STAR PUPILS: Students of the Month named MORE IN COMMUNITY:AmeriCorps week;Taxaid offered; Flashback, B1-2 AND INSIDE: CCWDsaysnew payment system to savemoney,A2
THE MOTHER LOOE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SONORA,CALIFORNIA gg
TOBAYS REABER BOARB
More letters urge feds to hold back Stanislaus water S e cond Copperopolis meeting set
BRIEFING
PAWS — African elephant Lulu celebrates 10 years at PAWS animal sanctuary in San Andreas.A2
By ALEX MacLEAN
are i n tended
him to convene a special committee with the power but could reto suspend or modify EndanCongressman Tom Mc- sult in premagered Species Act mandates Clintock sent letters this turely d r ainplaced on California water week to federal regula- ing u p stream Mc C lintock managers. This would allow tors and President Barack reservoirs in a the managers "the necessary Obama pleading for relief drought year. authority to prioritize Califrom mandated Stanislaus McClintock's Tuesday let-
By ALEX MacLEAN
The Union Democrat
to benefitfish
The Union Democrat
River water releases, which
water managers from a pair
ter to the president urges
See LETTERS/Back Page
C opperopolis-area r e s i dents plan to hold a community forum at 10 a.m., March 28, at the Black Creek Center, to discuss issues related to Tulloch Reservoir, which
A 'WANDERFUL' DAY
Seen andHeard — This week's photo opinion asks "If you could find anything at the end of a rainbow, what would you hope to find?" A3
Scesa: There's water enough for connections
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OPiniOn — John Photos by Maggie Beck, The Union Democrat
By GUY McCARTHY
Poll questionThis week's poll question asks "Should the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors have rescinded its Door of Hope Resolution?"A4
SPORTS • GOLF:Low-scoring Cats top Bears, move to 3-0.C1 • SUPER SHOOTERS: Team earns first place at M other Lode Gun Club's March High Power event.C2 • OUTDOORS:Bass tournaments popular at New Melones.C2 • MLB: 'FiveTool' Ferrell entertains, raises money in Arizona.C1
NEWS ELSEWHERE • ISIS: Islamic State militants have accepted a pledge of allegiance by the Nigerian-grown Boko Haram extremist group, according to a spokesman for the Islamic State movement. A6 • REFINERY STRIKE: The United Steelworkers reached a tentative contract with Shell Oil Co. after more than a month of contentious talks and strikes, union officials said.AS
Purchase photos online at www.uniondemocrat.com
Kindergartner Jude Cullens, 7, balances a big bubble he made on the end of a wand Thursday morning.
The Union Democrat
Columbia Elementary School kindergarten students participated in a series oflearning acti Uities Thursday. During a break in the rotation, kids ment outside to enjoy the warm meather and makebubbles.
Tuolumne County has several housing and commercial developments in the pipeline, and many residents question whether the county's largest water purveyor can meet these added demands. According to Tuolumne Utilities District General Manager Tom Scesa, the district, which already serves 44,000 residents, can. The key, he said, is freeing up water stored behind Pinecrest Dam. State regulations in effect since 2008 require the lake be kept mostly full through the end of summer. "There's a regulatory drought because we have enough water, but the state will not allow us to access it," Scesa said at a TUD committee meeting Thursday Scesa said Pinecrest's storage is great enough for hundreds and perhaps thousands of additional hookups. This is so, even in a record drought year like this year, he said. He said the lake's owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.,has asked the state to lower its lake level requirement in drought years to 5,600feet above sea level.In average to wet years, PG&E wants to move the lake-level reSee TUD/Back Page
SonoreCitvCouncil
Theall event closures eyed PUBLIC MEETING: Sonora City Council, 5 p.m. Monday, City Hall, 94 N. Washington St. *
By ALEX MacLEAN
8tr
The Union Democrat
The Sonora City Council on Monday will consider adding a section of Theall Street, between Washington and Stewart streets, to the city's pre-approved list of streets that can be temporarily closed for special events. At a March 6 meeting, the council delayed a
NOTICE c
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Burn StatuS - To-
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day is a burn day.C6
vote on the request to ensure a business owner
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at 23 Theall St. had been notified of the proposed action. City stafF met with the business owner and provided him with the date and time of Monday's meeting, according to meeting documents. If the council follows city stafFs recommendation, the section of Theall Street could be closed by request through the city's special event permitting process.
Columbia Elementary School kindergartners (clockwise, from above) Tucker Stuth, 6; Lauren Wagner, 6, and Claveywolf, 5; and Johnnybearwilson,6, play with bubbles in the school yard Thursday morning.
Calendar............ •
See TULLOCH / Back Page
Tuolumne Iltilities District
f lIl
Pendley retires: The end of an error.A4
of irrigation districts have warnedcouldbe drained later this year if environmental mandates for fish fiows aren't relaxed. More than 300 concerned residentsattended a March 7 forum hosted by the Tri-Dam
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