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THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMAl ION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
WEDNESD AY
DECEMBER 16, 2015
Dollar General
Hearingforcontroversial store proposalsettonight The Tuolumne County Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to run &om 6 to 10 p.m. at Columbia Presbyterian Church of the Those on either side of a contentious, year- 49ers' Faith Hall, 11155 Jackson St. long debate over a national discount retailer's Dollar General has applied for a permit to proposalto build a 9,100-square-foot store in build a store at Howser Lane and Parrotts the heart of Columbia will have an opportu- Ferry Road. nity to voice their opinions at a public hearing scheduled for tonight. See STORE /Back Page By ALEK MacLEAN The Union Democrat
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Tuolumne County
Officials
support original jail plan Operating costs of other designs could exceed savings By ALEK MacLEAN The Union Democrat
L aw enforcement an d criminal-justice officials on Tuesday urged the Tuolumne County Board oaf Supervisors to stick with the original plan for a new county jail, despite recent estimates putting construction costs at roughly $3.5 million over budget. They said over time the cost tooperate another jail design would exceed the in-
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creasein construction cost.
The estimated cost to build a new jail off Old Wards Ferry Road in Sonora has grown from $36 million to $39.5 million. Most of the funding will come &om $33 million in state grants specifically ear-
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marked forjailconstruction.
"Since the grant funding is fixed, any costincrease would be 100 percent borne by the county," said County Administrator Craig Pedro. As proposed, the jail would be designedwith space for 224 beds. Itw ould replacethe county's existing 147-bed jail on Yaney Avenue constructed in the 1960s, which has long been criticized as outdated, cramped andunsafe forboth staff and inmates.
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Courtesy photo
school student Jesus Rodriguez, 17, organizes skets as part of his senior project.
t, though white Christmas unlikely «day through
Snow levels Sunday to Tuesday are i through Sat- expectedbetween 4,500 feetand 6,000 an late Sunday feet elevation, with more rain and eek. snow possible Tuesday to Christmas. an Andreas to Christmas Day this year is Friday, a, Sonora and Dec. 25.
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Hours New location:
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Mon.— Fri., 7 a.m. — 6 p.m. Sat., 8 a.m.— 2 p.m. 900 Greenley Road, Suite 920 (aboveCommunityPharmacy)
Questions? 536-3600
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io 3 inches of
laytoTuesday Iss the Mother
ional Weather
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Service people in Sacramento.
e precipitation
Sonora Mattress Outlet
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White Christmas in Sonoraunlikely
Shorter wait times for the lab Dedicated registration staff for the lab Larger waiting roomfor the lab
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kept by the National Weather Service are incomplete. The only time those records show snow on Christmas Day in Sonora was in 1941, said NWS meteorologist Nathan Owen. On Friday, Dec. 26,that year,The Union Democrat had a pageone story headlined "It's Freak Weather." The story reported, 'The first real
Since 1903, Sonora snow records
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See JAIL / Back Page
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Sonora Regional Medical Center ~A.dventist Health
Today:High 50, Low 27 Thursday:High 53, Low 25 Friday:High 58, Low 31
See WEATHER/ Back Page
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