SIERRA SUN TIMES

In the above photo, Heartland Opportunity Center client Kenny Holden sits at the Mariposa Park, more and more frequently, while waiting for jobs that provide him with spending money.

You have probably seen Heartland workers in Mariposa County. They are the people who deliver most of the fliers that you see in the merchants windows. You might have even employed the workers at your business or at your house, but in the past months the Heartland workers have spent a lot of time sitting at the County Park in Mariposa instead of working.

First some background information on Heartland:
What is Heartland Opportunity Center?
Heartland Opportunity Center provides comprehensive services to adults with developmental disabilities in Madera, Oakhurst and Mariposa Counties.

Heartland’s Mission Statement is as follows:
Our Mission
It is Heartland Opportunity Center’s mission to provide employment, job placement, vocational and life skills training to adults with mental, physical and/or emotional disabilities in order to help them reach their personal and vocational goals.

Heartland was on this path until a new policy was issued during the Spring that changed the way the business owners and residents of Mariposa hired the workers to do jobs for them. Before this new contract went into effect around 200 businesses and individuals hired Heartland workers, now that number has tumbled to 4 or 5. Why? Now a contract has to be signed with different amounts for different jobs, but we have seen one contract for four workers that cost over $70.00 an hour, an increase that went from a few dollars an hour before per worker. Almost everyone has stopped using Heartland for going on a year now as the the old contacts were suspended late last year, months went by with no new contract, that is until the new contract was released in the Spring with drastic wage increases. Also now there is a radius of only going for jobs within ten miles of Mariposa, along with a fuel surcharge.

What takes the place of work? Basically not much besides learning games to occupy their time as the Heartland Supervisors have to find ways to keep the clients busy. In talking to the clients, they want to work, they like to work and they like to make some spending money. They do not like just hanging out at the park. In talking to some of the parents, they mention how proud their children would be when they would come home after a day of work and talk about what they did for the day. Now when some come home and get asked what they did today, they shrug their shoulders and say “Library” or “Park,” meaning they spent hours sitting at the library or park. Re-read the Mission Statement and think about how sitting in the park for hours has anything to do with the mission statement.

What caused this change? A change in top management occurred around 2.5 years ago with the hiring of :
Joseph Coulombe as the CEO of Heartland.
(559) 674-8828  JECoulombe@sti.net 

He is the one responsible for the new contract that has led to almost no one using Heartland workers in Mariposa County. Mr. Coulombe feels that the clients should be treated just like anyone else without a disability, a nice concept, but that does not fly in today’s economic times. The proof being that their are very few people hiring the workers. So why is this new contract program still being implimented? Call Mr. Coulombe and ask him.

There are other matters that are taking place at Heartland. They have a home with 5-6 beds that is up for sale, as Heartland does not want this aspect of the business anymore. The Heartland building on 49 North, that is rented, will be given up as Heartland moves resources to Oakhurst in January 2009. One wonders where the clients will go for a restroom? Where will they cook their meals? Is it right and fair that they will have to use existing businesses or public restrooms? These problems were not part of Heartland Opportunity Center before this gentleman took control. Heartland took in over $3,500,000.00 last year and is listed as a non profit.

From the IRS Form 990 for Non Profits: Statement 3: 6/30/2007
The Purpose of Heartland is to provide personnel, services and facilities for the training of developmentally and mentally handicapped adults…

Where are the facilities for Mariposa going to be? In Oakhurst!

On the Web:
http://www.heartlandopportunity.com/

If you would like to hire a few of the Heartland workers or want to know more about what the workers can do for you contact:

Marina Fisher, Director of Adult Day Programs
209.966.7291
mfisher@heartlandopportunity.com

There is more to the Heartland story. Look for additional articles as we look into the finances and individual client stories.

Also watch Channel 47 Fresno as they follow the Heartland story.

The Mariposa County BOS held a Telegraph Fire Wrap-Up Workshop on September 11, 2008 at the Government Center in Mariposa at 6:30 P.M..
The Center was generally filled to overflowing along with multiple media crews from the Valley as everyone gathered to give opinions on what went right and what went wrong during the Telegraph Fire.
Multiple government and public agency reps were also on hand to listen to comments and and possibly to respond to questions.
Supervisor Dianne Fritz was not in attendance as she was coming home from a meeting in Sacramento, also BOS Chairman Lyle Turpin, left during the meeting, stating he had a prior commitment up in Coulterville/Greeley Hill.
Supervisor Brad Aborn took over the Chair duties. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and also a moment was taken to remember 9/11. Supervisor Janet Bibby thanked everyone who worked on the fire, while Supervisor Aborn thanked everyone for coming tonight. Supervisor Pickard mentioned that this workshop was held due to what they learned during the Stumpfield Mountain Fire in 1996 and that he hoped to learn something tonight.
Lyle Turpin concurred with Supervisor Pickard and then left the meeting.

