The Union Democrat 07-15-2015

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READERS' CHOICEAWARDS: 2015 ballot inside today:.

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IN BUSINESS:Columbine Design celebrates 30 years in business; Twain Halte toy store offers old, new and hands-on experience

1 HEMOTHER LODE'S LEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE1854 • SONORA, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESD AY JULY 15, 2015

SonoraRegionalMedical Center

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By LACEY PETERSON

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The Union Democrat

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Fire engineroll-

OVel' —Onefirefighter remains hospitalized after Sunday wreck.A2

Vital statisticsMarriages and deaths recorded in Tuolumne County.A3

Opinion — sB411 clarifies the rights of citizens to photograph and record law-enforcement activities.A4

Maggie Beck / Union Democrat

Shoveling dirt at the Sonora Regional Center Outpatient Pavilion and Cancer Center groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning are (from left) Ron Stearns, Evan Royce, Brenda Forrest, Paul Quiring, George White, Andrew Jahn, Ron Woodall, Michelle Fuentes, Wayne Ferch and Chee Keong Lin.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Tuesday forSonora Regional Medical Center's new $20 million Outpatient Pavilion and Cancer Center, to be built at the corner of Greenley Road and Mono Way. The property, where the future Diana J. White Cancer Institute will be built, was purchased by the hospital in 2013 after Andy's Home Center closed. The Pavilion and Cancer Institute willbe a three-story,64,000-squarefoot facility. Andrew Jahn, Sonora Regional president and CEO, said the services offered will be on par with university medical centers. It will house a state-

of-the-art cancer center with diagnostic imaging, rehabilitation, laboratory and primary care services. It will offer medical oncology, radiation oncology and an infusion center. Dr. Brenda Forrest, hospital chief of staff, said the center will have an enhanced efficiency that will reduce patient wait times. The exam tables in the center will be able tolowertothefloor,sopatients won't have to struggle to get up onto high exam tables, she said. Demolition of the Andy's building will start on Aug. 3, said Gail Witzlsteiner, hospital spokeswoman and executive director of the Sonora Regional Foundation. See CENTER/Back Page

NEWS ELSEWHERE • HISIQRY IN THE MAKING: U.S., Iran, others strike accord limiting Tehran's nuclear efforts.A2 • RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Federal appeals court rules that health care law doesn' t infringe on rights of faith-based nonprofit organizations.A2 • BUS RULES:Feds urge stronger safety guidelines after deadly California crash.A2 • VACCINE FIGHT: California secretary of state gives go-ahead for opponents to collect signatures for a ballot measure to repeal a law that strikes down personal belief exemptions.A2

TUDMainCanal

System called 'Achilles Heel'

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By GUY McCARTHY

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The Pacific Gas & Electric Tuolumne Main Canal, which delivers about 90 percent of north Tu-

NEWS TIPS?

olumne County's water, is one ofthe region'sgreatest

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vulnerabilities to disaster, according to T uolumne Utilities District and coun-

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PHONE: 770-7153,5884534 NEWS: editorluniondemocrat.corn FEATUR ES: featuresIuniondemocrat.corn SPORTR sporls@uniondemocrat.corn EVENTS ANDWEEKENDER: wacke nderluniondemocrat.cor n

LETTEIEk letersIuniondemocrat.corn CALAVERA SBUREAU:770-7197 NEISROOMFAX:532-6451 SUBSCR IBERSERVICES: 533-3614

Sean Carson Union / Democrat

Superintendent Pat Chabot stands in the existing cafeteria kitchen at Sonora High School. The district plans to expand the kitchen and adjoining dining area over the next year with funding from a bond approved by voters.

Completed, in-progress and stalled bond projects highlighted by tour

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

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Fires, landslides and earthquakes are among the threats to the Main Canal, which carries water from Lyons Reservoir on the South Fork Stanislaus River to a network

of ditchesthat serve Columbia, Jamestown, Sonora, Tuolumne and Twain Harte.

By SEAN CARSON

See WATER/ Back Page

The Union Democrat

• Senator Tom Berryhill, R-Twain Harte. State Senate District 14, including Tuolumne County, appointed "caretaker" senator for Calaveras County until 2014 elections. State Capitol, Room 3076, Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 651-4014. District Office: 4641 Spyres, Suite 2, Modesto, CA 95356; 576-6470. • Assemblyman Frank Bigelow, R-O'Neals. Congressional District 5, including Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. Capitol Address: State Capitol, Suite No. 4116, Sacramento, CA 94249-0005. District address: 33-C Broadway, Jackson, CA 95642. Phone: (916) 319-2005 or (209) 2239140.

The Union Democrat

Under ahot morning sun, a youth soccer camp bounds over the Sonora High School field. Below their cleats, the turf — once green and soft — lays crumbling and

Caleveras

Supervisors mull waste and transit

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The sun has baked the synthetic material into a mess of small black gravel-like bits that fill the air with the smell of burnt rubber. "I get home and that stuff is everywhere," said coach Diego Velazquez. "It's in my eyes and my ears and the kids are breathing that stuff. It's not healthy." Velazquez, also the former head coach of Sonora High's Girls Soccer team, knows the field well, and said the condition has made it an unsafe arena for community and school sports. "There's parts where whole chucks aretaken out.Somebody's going toget real hurt," he said. The school's buildings and facilities are making it hard for students to learn, and they deserve a healthy

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Business ..... Calendar..... Comics........ Crime ..........

By TORI THOMAS The Union Democrat

One of several ADA approved ramps was installed at the school this year as part of the $23 million dollar bond measure. and safe environment, said Superintendent Pat Chabot. Repair of some of the problems has fallen to a $23 million bond measure passed by voters in 2012 called Measure J. With the first phase of Measure J construction nearly complete, the

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board moved forward with two more projects — the track and field and cafeteria — last week amid an ongoing legal battle over the school's choice to construct a new pool with Measure J funds. See SCHOOL/Back Page

Weather Page C6

Today: High 96, Low 62 Thursday: High 100, Low 64 Friday:High 99, Low 61

Turning Cancer Patients into Cancer Survivors. OrtiCOLOGISTS:Mussa Banisadre, MD; Mihoko Fujita, MD; Roozbeh Mohajer, MD; Abdal Mojab, MD

To learn more about the Cancer Center call 209-536-5155.

Calaveras County's integrated waste management division is seeking to expand county recycling programs and incorporate organicscomposting. This comes partly after the division found many residents are notrecycling. Jeff Crovitz, county director of PublicWorks, See WASTE / Back Page

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Sonora Regional Cancer Center at Sonora Regional Medical Center ~Adventist Health

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