CHAMPIONSHIPS: Bears,'Cats, Lady Reds chase prize MORE IN SPORTS:Wildcat tennis duo gets win in Stockton, C1
AND INSIDE:Teacherawarded for life-saving rescue,A5
THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
FRIDAY
MAY 8, 201
TOD AY'S READER DOARD BRIEFING
Mother lodeRoundup
Rim fire
Para e re arationsun erwa
Logging
By AUSTEN THIBAULT
Traveling pianist — William Dragun,8, of Jamestown, plays the piano during lunch Thursday at theTuolumne County Senior Center in Sonora.A2
nora at 10 a.m. Saturday. serviceofFered for the fi rst tim e Thousands are expected to show for this year. the parade and following rodeo at the The parade — touted as among nearby Mother Lode Fairgrounds. the biggest in the state — will For the first time, Tuolumne County kick o6'the 58th annual Roundup weekend through downtown SoSee ROUNDUP / Back Page
IIOtherLO Oe aged tomake use ofa &ee trolley
The Union Democrat
Tuolumne County's biggest event, the Mother Lode Roundup P arade and Rodeo, i this eekend, and attendees are encour-
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challenge returns to court By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat
Cal Fire —Heavy equipment training underway west of Angels Camp; operators are working near Fowler Peak Lookout.A3
A
Cave, mineactivi'tleS —Cave and Mine
Adventures will provide free activities for moms on Mother's Day at Black Chasm Cavern, California Cavern and Moaning Cavern Adventure Park.A3
They mere at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas mhen the deadly 7.8-magnitude temblorstruck less than 100 miles amay.
ging to remove trees burned
during the 2013 Rim Fire because they claim California spotted owls live in and near burned areas in the Stanislaus National Forest where logging is underway. California spotted owls are not listed as threatened or endangered by the Forest Service or National Park Service, but the state Department of Fish and Wildlife considers them a"speciesofspecialcon-
Seen andHeard — This week's photo opinion asks, "What is your favorite thing about the Mother Lode Roundup' ?"A3
OPlnIOn — Local Views question and answer with water expert John Mills.A4
Highway 108 crash — A two-car crash backed up traffic on Highway 108 at Stockton Road during the early morning commute Thursday.AS
COMMUNITY • ICES:Evelyn Thompson, the leader of Infant/ Child Enrichment Services since its inception, plans to retire Aug. 31.B1 • BRING IN THE TROOPS:Girl Scouts looking for members, volunteer leaders.B1 • VETS' CORNER: The House Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing investigating mismanagement allegations at the Philadelphia and Oakland VA Regional Offices.B1 • PICNIC PLANNING: Committee seeks veterans, vendors and volunteers.B1 • FLASHBACK:The Union Democrat shares an unidentified Mother Lode Roundup Parade file photo. Do you remember?B4 • RELIGION: Upcoming events and outreach in the Mother Lode.B3
NEWS TIPS? PHONE: 770-7153,9$4534 NEWS: editoroun)ondemocrat.arm FEATUR ES: featuresIuniondemocrat.cor n SPORTS: sportsIuniondemocratcom EVENTS ANDWEEKENDER: waakenderluniondemocrat rxrm lETTH8)a(tarsOuniondemocratrxrm CAlAVERAS BUREAU:770-7197 NE)NSR OOMFAX:532-6451 SUBSCR IBERSERVICES: 533-3614
By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
A trio of Sonora residents were walking out of a temple at a 500-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monastery on a secluded plateau in the Nepalese Himalayas when the shaking began shortly before noon on April 25. "Here we are standing in the doorway of this ancient temple with everyone milling around in the courtyard, and then this rumbling starts," said Steve Brougher. 'Then it became so violent, it was a whole notch above anything we' ve ever experienced."
Brough er
and his wife, Peggy Dylan, along with the couple's longtime &iend, Donna Bach, had fiown in a charteredhelicopterfrom the capital city of Kathmandu to the remote Serang Gompa monastery, near the border with Tibet, just one day prior to a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Nepal and killed more than 7,500 people. Their trip to Nepal began April 15 was part of a "spiritual journey" for Dylan's company, Sundoor, which teaches fir ewalkin an d s p i ritual workshops. The company has hosted similar trips to other places in the past, such as Peru last year. They were joined on the recent trip to Nepal by nine
cern.
Tuolumne County officials and others have staunchly opposedlegal actions against the salvage logging project See LAWSUIT /Back Page
/' I
r JesseJones /Union Democrat (above);Peggy Dylanand SteveBnwgh er / Courtesy photo (below)
Sonora residents (from left) Peggy Dylan, Steve Brougher and Donna Bach were all in Nepal during the devastating earthquake that struck on April 25. Shringi Himal, a peak in the Nepalese Himalayas, towers behind the library at Serang Gompa, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist monastery (below).
from Texas and eight &om Great Britain. Brougher recalls he and his wife being the last ones from their group to exit the temple atSerang Gompa, about 12,000feet above sea level, when the earthquake hit. He walked out to see avalanches and large boulders coming down the gigantic, 22,000-foot peaks surrounding them. "You could hear ofF in the distance ice and rocks cracking ofF the peaks," he said. "It became kind of frightening because you thought, What' s going to come down on top of us? "The peaks look like they' re
The Union Democrat a
A 20 percent chance of showers isforecast to continue through tonight in the M other Lodebefore clearing with mostly sunny weather in timefor Roundup Parade and Rodeo events Saturday in Sonora. Daytime highs in the mid70s are expected Saturday, and more sunny weather is predicted Sunday for the Mother's Day Breakfast, Cowboy Church, Wrangler Day, Kiddie Rodeo and full rodeo
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events.
The storm &ont that moved across the Central Sierra on Thursday brought 0.12 inch of rain to Columbia, 0.35 inch near Groveland and 0.49 inch near Murphys in a six-hour period, according to d ata gathered by the N ational Weather Service. Snow as deep as 6 inches blanketed th e S t anislaus National Forest below elevations of 5,000 feet, including
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See NEPAL / Back Page
Calendar.....................................A2 O b ituaries........ Comics........................................C5 Opinion............ Community/Religion................ B1 Sports............... Crime ..........................................A5 TV......................
Skies to clear in time for weekend By GUY McCARTHY
others, including one person
In '
c o n tentious l a w suit
that has the Forest Service, Tuolumne County, loggers and other Rim Fire recovery stakeholders united against a challenge from environmental groups is expected to resurface Monday in San Franciscofederalcourt. Environmentalists, including the Center for Biological Diversity, want to stop log-
See WEATHER/ Back Page
Today:High 74, Low 50 Saturday:High S1, Low 51 Sunday:High S2, Low 47
Weather Page C6
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