The public began commenting and the first comments were about P.G.& E. about how they had no flyers available for information, how folks had to call them to find out that they had to buy power poles if the pole was on their property and the mess they left behind from cutting trees. A resident who lost everything including their house agreed with the first commenter about the trees they cut down, how she took it personally, that some of the cut down trees were not even in the way of the power lines. Another resident thought core samples should have been taken before they cut trees down, he also mentioned that it is his right, his property  on when to cut trees down. He called the tree cutting P.G.&E. workers did looked like “Sport Cutting.”
The representative for P.G.&E. said the residents were making accurate statements and he was taking notes, but that the safety of the workers and the property owners is why the trees were cut down. The trees may look healthy now, but they would die and it was better to cut them now than later.

Resident Joe Curtis was concerned with the roads out on Telegraph Hill that now they are good roads and folks are driving out there to look around. He said lots of dangers are out there such as vertical mine shafts. He said the road should only be open to walkers and horses.
Another person was upset about the news crews coming onto private property. She chastised the news crews about sensationalizing someone elses tragedy. She said her parents property was defensible but the house still burned to the ground. CDF spokesperson Bill Hodson responded by saying a decision has to be made to protect firefighters about what houses get defended or not. She also wanted to know who pays for P.G.& E.’s ‘Chop and Drop’ job done to the trees.
Resident Carol Lewis mentioned that no lives were lost and she was impressed by the Reverse 911 System.
Mariposa County Sheriff Brian Muller mentioned that the Reverse 911 System is not perfect and with the political season here with all the prerecorded messages calling your home that wait 2-3 seconds to begin the tape, some residents thought the Reverse calls were just political calls because their system also has a 2-3 second delay. He urged all residents if they know an incident is taking place to wait for the message to begin. But because the system is not perfect is why they go door to door to make face contact with the affected residents.
Chamber of Commerce Vice President Paul Hall, mentioned the Chamber took an active role during and after the fire.
Another resident noted with the above ground phone systems if the fire would have hit those boxes the lines would have melted together, resulting in a loss of phone service.

Ken Gosting representing TIE (Transportation Involves Everyone)  mentioned the unified command team should have a round of applause for what they did, that action plans have come a long way, but tweaking can still be done. He said lots of ‘Looky-Loo’s’ were stopping their cars on the Briceburg Grade and watching the fire, while buses were coming and going on the grade, creating a lot of near misses with the people. Mr. Gosting also said another term needs to be devised instead of the word ‘Pre-evacuation’ as it implies that you will be evacuated. Also the words ‘Hard Closure’ and ‘Soft Closure’ need to be worked on.
A resident wanted to know why it took so long to get equipment to the fire as she listened to the scanner. Bill Hodson said seconds can seem like hours and they knew where the fire was, that the bulldozers were coming in along with the aircraft. He said the issue was getting to the fire and safety of the personnel. He mentioned that on Saturday Morning the smoke was so thick due to an inversion they could not get the planes in.
Angela Phillips for Human Services mentioned that anyone who was affected by the fire to contact them for fellowships and friendships, someone they can talk to.
Another resident mentioned the maps need to be more detailed, that Paddy Hill Road is not on the maps. She thought the crews did a marvelous job.
A member of the Red Cross said to make a list ahead of time and to have three boxes labeled according to how much time you have before you would have to leave your house.
1 would be immediate, 2 would be if I have time and 3 would be if I have room.

Midpines resident Linda Gast said Search and Rescue came to her door in the middle of the night with pre-evacuation orders. Next morning another visit was made and she was shown what things to move away from the house to protect the house, but they were eventually evacuated. Mrs. Gast wanted to know about the brushing on Sherlock Road.
She said before the fire she had been to CalFire and the road department about the brushing. She was told the roads are on a ten year brushing plan. She said if you let your property go ten years you would be in big trouble. She also wanted to know if Sherlock Road had been brushed if the outcome of the fire would have been any different.
Speaking for Calfire, Kevin Smith said with this type of fire it would not have made any difference  because the fire was spotting hundreds of yards ahead of the fire but with smaller fires the brushing could make a difference. Also there just is no funding to decrease the brushing times.
Joe Gast wanted to know since you take a tree out the bush grows back faster if the county could spray a herbicide on it.  
Department of Public Works Supervisor Dana Hertfelder mentioned a homeowner  could probably get a stronger herbicide than the county because of all the regulations. He also mentioned his two man crew is not on a ten year plan, Linda Gast said she was told that by his department. Mr. Hertfelder said brushing the roads is the most controversial thing in the department. He also mentioned Sherlock Road already is a narrow road even if the road was brushed. Linda Gast then asked if people should do the road brushing themselves?  Mr. Hertfelder said people should keep their property brushed. Also Mrs. Gast mentioned that a lot of the property is on BLM land. Mrs. Gast then asked if Sherlock will get brushed this year or if they have to do it themselves. Dana Hertfelder said he did not know if the road would get brushed this year.

