SUMMER SALAD: Shrimp, mango make cool meal MORE INSIDE:Food byJude— Turn of thebarbecue,turn ontheslow cooker;Roastedchickpeasa crunchy,sal tysnack,B1
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1HE MOl HERLODE'S LEADING INFORMATION SODRCE SINCE1854 • SONORA, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY
AUGUST 4, 201
Big CreekFire
A specialthank you to UnionDemocrat subscriber Bob Severson,of Sonora.
TODAY 'S REABiRBOA RB BRIEFING
Vilmur denied release on own recognizance Officials report blaze 95 percent contained land area, was arrested July 30 and charged with recklessly causing a
By TORI THOMAS The Union Democrat
fire ofa structure or forest land, a
felony. Cal Fire officials said the fire startedfrom burning debris. Dressed in a striped jumpsuit, Vilmur appeared via video conference &om Tuolumne County Jail. Provost said Vilmur's bond was set at $100,000due totheseverity ofthe case. "The fact that they have actually
Tuolumne CountySuperior Court Judge Eleanor Provost declined t o c h ange a $100,000 bond for a woman accused of
Pic of the Week-
starting the Big Creek Fire, and scolded the woman for requesting Vil mur she be released on her own recognizance. Lisa Ann Vilmur, 43, of the Grove-
To submit your original photos, email a highresolution jpg file to editor I uniondemocrat. 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
See VILlYIUR / Back Page
tions were called for in the Hells Hollow area, law enforcement and fire offic ials said.Highway 120 re-opened The Big Creek Fire that scorched and evacuations were lifted Thursday. m ore than 200 acresofforestlastweek Investigators determined the cause near Hells Hollow east of Groveland of the fire to be an escaped debris fire, was considered95 percent contained Cal Fire officials said. A suspect, Lisa as ofMonday afternoon, according to Ann Vilmur, 43, was arrested ThursCal Fire. day evening on suspicion of one count The fire broke out about 4:30 p.m. of recklessly causing a fire, a felony Wednesday near Sprague Road East, violation of Penal Code 452(c). threatening about 25 homes and Restrictions on debris burning have prompting the closure of Highway 120. Temporary voluntary evacuaSee FIRE / Back Page By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat
City Council
BRET HARTE AG PROGRAM
Decision to cut South County planning group defended.A2
District eyes 7-plus acre land purchase
Sonora, Walmart prevail in lawsuit
Fatal accident-
By SEAN CARSON
By ALEX MacLEAN
Motorcyclist dies in Arnold accident.A3
The Union Democrat
The Union Democrat
This time of year drivers on Murphys Grade Road in Angels Camp may witness a flock of sheep grazing near the Bret Harte Union High School's Dorroh Field The flock, which can in-
Tuolumne County Superior Court Judge James Boscoe has ruled in favor of the City of Sonoraand Walmart in a long-standing lawsuit holding up expansion plans for the mega-retailer's Sanguinetti Road store. City Attorney Byron Smith announced the July 20 judgment to th e Sonora City Council at Monday's meeting. The plaintiff, a mostly anonymous group called Tuolumne Jobs and Small Business Alliance, has 60 days &om the date of the ruling to file an appeal. "After that, it will be up to
Planning Commission-
OPlnlOn —There's nothing academic about campus rape; Fighting climate change for real. A4
spoRTs • YOUTH FOOTBALL: Junior Bears to practice at Thorsted Field.C1 • NFL: Raiders' McKenzie optimistic in fourth year; Dial could be big part of 49ers defensive line.C1 • MLB: Giants can' t holdoffBraves;A's lose to Orioles.C1-3
NEWS ELSEWHERE • WASHINGTON:T he Senate blocked a Republican drive to terminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood. AS • SACRAMENTO:A union-backed proposal to raise California's minimum wage to $15 an hour cleared.AS • TURKEY:U.S. armed drone flights to begin. A5
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crease to more than 60 in
the spring, spends most of its time at the school agriculture program facility nearby. Throughout the year, the space will also house 500 to 600 chickens and several dozen rabbits. All cram into the roughly 2-acreplot ofland tucked behind the school's sports fields. But the sun-baked rolling hills across the road may soon open up as a new home for both the animals and the students who care
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Walmart to determine when
assed caj-
or if they want to startbuilding," Smith said in an interview after the meeting. Walmart wants to expand the store by 30,000 squarefeetto startselling more produce and grocery items, but the lawsuit challenging the city'sapproval of the project has kept those plans in limbo for nearly five years. In October 2010, the council approved the plans and exempted Walmart from having to complete a potentially costly and time consuming reportevaluating theproject's environmental, cultural and economic impacts. Though the city had started such areport for the project, Sonora resident Jim Grinnell gatheredsignatures for a lo-
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for them.
The Bret Harte Union High School District Board of Education has eyed the 7.73-acre parcel over the summer, and on Monday made serious moves to-
ward finalizing its purchase. The board Monday came close to approving the purchase, but tabled the decision to allow for a public hearing on the acquisition at its meeting Aug. 14. Superintendent Michael Chimente said the state requires the district to publicly post the purchase 10 days before moving forward. The land is appraised at
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cal initiative to exempt the
project &om the requirement. The initiative, written by Walmart,required 15 percent of about2,500 registered voters in the city to sign a petition. Tuolumne Jobs and Small Business Alliance filed suit
$75,000. The board did accept Monday the donationof Purchasephotos online at www.uniondemocrat.corn Sean Carson /Union Democrat 0.86 acres of neighboring A cow grazes on property off Murphys Grade Road in Angels Camp that the Bret Harte Union High School District is looking to purchase to expand the SeeLAND / Back Page school's agriculture program.
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