SAFETY FIRST: Take yard care Precautions MORE IN SIERRA LIVING:New farmers' market planned,B1
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INSIDE:Columbia Elementary mural complete,A2
1 HE MOl HER LODE'S LEADING INFORMAl ION SOURCESINCE1854 • SONORA, CALIFORNIA g
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SATURDA Y MAY 2, 201
Rim fire
TOD AY'S READER BOARD BRIEFING
U.S. Attorney: Case not strong enough after witness deaths
ting a campfire escape v ious statements ar e n o w and lying to investiga- inadmissible hearsay which ' + dF tors. cannot be used as evidence "Since that time, two in trial," according to a state', 7 t ii ' By AUSTEN THIBAULT eral prosecutorsof starting E merald, 33 , w a s witnesses whom the ment from Wagner's ofllce. The Union Democrat 2013's Rim Fire were dropped indicted by a federal Em erald Go vernment d eemed The first witness died in Friday. grand jury in August necessaryfor the trial February in a workplace acThe charges against a CoFo l l owing the deaths of twofor allegedlyviolatingaforest i n t his case have unexpectlumbia man accused by fed- key witnesses, the case was order banning campfires, let- edly passed away. Their preSee EMERALD / Back Page
Columbia College
not strong enough to convict Keith Emerald, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.
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graduation — About 100 students participated in Columbia College's 46th commencement ceremony, held Friday in Oak Pavilion. Back Page
TuolumneCountv
Cattle drive
Revised jail funding
er ou n
Roundup clueA turncoat provides another diothtf LOd e clue to the whereabouts of the
o r moun ains
plan on agenda
stolen queen iloiiiililiii candidate contracts.Back Page
Tioga Pass — The
PUBLIC MEETING:Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors, 9 a.m. Tuesday, fourth floor, County Administration Center, 2 S. Green St., Sonora.
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pass will open at 8 a.m. Monday, joining Sonora Pass on Highway 108 and Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 for the warm season.A2
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By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to review a revisedfunding plan for a project to build a much-needed new jail. C ounty staff i s "guardedly optimistic" about receiving a $13 million grant this year through a state-funded jail construction program to put toward the jail project, according to meeting documents. Assuming the county
Food drive -The 23rd annual "Stamp Out Hunger" U.S. Postal Service food drive will take place May 9 across the Mother Lode.A2
ROadwOrk -A list
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of roadwork planned in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, includes times, dates, locations and possible delays.A2
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Police cameras
See BOARD / Back Page
— Assembly bill would regulate use of law enforcement body-worn cameras.A3
Purchasephotos online at www.uniondemocrat.corn.
Guy Mcoarthy/UnionDemocrat
Ranchers drive cattle from Pray Ranch to east of Groveland on Highway 132 Friday morning. OplhlOh — Should TUD still fillTwain Harte Lake'?A4
Ranchers face challenges in moving cattle early
SPORTS
By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat
• SOFTBALL:Bailey' s homer lift Bears over Calaveras.C1 • BASEBALL:Bears beat Redskins in six; grow MLL lead.C1 • TENNIS:Bears to host Reds on the road in Sac-Joaquin Section Championships.C1 • BOXING:Pacquiao, Mayweather, will it live up to the hype'?C1 • MLB: Canha, A's top Rangers.C3
Ranchers have been grazing cattle in the Sierra Nevada since before the Forest Serviceand other federal agencies formed more than a century ago, and some of their descendants still do it today. These days they have to get permits from the ForestService to graze certain areas, and theyhave to work with land managers and property owners on the numbers of cattle they can move each spring to higher elevations and greener pastures. This week, local cattleman Tim Erickson, his son Dan Erickson, of Snelling, and several hands began driving about 300 cows and 300 calves from Pray Ranch near Merced Falls up to Kassabaum Meadow east of Groveland. By Friday afternoon they'd made it to Uglow Ranch below Penon Blanco Lookout, west of Coulterville. They hope to reach Kassabaum sometime Monday. "Our normal dates on the forest permits are the 15th of May," Erickson said Friday. "But this year, because it's so dry down here, grass is short and there's pretty good moisture in the mountains, the Forest Ser-
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See CATTLE / Back Page
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Courtney Virgilio, MD Board-Certified Cardiologist
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Calendar.......... Comics............. Crime ............... Obituaries........
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House OKs McClintock water provision Bill would block fed purchases for environmental Rows By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
Republicans in the U.S. House of R epresentatives passed an amendment to a federal appropriations ri, j.
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The cattle drive, on its second day, took ranchers and cattle near Merced Falls. The multi-day drive will end near Kassabaum Meadow.
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use for environmental flow requirements in California waterways. C ongressman Tom M c Clintock, R-Roseville, proposed the amendment that passed 228-183, with only two Democrats voting in fa-
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on Friday that would fo r b id g over n m e n t agencies from
Today:High 90, Low 50 Sunday:High Se, Low 50 Mond ay: High S3, Low 51
See WATER/Back Page
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