A spokesperson for the Resource Conservation District said seed is coming in and trees that normally sell for $50-100 will be available for $20.00. She said if you think some soil will come onto the road with the winter rains to call her and she will come out and look at the property. She also mentioned that she has only been here a short time but that we should be proud of our community for all the help everyone has given.
Another resident praised the Buddhists and the Red Cross for all their help.
Resident Paul Chapman mentioned the Fire team makes their best guess about the fire and they did a good job.
Erik Bruun from Midpines said the Goldrushcam.com and Les Marsden’s website were invaluable for fire information.
Linda Gast mentioned your insurance may pay for new trees.
Without a BLM rep at the meeting, Calfire rep Bill Hodson mentioned that the BLM reseeding is being looked at, everything may not get reseeded due to budget concerns, BLM is still doing fire suppression repair and that BLM is concerned about winter rain run-off.
Debby Peters representing Sierra Telephone mentioned all the phone lines that went in at the command center and also how some of the different cell phones could not work up here.
Mariposa County CAO Rick Benson mentioned that during the rebuilding we are not trying to give anyone the run-around. Among lots of wonderful people who came out to help, Mr. Benson mentioned the Red Cross, Manna House, the Salvation Army, the Buddhist Group and the Southern Baptist Relief Group.
On a question from the public on how many funds for the victims there are in Mariposa County, Mr. Benson mentioned only the Telegraph Fire Fund. Supervisor Brad Aborn mentioned Yosemite Bank has two funds.
Linda Gast said the SPCA has ‘Tons’ of clothes, that they went through two tons of hay but can get more if need be, and the SPCA has cat litter and food available all for free for fire victims.
Supervisor Aborn mentioned about the fine job the men and women inmates did fighting the fire.
On wrapping up the meeting about two hours after it started, Supervisor Janet Bibby said that we are truly blessed and wanted to compliment everyone involved.

 The BOS just maybe set a new record for shortest meeting on Tuesday. Starting a little after 9:00A.M. the meeting was wound up by about 10:10A.M. before the BOS went into a closed session to discuss who the new County Counsel will be as Tom Guarino leaves the county to move North to Siskiyou County to become their County Counsel.

No one had anything to say under Public Presentation.
Under Board Info, Supervisor Janet Bibby thanked the Fair Board and Brian Bullis for putting the Fair on, she also thanked all the livestock buyers. Supervisor Bibby also read a letter from the USDA about budget cutbacks into a lot of different programs including grants. Maybe this will affect Mariposa County. Supervisor Brad Aborn mentioned about drunk drivers on the road and how dangerous they are. Supervisor Dianne Fritz mentioned that the float she was on during the Parade came in first. Supervisor Pickard mentioned that he was up in Fish Camp for a Fire Rescue meeting. Supervisor Lyle Turpin mentioned that the CAO and him had a meeting with FEMA and that the CAO took a lot of notes.
Under discussion about the Telegraph Fire, CAO Rick Benson mentioned that this is the first time he has worked hands on with FEMA and that FEMA was teaching them how to categorize everything and that the Fire Department has taken the lead on gathering all the fire info. Resident Ruth Catalan mentioned that the SPCA is on their second ton of hay and that they have plenty of dog/cat food and kitty litter. Also she said that anyone who was affected by the fire can come in to the SPCA Yard Sale and take items for free with proof of residency.

The CAO mentioned the Workshop coming up on September 11,2008 for a wrap up on the fire on what went right and what went wrong. The meeting is at 6:30P.M. at the Government Center.

The BOS adopted a Resolution and a letter to be sent to the Governor that opposes any process to eliminate or reduce the Open Space Subvention Program (Williamson Act.)
This program supplies Mariposa County with around $160,000.00 yearly.

The BOS approved loaning First Five almost $17,000.00 until the state signs the budget and the money is released to First Five. First Five will pay interest on the loan at the same rate that the County is currently getting on their investments, (About 4-4.5%.)

A Closed Session was continued until Thursday September 4, 2008 at 1:30PM to discuss the hiring of a Building Department Director.

