further information was given on this topic, but Seandel did indicate that cyano-bacteria, like the quagga and zebra mussels, would remain a focus of ABWAC. As to future water quality testing, Seandel said the com- mittee has $6,000 available. He also said a homeowners association gave $5,000 for monitoring. He anticipates the 2011 study may cost more than $11,525. ABWAC meets on the sec- ond Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the dining area of the Best Western Rose Quartz Inn on Main Street. For more information about water quality testing call Emily Creely at 284-1022 or visit SierraInstitute.us I I -Roofing-Electrical I / I_ J I somebody who can. t B EATTY °cant r q uildi zg Contractor I I I I  "'= "" "---'-- (530) 283-2035 | | Richard K, Stockton, CLU ChFC, Agent Insurance Lic. #0868653 Providing Insurance & Financial Services 65 W. Main St., Quincy, CA 95971 (530) 283-0565 Fax (530) 283-5143 • www.richardst0ckton.us WE LIVE WHERE YOU LIVE I'm your agent for that. Having me as your agent means having a real person there to help you when you need it. So when accidents happen, you have someone you can trust to get the job done right, and right away. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." CALL FOR A QUOTE 24/7. 00StateFarm 1001177 $tete Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company : Stets Farm Indomnlw Company. Bloomington; IL : :i = ...... :'ii! The latest .water quality tests show that Lake Almanor's health is satisfactory. In 2010, five stations (sq uares) in Lake Almanor were selected for water quality testing during the months of April (spring turnover), July and August (heavy recreation months) and November (fall turnover). The circles mark sampling station locations foi'Lthe Lake Almanor Watershed WterQuality Report prepared by CH2M HILL in April 21)0.Map courtesy Sie'rra Institute for Conmu'nity and Environment t CELEBRATE EARTH DAY 20111 Electronic Recycling ,_.Recycle Your E-Waste for Free! TVs, Monitors, Electronics f @Q?.,.(_ (- (no hazardous waste or appliances)  - " , •  r ,I k Saturday, March 26, 201.1 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at each of the following Waste Management sites: Quincy- Abernethy Lane Chester- Hwy 36 &A-13 t Greenville--Greenville Dump Road Feather River Disposal, Inc.. • 530-283-2004 Serving Quincy, Greenville, Chester/Lake Almanor WAIITIi lilAlll/Mlllilli?