GRIDIRON GOLD: Football contest kicks off today! MORE INSIDE:White Pines Logging Jamboree celebrates 20 years,A2
Snapshots of the Strawberry Music Fest, B6
THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
Acrisis ofhope
A special thank you to Union Democrat subscriber Bruce Hill, of Jamestown.
TODAY 'S REABiRBOA RB
Agencies workto reduce suicides
BEHIND THE SCENES
'n %l%
t
BRIEFING C
By LACEY PETERSON The Union Democrat
Pic of the WeekTo submit your original photos, email a highresolution jpg file to editor@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
Purchase photos online at www.uniondemocrat.corn
Maggie Beck /Union Democrat
Gaffer Alicia Robbins (right) holds the clapper board as actor Blake Heron prepares to film a scene in Tuolumne'sLonghorn Steakhouse and Saloon. •
•
Revitalization
continues — Jame-s town's Rocca Park gets new movie kiosk.A3
South countyAgencies working to improve South county services.A3
By SEAN CARSON The Union Democrat
Angels Camp — IDonation saves Christmas event.A3
OplnlOn —Kate Steinle's parents strike back; Prop. 47 looking like a well-intentioned blunder.A4
Weekend fires — A couple of small vegetation fires were contained early Monday morning in Tuolumne and right outside of Calaveras County.AS
FOOD & DRINK • EATING WELL: Creamy pesto chicken salad with greens is tops.B1 • CHILL OUT:Tiy this recipe for Cucumber, Ginger and Prosecco Sangria.B1 • ON-THE-GO:Cheesy Egg, Avocado and Bacon Sandwich.B1 • MARIO BATALI: An Italian take on gritsjust add polenta.BS • SERIOUSLY SIMPLE: Henry's at theFarm Honey Glazed Shrimp.B6
Film crews set up shop in Tuolumne County last week, to use a historic bar as thebackdrop for the pilot episode of a television series about friendship, addiction, and life in a small town. A crew ofabout 15 arrived last Tuesday for a fi ve-day shoot at the Longhorn Saloon on Chestnut Street in Tuolumne. The hour-long show, "Dive," follows two friends: Steve, the new owner of a struggling bar, and Mark, a recovering addict fresh out of rehab who comes to help him run the place. The pilot is written and directed by former Oakdale resident Matthew Lopes and produced by David McAbee formerly of Modesto. Both now live in Los Angeles. "It'sdark at times, but there's a lotofgood gags,despite the subject matter," Lopes said. Four years in the making, the projectraised just over $1,400 through an online fundraiser in 2013 and attracted a manager to help pitch the show to the FX
See SUICIDE/Back Page
I(a n
Actress Curta Schlarbaum goes over a scene with writer/director Matthew Lopes. Networks, Lopes said. "(The manager) kept suggesting we change the location f'rom a small town to big city," said Lopes. "But, I grew up in Oakdale down the hill and the one thing I wouldn't fold on and my main argument was: This is a story about people in small towns. We realized we had good friends and family who lived up here, so we
called in every favor we had...that' s how we met John." John Draper, owner of the Longhorn Saloon since 1977, listed the businessfor sale on Craigslist earlier this year, where Lopes saw the ad. "It was the first location we saw See SHOW/Back Page
Dry wells linked to mining areas By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
Tuolumne County officials tracking the number of private wells going dry due to the four-year drought have found that many areas with the highest concentrations are in parts of th e county
where historic gold mining activity is known to have occurred.
Authorities: Wright's
Tire fire suspicious be intentionally started. "It was mainly to the outside of the building in a Sonora Police are inves- storage area," Rhoades said, tigating a suspicious fire at adding that the storage cona South Washington Street tained old tires. tire business that firefightRhoades said the blaze ers battled Saturday night. was fully contained at 11:48 Sonora Fire Department p.m. u It didn't get i n t o t h e Captain Kurt Rhoades said the fire broke out at Wright's building at all," he said. TireServicesat 10:41 p.m. Saturday and appeared to See FIRE / Back Page By TORI THOMAS The Union Democrat
SPORTS • CROSS COUNTY: Sonora off to fast start. C1 • VOLLEYBALL: Wildcats strong at High Sierra invitational in Reno.C1 • NFL: Previews for the 49ers and Raiders.C1
Suicide has been a problem in Tuolumne County for a long time, and local prevention workers are working hard to bring the taboo subject out of the dark and keep people alive. About 1 in 20 people in Tuolumne County, or 2,700 people, will have suicidal thoughts at some point in their life, according to Suicide Prevention Task Force member Martha Golay, of the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, and YES Partnership. In 2007, Tuolumne County's suicide rate was twice the stateaverage,and it remains higher than the state average. Tuolumne County Public Health Officer Dr. Liza Ortiz saidtherewere eightsuicides in Tuolumne County in 2014, which is a calculated rate of 14.8 per 100,000 people. In 2014, California's suicide rate was 10.5 per 100,000. To calculatethe rate, the California Department of
Darin McKinney I Courtesy photo
Firefighters contained a fire Saturday at Wright's Tire in Sonora in about an hour.
de
Calendar............... Comics.................. Crime .................... Food & Drink........
.....Az O b ituaries........ ..... C5 Opinion ............ .....As S ports............... ..... Bl
T V . .....................
Page C6
"You can see how t hese
failed wells a r e f o l lowing these mining claims," said county Environmental Health Director Rob Kostlivy. 'There is a possibility now that these wells can be connected and the old mines themselvescould be acting as water storage that's been in effect for 100-plus years." The county has recorded 215 wells and 11 springs that have gone dry over the past year,afFecting more than 311 homes. Kostlivy said the county is averaging See WELLS / Back Page
Thursday:High 105, Low 64
a
II IIIIIII s 1 1 5 3 0 0 103
• a DR. CHRYSTAL BRADLEY is now accepting patients
Sonora Regional
Call 209-536-3750 to schedule an appointment.
~~
Medical Center ent l s t Health
r