Sierra Supervisors Address Funding, Tourism, and More

DOWNIEVILLE — The Sierra County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday in Downieville to cover an array of county matters, including the following items.

Historical Society Social Media Numbers Go Wild

Rick Solinsky, Sierra County Historical Society (SCHS) Administrator, gave a presentation on the organization’s recent massive social media growth and plans to expand tourism in the county. SCHS’s Facebook page has gained over 10,000 followers in the last year and a half after tweaks to the page’s content. Solinsky’s extensive archiving of historical Mountain Messenger newspapers has allowed him to easily find and post interesting stories. More recently, collaboration with local photographers has boosted reach.

In the last year, the Historical Society’s Facebook page has had 6.1 million views, with nearly 20,000 per day. Solinsky says that those numbers likely make SCHS one of the biggest in the country. He also says that kind of reach can translate into real positives for the community, as evidenced by the organization’s ability to fundraise for the rebuilding of the trestle bridge at the Kentucky Mine Museum. Solinsky hopes that the social media presence can also be used to drive historical tourism and further benefit local businesses.

Sierra County has natural advantages for tourism, according to Solinsky, owing to its beauty and deeply unique gold-country history. SCHS is aiming to increase its collaborations with local photographers to showcase that beauty, and Solinsky’s archiving of over 35,000 newspaper articles is uncovering the history.

SCHS is also working on a GPS-guided tour system that would allow tourists to read interesting stories about places they visit in the county. Solinsky says many other ideas are in the works, including photo contests and “history in a minute” videos.

Downieville Community Hall to Receive County Funds

Sonya Meline, Vice President of the Downieville Fire Auxiliary, gave a presentation on Tuesday asking the county to supplement income for the Downieville Community Hall with $400 per month. The organization took over management of the hall at the county’s request 8 years ago, and it remains an important meeting, event, and activity facility for various organizations. It hosts senior lunches, motion classes, fire department training, and non-profit fundraisers like Christmas on Main Street, among other uses. It also serves as an emergency shelter and warming center.

While the Community Hall was hoped to help raise funds for the Fire Auxiliary, it has been operating at a loss of $7,000 to $9,000 per year, and Meline estimates only four months before its funding runs out. The Auxiliary is responsible for daily operations, volunteer coordination, janitorial services, landscaping, and marketing. Additionally, the hall is free to use for non-profits, which Meline says the organization supports but is a heavy expense. Meline hopes the use of the hall, and thereby revenue, will increase soon with the expected launch of a new website and marketing campaign.

Supervisors Dryden and Roen were wary of providing the Fire Auxiliary with monthly income, which may be seen as unfair to other community centers in the county that operate without county funding. However, other community centers have separate income streams, such as from semi-permanent private rentals of parts of their buildings or properties. Ultimately, the Supervisors agreed to set aside $2,400 from the county’s upcoming provisional budget to be given to the Auxiliary as a lump sum for the maintenance of the Community Center over the next six months.

General Plan and Zoning Code Update Gets More Expensive

Contractor Mintier Harnish asked the Board on Tuesday for an additional $24,744 to complete Phase 1 of Sierra County’s General Plan and Zoning Code update, a document that has been in the works for years. The increase, which Planning Director Brandon Pangman described as “hopefully the last,” was caused by time lost when the county had to rearrange parts of the new zoning code document into the current code to qualify for certain grants. The Board approved the request with little hesitation.

COVID Vaccine Injuries Discussed in Public Comment

Atypical of Sierra County Supervisors meetings, the Board heard public comments from two individuals. Julie Threet and Ronald Owens both urged the Board to consider stopping COVID-19 vaccines from being administered and promoted by the county’s public health department.

Threet and Owens were on a statewide tour of counties, having already given public comments in dozens of other California county meetings. Both have backgrounds in the healthcare industry, Threet as a healthcare worker from Chico and Owens as a public information officer for the California Department of Public Health. Threet says that she received injuries, including a brain lesion, heart problems, and chronic tinnitus, as a result of taking two Moderna shots.

Threet cited the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a national vaccine safety monitoring system that accepts reports of adverse events after vaccination, which Threet says contains reports of 749 deaths in California caused by COVID-19 vaccines. She says her mother is among those killed by the jab. Threet also promoted treatment alternatives, including Ivermectin and exercising outside. Owens concurred with Threet, citing international studies correlating COVID-19 vaccination rates with excess mortality.