AT&amp;T is sending a representative to attend the Sierra County Board of Supervisors Dec. 20 meeting about ongoing service breakdowns by the telecommunications giant that affect public safety in the county.At the top of the list of county concerns: Sierra County Sheriff&#x2019;s Office radio communications being offline for a week earlier this month following an early season snowstorm, requiring use of a backup system.&#x201C;AT&amp;T needs to be held accountable for their maintenance program,&#x201D; said Tim Beals, Sierra County Director of Public Works, Roads and Transportation&#x2014;citing threats to 911 calling and the county&#x2019;s &#x201C;fragile emergency communications system. We&#x2019;re pretty isolated and don&#x2019;t have other options.&#x201D;Inadequate maintenance by AT&amp;T of lines and infrastructure in Sierra County is a recurring problem. Complaints reached a crescendo last year when extended telephone and cable/Internet outages over the Memorial Day weekend in Sierra City wreaked havoc for businesses and residents, and made making a ...

Downed Lines, Sheriff Radio System Interruptions: AT&T to Be Quizzed by County on Ongoing Service Problems

The Plumas County Board of Supervisors held a meeting on November 8th, 2022. Opening with public comments was Catherine Schwartz, Clinical Supervisor at the Behavioral Health Department, who expressed concerns about the losing staff because of low wages. She was followed by Ava Hagwood, a child welfare social worker with Plumas County Social Services, who also spoke about challenges the County faced over the last three years due to extreme staff shortages. The third public comment came from a letter read by Cindy for Eliza Fletcher, a six-year employee of Plumas County Behavioral Health who could not attend in person due to her work responsibilities. In her letter she expressed the difficulties of employees with a passion for serving the community and helping clients while being paid wages that are not competitive to less stressful jobs. This, she said, will not only result in losing staff and having difficulty filling vacant positions, &#x201C;it will also affect our clients and the quality ...

Plumas County Supervisors Hear Concerns of Employees and Conduct Other Business

BECKWOURTH - At their monthly Board meeting this past Monday evening, November 21, the Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District (SVGMD) approved the submission of a $5.52 million grant application to California&apos;s Dept. of Water Resources.$1.3 million of this money would be spent on updating their current Groundwater Sustainability Plan by continuing to monitor the aquifer&apos;s conditions, filling known data gaps, and updating hydrologic models.Another $2.18 million is slated to promote irrigation efficiency and water conservation in the basin while $1.34 million would be spent on a groundwater recharge feasibility study, pilot demonstration projects between 2023 and 2026 on Smithneck/Badenaugh creeks, and the evaluation of other locations for future implementation.To build a complete inventory of existing wells (shallow, domestic, and stockwater) plus collect missing information for the high-capacity wells, the grant proposal contains a request for an additional $0.2 million. Grant a...

SVGMD Approves $5.52 Million Grant Request

With trivia on the brain, the Mountain Messenger would like to ask the readership: What is NOT an example of a &quot;turnout&quot;?A. A laborer on strikeB. A railroad sidingC. Protective gear for firefightersD. A no-showThe answer ... D.Out of the above choices, which type of turnout would the Downieville Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary likely attempt to raise funds for when they set up camp outside the post office each November, selling raffle tickets for the Thanksgiving basket?The answer...C.Proceeds raised by this fundraiser have previously paid for refurbished gear for the local volunteer fire department, including helmets and turnouts. Auxiliary member Mindy Strine reports two special tourniquets were purchased this year, one for each ambulance.When passing by this table next season, consider the 24 members of this organization. Each item in the basket is personally purchased by members trying their darndest to ensure the Downieville Volunteer Fire Department has all the safety equipme...

We Have A Winner!

Once again, the Sierra County Board of Supervisors waltzed briskly through their agenda during last Tuesday&#x2019;s meeting at the Loyalton Social Hall, completing the session in less than 90 minutes.During this time, the Board received the 2021 Ag Report for Sierra County. Produced by Willo Vierra, the Ag Commissioner for Plumas and Sierra counties, the report indicated cattle production was &quot;static&quot; compared to the previous year, however, wool and sheep production declined slightly. Honey production dropped sharply due to drought-related reductions in available forage and because two producers left the county. Alfalfa and hay production was also deemed &quot;static&quot; by Vierra, but lumber harvest revenues dropped sharply due to the availablility of timber from the Dixie fire.Sheriff Fisher&apos;s update centered upon storm damage and staffing issues. As it happened, the recent, early snow storm brought down the Sierra County Sheriff&apos;s Office&apos;s (SCSO) radio system for almost a week due to AT&amp;T failing...