SIMPLY CLASSIC: Strawberry Shortcake, B 1 MORE IN FOOD:State fair yields wins for foothills wine, B1
INSIDE:Animal cruelty case continues to draw crowds,A3
THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY
JUNE 30, 201 5
Dial-a-Ride
A special thank you to Union Democrat subscriber Dick Southern,of Tuolumne.
TransiI service faces etld a ek
TODAY 'S READERBOARD BRIEFING
By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
Pic of the Week
Fewer people would be eligible to use Tuolumne County's Dial-a-Ride service under a recentlyproposed policy change.
To submit your original photos, email a highresolution jpg file to editorluniondemocrat. corn. Include a caption with information about the photo. Please, no more than one submission per month per photographer. This weekly feature typically runs Tuesdays.A2
To cut costs, county trans-
By GUY McCARTHY
portation off icials are proposing to make Dial-a-Ride available only to military veterans and ADA-certified individuals. The special curb-to-curb service is primarily used by seniors and people with physical or mental disabilities. "We recognizethat about 10 percent of the people who use Dial-a-Ride are not ADA certified," said Darin Grossi, executive director of the Tuolumne County Transportation Council and Transit Agency. "ADA certified means thatyou can'tride traditional publictransportation for cognizant reasons, or you physically can't make it to the bus
The Union Democrat
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Branching out Several events planned at Tuolumne County branch libraries this week.A2
Landmark
dediCatiOn - The Sierra Railway Shops site at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown has become a state registered historical landmark.A3
OplnlOn — Guest opinion from Lisa Mayo, director of marketing for the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau: Bureau has big plans for tourism boost.A4
SPORTS • COOL COMPETIllON: 53 Tuolumne County Aquatics swimmers set 1 24 personal best times at two meets earlier this month.C1 • PHIL COKE:Pitcher and Tuolumne County native signs deal with Oakland A' s.C1 • NASCAR:Kyle Busch grabs first win of year at Sonoma.C1 • SOCCER:U.S.-Germany semifinal features top goalkeepers.C1
Purchasephotos online at www.uniondemocrat.corn
Guy McCarthy /Union Democrat
Peter and Penny Jelito live on about 1 70 acres near Tuolumne with various pine species and five kinds of oaks on their ranch.
Drought: Pines threatened, heartier oaks survive The drought has rendered thousands of trees in the Mother Lode vulnerable to infestation and death. The state Department of Water Resources says 1923-24and 1976-77 are still the Sierra Nevada'sdriest years on record but statewide
a
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20 12-14were California'sdriest three consecu-
tive years. For people who live in densely forested areas of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, the amount of drought-killed and bug-killed trees they see depends on whether they live closer to pines or oaks. Pines, especially gray pine and ponderosa pine, areparticularly susceptibleto drought and infestation, according to tree scientists with Cal Fire and the Stanislaus National Forest. The I ' 'Ap omnivorous mountain pine beetle that can infest severaltypes ofpine and other types ofbeetles are targeting stands of trees up and down the k Sierra Nevada range. However, hearty, drought-resistant oaks that blanketlocations at various elevations across the Mother Lode are not threatened by any known tree-killing insects, said Martin MacKenzie, a pathologist with the Stanislaus National Maggie Beck /Union Democrat Forest. Martin MacKenzie, a tree pathologist with the Stanisla us National Forest, explains how a gray pine is See TREES / Back Page shedding needles grown in 201 2 to conserve water.
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Caave I ras County
Copper vegetation fire burns
5 acres
NEWS ELSEWHERE • VACCINE BILL:Controversial bill headed to Gov. Brown.A6 • EGYPT:Bomb kills country's top prosecutor.A7
About 1 57 county residents are ADA certified, according to Grossi. State law requires the transit agency provide specialtytransportation service to certified individuals only, but not those who are consideredcapable of using the fixed-route bus system. Under the county's current policy, anyone 60 or older is allowed to use the Dial-a-Ride servicefor $3 per trip ifthey live within three-quarters of a mile from a standard bus
Union Democrat stajj"
Fast ForWord
Community support sought for ed program By SEAN CARSON The Union Democrat
A Murphys nonprofit group is looking for funding to expand a computer-based reading program being piloted at two Calaveras County schools. Mind Matters Clinic has offered the learning tool, called Fast ForWord, at its Murphyslocation for eight years. The computer program is one of many servicesthe clinic offers for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/
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ADHD, and learning disabilities. Initial funding for Fast ForWord came through grants, but for next school year the clinic is looking for community donations. Mind Matters pays about $14,000 to run the program in one school, and doesnot charge the districtfor the service. "Grantscan be very restrictive sometimes. We had to modify the program to allow a student to come in on the weekend. A grant wouldn't allow us to do that," said Tasha Unninayar, Mind
Matters Clinic community outreach coordinator. cWith donations, we have a
bit more flexibility." Fast ForWord, developed by Scientific Learning, looks like a video game with sounds and bright graphics and is aimed to improve auditory processing speed, working memory, listening comprehension and other brain functions. An initial assessment calibrates the game to a student's special needs and,
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To d ay: High 10a, Low 65
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A fire burned five acres on Copper Cove Drive in Copperopolis Sunday night. Cal Fire responded to a vegetationfire reported about
8:42 p.m. One structure was threatened but was not damaged. Cal Fire Public Information Officer Lisa Williams said the cause ofthe fire was a vehicle crashing into a power pole and exposing live wires, which ignited the blaze. Several homes in the Paseo Verde Drive-area of CopperoSee FIRE / Back Page
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Are you grieving the loss of a partner, a family member, a friend or any other significant emotional loss?
He sp i e-ef-t c I e r ra
Sierra Grief offers support groups in Murphys, Groveiand 8 Sonora. Fpr ~pye jpfpy~ggjpg
09 536 5685
sonora Regional Medical center ospice of the Sierra
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