•
s
THEATER: Flyaway with 'Mary Poppins'
•
MORE IN WEEKENDER: Judge's Ball• Mariposa Groveof Big Trees• 'The OddCouple' at Connections
THE M O T H E R
IODAYS RiADERDO ARD
L O D E ' S LE A D IN G IN F O R M A T I O N S O U R C E • S O N O R A , C A L I F O R N I A
Vosemite
Iim l antry
Burn planned outside Wawona
BRIEFING
By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat
A p r escribed burn i s planned today near the south entrance of Yosemite National Park in the Wawona area off Highway 41. Firefighters are planning to burn a first segment of 60 acres and they hope to burn a total of 533 acres in suitable weather conditions by March 30, park officials said in an announcement.
Family Fit — curtis creek Elementary School third-grade students learned about staying healthy Tuesday as part of the Tuolumne County Family Fit program.A2
NSWS NOt8S —Upcoming events in the Mother Lode.A2
A wet storm is expected to move into the Central Sierra
"'tvs
OPlhlOh —Don't be fooled,
on Friday, with snow levels possibledown to 4,000 feet or lower by Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The primary objective of the prescribed fireistoreduce hazardous vegetation — fuel — around the community of Wawona, park officials said. "The project will also help
four-year drought is serious. A4
SIERRA LIVING JesseJones /Union Democrat
Calaveras County Sheriff's volunteer Sandra Kraft (above) shows a flyer with the photo of missing Arnold resident Jim Lantry to passing driversWednesday on Country Club Drive in Arnold. Tuolumne County Search and Rescue volunteers Stacy Price (photo below) and Wade Melcher participate in the search.
protect park infrastructure
at the South Entrance Station and reduce the threat of wildfires originating along the Wawona Road that could adversely impact the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias," park officials said. The prescribed burn is in-
Arnold man, 83, found with slight injuries after night spent in forest By ABBY DIVINE The Union Democrat
An 83-year-old man missing from his home in Arnold since Tuesday afternoon was found alive Wednesday afternoon and is recovering. Jim Lantry, was found around 1:50 p.m. in a wooded area in the Blue Lake Springs subdivision north of Arnold. Rescuers found Lantry suffering from mild hypothermia and with several scratches and bruisesafter spending the night in the dense forest, Calaveras County SherifFs
• PICKING PLOTS:Planting season is ripe for community gardens.B1 • INTHE GARDEN:Seed library saves for future, B1 • SNAPSHOTS:Students at Foothill Leadership Academy in East Sonora celebrate the Chinese Newyear with a parade.B6
SPORTS
See BURN/Back Page
Robotics students earn trip to Oakland
Jim Lantry
officials reported. • HOOPS PLAYOFFS:Cats rattle Diamondbacks; Calaveras falls to Mesa Verde in first round.C1 • SPRINGTRAINING:Bay Area's Semien in the mix for A's shortstop job.C1 • NFL: Los Angeles-area city celebrates stadium deal, awaits NFL.C1
He was transported by am- Way home to goon a walk bulance to Mark Twain Medi- about 4 p.m. Tuesday and didn't return. cal Center in San Andreas. Lantry was reported missing after he left his Barbara See LANIY / B a ck Page
One of Summerville High School's robotics teams has made it to super-regionals next month in the international FIRST Tech Challenge. Orange Pi RoBEARics was among eight Northern Californiateams tosucceed in last
Sonora's movie maven
Burn StatuS — Todayis
By AUSTEN THIBAULT
not a burn day.C6
The Union Democrat
Leonard Ruoffhas seen much in Tuolumne County, from the rise and fall of mining and railroad towns to working with big-time filmmakers and actors in the heyday of filming in the area. A third-generation Sonora resident, Ruoff 93, the son of a drugstore owner, was born at Tuolumne General Hospital in 1921. He made prescription drug deliveriesby bicycle asa boy tohomes yetto be markedwith addresses and learned the streets and people of Sonora. His father, Henry, worked across
NEWS TIPS? PHONE:770-7153; sss-4534 NEWS: editor@uniondemocrat.com FEATURES: featuresIuniondemocrat.com SPORTS:sports@uniondemocrat.com EVENTSANDWEEKENDER: weekender@uniondemocrat .com LEtTERS: lettersluniondemocrat.com CAlAVERAS NEWS:770-7197 NEWSROOM FAX:532-6451
SUBSCRIBERSERVICES:533-3614
•
The Union Democrat
Sierra Views: LEONARD RvoFF
NOTICES
•
By AUSTEN THIBAULT
•
•
•
de
Calendar.......... Comics............. Crime ............... Obituaries........
munity outreach.
Maggie Beck/Union Democrat
The team felt confident going in, despite facing Silicon Valley teams with industry sponsors, according to team captain Cheyenne Uhl. The judges seemed to like them after an early interview and came back multiple times to talk further, she said. During competitions, the team facedseveraltechnical challenges with software and hardware failures, but they kept at it, said teacher Richard Krueger. This year's challenge, Cas-
Leonard Ruoff, 93, of Sonora, was born and raised in Sonora.
See ROBOTICS/Back Page
the streetfrom a taxi driver, who quickly became overwhelmed when Tuolumne County Hollywood film crews descended on the area in 1910s and'20s. Henry then began to serve as a local liaison and chauffeur for the crews and Leonardjoined him as he grew older. Henry would later become one of the founding members of the Sonora Motion Picture Association. They shuttled filmmakers and their stars from place to place and connected them with whatever they needed locally, whether it was hotels or bootleg booze during Prohibition. See VIEWS/Back Page
.....A2 O p inion .............. ..... C5 S i erra Lnrrng...... .....A3 S p orts.................
.....As Tv........................
:::::::s~ Weather Page C6
Meet Dr. Singhal. An expert in cancer. And kindness.
weekend's regional competition in Union City, earning a place mostly due to its com-
'•
Today: High 66, Low 39 Friday:High ss, Low 41 Saturday:High 55, Low 32
•
r
•
•
s
•
II IIIIIII s 1 1 5 3 0 0 1 03
r