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Vol. 81, No. 38 ° Feather Publishing Co., Inc. °
FaiP opez s toda£
The Plumas-Sierra County Fair opens today at noon. I~lours today are noon - 10 p.m., free all
day, 12 and under. Thursday and Sunday, the fair is open noon - 10 p.m., with free entry
Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, the fair is open noon - midnight. Regular
daily admission: adults, $5; students (12- 17)and seniors (62~), $4; children (6- 11), $3; family
(five members), $8; children under 6, free. Weekly passes: adults, $10; seniors and students, $8;"
children, $5. For more about fair entertainment and exhibits, see page lB. File photo
,d all of the Indian Valley Area
530-284-7800 • www.plumasnews.com • Wednesday, Aug. 10,2011
50¢
School changes ahead
Alicia Knadler
Indian Valley Editor
aknadler@plumasnews.com
Parents, Booster Club
members, teachers and other
residents of Indian Valley
gathered together for a com-
munity meeting moderated
by Jonathan Kusel, former
trustee with the Plumas
Unified School District.
Also leading discussion
was Guy McNett, a member
of the district-wide facilities
advisory group formed by
Superintendent Glenn Harris.
Although Harris mentioned
school closures when he first
formed the group, he later
tasked them with evaluating
the facilities and suggesting
ways to use them more
efficiently.
When the current classes of
seniors entered kindergarten,
there were about 4,400 stu-
dents enrolled in the district.
When they graduate in
June 2012, enrollment will be
about i,800, he explained.
Since the mid-1990s, some
of the changes in the local
schools include the closure of
an elementary school in the
Canyon and consolidation of
middle and continuation
high schools.
A person from out of the
area moderated the committee.
He's an uninterested party
who is experienced in helping
diverse people reach consen-
sus, McNett added.
Members have toured
school sites during the past
several months.
"We have two elementary
schools within a couple miles
of each other," McNett said.
"Both are only half full
we just can't support that
anymore."
The committee has four
main areas of concern: They
are looking at consolidation
of various schools, looking for
ways facilities could be used
more efficiently, exploring
preventative maintenance
versus crisis management,
and they will discuss school
closures.
Committee members have
been meeting twice per
month and will probably
bring their recommendations
tO Harris and possibly the
board in December.
Meanwhile, a smaller
group of Indian Valley reSi-
dents and stakeholders has
formed to help McNett gather
local input for this process.
Members of this group
include Renee Vanfleet, Kest
Porter, Jason Moghaddas,
John Holland, Lisa Smith
and Wendy Weight.
They will not just focus
on the district issues and
portended school closures;
they will also explore charter
school options.
One of the ideas mentioned
at the forum meeting was to
consolidate all Indian Valley
schools into the high school
facility.
There were several raised
and canted eyebrows, and a
few furrowed brows before
discussion moved on.
The availability of advanced
placement classes was also an
issue, a common one for many
students in Indian Valley.
The schools will open this
fall, but some parents were
disappointed in the lack of
class options available.
The next forum meeting
will be Thursday, Sept. 8,
at 6:30 p.m. in the Indian
Valley Community Center
on Highway 89, about halfway
between Village Drug and
Evergreen Market.
Supervisors make hard choices, layoffs set
Dan McDonald
Staff Writer
dmcdonald@plumasnews.com
The hard decisions have
beep~ made.-
After weeks of discussion
~nd weighing alternatives,
the Plumas County Board of
Supervisors voted to begin
laying off county workers.
"I think we have to issue
some pink slips today,"
SupervisOr Robert Meacher
said, prior to the board
voting unanimously to do so.
"We are doing this with the
hope that perhaps we can
turn it around."
Meacher led the board and
county department heads
through a detailed list of
recommended cuts during
the Tuesday, Aug. 2, meeting.
In addition to layoffs,
which require 30 days'
notice, the board voted to
direct all county general,
fund departments to initiate
furloughs immediately.
The county took these steps
to help close a $1.8 million
budget deficit for the 2011-12
fiscal year.
"We've got to start being
realistic about the (budget)
situation nationally," Board
Chairwoman Lori Simpson
said. "The problem has
come to roost locally and
we have to step up and do
something."
County Budget Officer Jack
Ingstad said the layoffs will
getting layoff notices. We are
"We will all be in here again next year more concerned with how the
fair will operate," Steffanic
looking at, very likely, having to cut said prior to the board's
7 to 10 percent.Jf~_this_ economy d ' t vote. "This is more about the
0estl t .~y.n ........ q.aaliW.oftiTeY.zir.~ ........
around. And I don't think anybody in ~is " The layoff notices will.not
affect this summer's fair.
room has the confidence that it will."
Robert Meacher, County Supervisor
save the county $272,345.
The county has cut 105
positions since the recession
began.
County departments tar-
geted for cuts are the fair,
facility services, information
technology, senior services,
library, code enforcement,
county administrative office
and records management.
Fair operations, which has
been affected by state budget
cuts, received layoff notices
for two of its three full-time
staff, including fair manager
John Steffanlc.
"We are not upset with
However, the board has
stated a reorganization of the
fair operations is necessary
due to the funding cuts from
state.
Steffanic warned that cut-
ting full-time fair staff would
have consequences.
"The product (fair) is
going to fall apart very fast
and we are going to lose
our infrastructure and our
product," Steffanic told the
board.
"And if the state ever does
come back (with funding) --
and I'm sure it will in the
next year or two -- If we
are not ready with our
infrastructure, we are going
to be starting at the bottom of
the curve."
Joe Wilson, director of
facilities, will lose a position
in his department:
"It does suck," Wilson
said bluntly. "And I under-
stand where the county is
at. I think all of the depart-
ments are going to feel
the pain. And we will make
adjustments as needed in
order to stretch our already
thin staff."
The county's administra-
tive office will lose its admin-
istrative assistant position.
Alexus Vaughn and other Wolf Creek 4-H members have their
fair animals available for some petting action from the parking
lot full of kids who came to enjoy an afternoon of fun games
3nd other freebies.
. Joy Hale and Nevaeh Hitson,
above, are two of the first
kids diving face first into a
bowl of whipped cream dur-
ing the annual Kidfest hosted
by the Evergreen Market fam-
ily with participation from
many local organizations and
agencies.
Volunteer firefighter Che
Shannon and Indian Valley
Fire Chief Jim Hamblin have
fun showing kids like Josiah
AIIred how to aim the fire
hose.
Photos by
Alicia Knadler
Records management will
lose its records coordinator.
Information technology
will have a position cut by 75
percent.
Code enforcement will lose
half a position. Libraries
in Chester, Greenville and
Portola will have positions
cut by 25 percent.
Although furloughs were
set to start immediately, they
are still at the discretion of
the respective department
heads.
The sheriff's office has
agreed to cut between
$250,000 and $300,000.
The county is hoping to
save about $700,000 through
concessions by general-fund
employees.
Employee unions and the
county have been negotiating
for weeks. The county is
asking for general-fund
employees to take a 7- to 10-
percent cut.
The cuts could come in the
form of reduced workweeks
(four nine-hour days with
Fridays off) or a reduced
county contribution to their
retirement fund, or possibly
some of both.
A public hearing on the
budget cuts is scheduled for
Tuesday, Aug. 16. The final
budget is scheduled for adop-
tion Sept. 6.
See Budget, page 4A
"i111 Illlll II I!l!!!! ! ! II
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