Upcoming CVWB meeting re: Groundwater in the Vicinity of the Hodson/Littlejohns Faults, Calaveras County
Notice of a meeting that specifically mentions DiamondXX groundwater issues. I’m not at all sure I understand what is being proposed here. Can anyone shed some light? Does this have any impact on our properties or wells?
Richard Lipnick, July 3, 1938 – May 15, 2011
This was submitted by Jeane Kennedy
It was with shock & sadness that I learned from reading in the Copper Gazette that Richard Lipnick had died. Richard lived in the Diamond XX community down the road from me. The last time Richard & his wife, Carolyn, were in my home it was for our 2010 Christmas’s celebration with friends & neighbors. How wonderful it was to see them both as they graced our party with not only good food but great conversation.
Whenever Richard drove by and I was out front with the horses, he always stopped and had something nice to say. We would spend a few moments talking and then each of us would continue on with our busy days. Those encounters always brightened my day and I will miss them and Richard very much.
Your Diamond XX neighbor Carolyn Lipnick may have found them!
Found: Two cats – one orange and white and one gray with black stripes.
Very friendly. 785-3096
Update: Carolyn adds, “I forgot to add that they’re friendly (especially the orange one), not ferel. They’ve got to belong to someone!”
Hi all. Jeane Kennedy passed this along:
Yellow Starthistle probably arrived in California in the mid-1800’s as a contaminant in alfalfa seed. It is a member of the sunflower family and belongs to the thistle tribe. Since its introduction, yellow starthistle has spread steadily and was estimated to inhabit about 8 million acres statewide in 1985. It is one of California’s worst noxious weeds, infesting parks, rangelands, pastures, hay fields, orchards, vineyards, canal banks, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.
Many residents of the Diamond XX community maintain horses on their acreage. Horses should not graze yellow starthistle. Prolonged ingestion by horses (86-200 percent of a horse’s body weight) can lead to the fatal nervous disorder equine nigropallidal incephalomalacia, or “chewing disease.”
Come Learn How to Control Yellow Starthistle:
University of California Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Program is offering free workshops in a neighborhood near you. Starting in Groveland, where yellow starthistle (YST) is creeping onto federal lands and threatening Yosemite National Park, workshops will be held at various times and locations:
Thursday, 2/17, 6:00 p.m. Groveland Ranger District offices
Saturday, 2/26, 2:00 p.m. Groveland Evangelical Free Church
Thursday, 3/10, 2:00 p.m. Groveland Community Hall
CHOOSE THE WORKSHOP THAT’S MOST CONVENIENT FOR YOU
Speakers will discuss YST impacts on California, its biology and control. Weed identification activities and free hand-outs included.
Now is the time of year to attack yellow starthistle. Come learn how to control this noxious spreading weed! If you’d like to schedule a workshop in your neighborhood, call 209.533.6993.
by Bob Toynbee
A meeting of the Diamond XX Road Committee is scheduled for January 22 (Saturday) at the Copperopolis Armory, from 10AM to noon.
There are two agenda items:
– Update on the Stagecoach Wet crossing presented by Public Works
– Decision to improve drainage on Pommel
Hope to see you all there
UPDATE: The meeting minutes are here.
One of Santa’s elves has been busy running around the Diamond XX gathering photos of gate decor. Did she miss any? If so, send them in an email to jim@jperry.net and we’ll post ’em here.
Enjoy!
Want to see detailed weather data from the past day/month/year from a weather station right here in the DiamondXX? Look no further:
Use the buttons along the top to see all sorts of data & timeframes. I’ve been running this for about 1.5 years, so there is beginning to be an interesting historical almanac.
This weather station also provides data to the Citizen Weather Observation Program (CWOP), the Weather Underground, and various other weather sites. Unfortunately these sites miss data whenever the computer hosting the weather station is down (which often corresponds to the most interesting weather times). My direct site above is a pretty complete record, as the weather station caches data until it can be re-uploaded to the computer.
Enjoy!
Jim
This article appeared in the Calaveras Enterprise. Here’s a quote:
In Diamond XX, the Community Service Area 4 road committee has been saving years to fund the local match, according to committee member Jeane Kennedy.
“Our commitment as community is small, a small percentage – it’s $40,000 of this $262,000, but we only take in as a community on our road fund $60,000 each year. So we have had to save every year for a number of years and build this up. It hasn’t been easy – we’ve done it. That should show you the commitment.”
Sidenote – I’ve added a little widget over on the right column that picks up any news story from the past few weeks with the term “Diamond XX” in it. If you subscribe to this site you will get an email when a new article shows up. Subscribing is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The Road Committee is happy to announce that after a long and tedious review of the contract, the Stagecoach wet crossing bridge contract will be heard by the Board of Supervisors on 10/12/2010 and then the official design work will begin! Design work begins by sending consultants out to the site to survey the land, test the soils, locate utilities, and conduct an environmental evaluation. So adjacent property owners may see some activity around this crossing area. Soon scenes like this will be a thing of the past and Diamond XX will have an all-weather road!
Jeane Kennedy reports:
Southside –
Work will be done on Pommel to both repair and prevent further erosion of the deep ditch carrying water down the slope. The ditch along the road will be filled with rock rubble and a culvert will be added to divert water off the hill before it can cause further erosion.
Northside –
The stretch of Surrey that incorporates 3 blind hills & dips will be widened. Reflecting lane dividers will be placed in the center of the road in that widened area to encourage everyone to move over in order to avoid collisions.
Two culverts on Surrey near Hodson will be raised and extended to improve drainage. Some re-contouring of surrounding soil will be necessary to prevent future problems.