The County is also entering into a Grant for an Interoperable Emergency Communication Program with no match until the county knows if it gets the grant as other counties are also participating in this grant. If Mariposa County gets some of the grant money a 20% match would be required, but the county could use ’soft money’ for the match according to the Sheriff Department.

In the above photo Mariposa County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Lyle Turpin  sits in the drivers seat of a fire truck that is similar to the ones that Mariposa County will order 11 of.

Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce Vice President Paul Hall under Public Presentation mentioned the website set up by the chamber, http://www.telegraphfirefund.org that will have money available for the fire victims. He also said that Yosemite Bank has made up posters for the fund and put them in their bank branches, that Pioneer Market has set up their registers to accept donations to the fire fund, that the Yosemite Fund is involved with getting donations to the fund, Redwood Creek Winery has made up wine labels for the fund and that the High School has donated space to store the furniture until the people need it.
A resident of the burned area was concerned about erosion caused by the bulldozers and was assured by Chairman Lyle Turpin and CalFire spokesperson Kevin Smith that the work would all be done by the federal agencies. Mr. Turpin mentioned that about 100 miles of  bulldozed fire breaks were put in.
Resident Eleanor Keuning mentioned that the Pre school on Darrah Road is celebrating it’s second year.

On Board Information: Supervisor Brad Aborn mentioned his concerns about water being taken out of county, the parking lots at the History Center being used by workers and folks selling things in spaces for the buses. Also he mentioned that parking across from Happy Burger and trying to sell your car will get you a ticket from the CHP. He also had concerns about people making campfires in Yosemite West. His last concern was with the school board and Principal Rock Carlson, he wants to know if it was proper and what the reasons were for getting rid of him.
Supervisor Lyle Turpin mentioned that the encroachments at Don Pedro are going good.
In reference to the horse trails we assume.

On agenda item 2: Auditor Chris Ebie said that the RCD will be able to borrow up to $60K from the county at whatever interest rate the county is currently getting on it’s money.
This money is used to pay staff and other bills while waiting for the funds to come in from the federal agencies.

On agenda item 3: The Mariposa Creek Parkway is going to get a redesign as one of the original designs cannot be made ADA accessible. The group had wanted the Parkway to go to Coakley Circle but now feel it will go to Joe Howard Street. Marilyn Lidyoff said that in a worst case scenario they would loose one access point. But if another access point was to be desired that another grant would have to be written. Resident Eleanor Keuning was concerned about parking so people could access the Parkway easily. Residents on Jessie Street will be contacted about the Parkway that could run by their properties.

Agenda item 4: Granite Springs Estates was continued until Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 10:00AM.

Agenda Item 6: On Paying the volunteer firefighters while waiting for the payment to come in from the federal agencies. Auditor Chris Ebie wanted it in writing from the BOS on how to pay the volunteer fire fighters as it has been done but nothing was in writing. The volunteer firefighters get paid a certain dollar amount per hour when fighting a state or federal fire. Also Mariposa County equipment that is used is also reimbursed at a set rate. At the Vote: 4-1 with Supervisor Janet Bibby voting no. The BOS voted to pay the fire fighters in advance of the money from the feds while Janet Bibby wanted to pay the firefighters after the money was received from the feds.
Auditor Chris Ebie mentioned that there is risk if the feds denied the bill.
On the payment to the vehicles that are used, Janet Bibby wanted to know if that money went into the vehicle replacement fund or where. Fire Chief Jim Wilson said that money just went into the fire department operations budget. On using out of county volunteers on the fire, but are paid through Mariposa County, Janet Bibby was concerned about county liability with these workers if they would get hurt, she asked if a physical was done on these people and apparently no physical is done of these workers. Jim Wilson said that two people from out of state were on the Incident Command Teams. Jim Wilson said that these people are highly skilled, that is why they were called in.

On no folder item: The Telegraph Fire Local Emergency: CAO Rick Benson mentioned that a community meeting is tentavily set up for Thursday Sept 11, 2008 at 6:30PM to have a wrap up on what went right and what went wrong with the handling of the fire.
Ken Gosting representing TIE commended the CHP for considering some of TIE’s recommendations for future emergencies.  Also that the vehicles will now be turned around at the Octagon if the 140 will be closed. Fire Chief Jim Wilson said that they are still getting numbers together to submit for federal reimbursement.

On Agenda Item 7: The 2008-2009 Budget. The BOS received the recommended budget and a county report by the CAO. The CAO mentioned that the budget is a static budget and not exciting. That the process was started months ago with the department heads where he asked them to submit a budget for their department that was staus quo. They then turned in their budgets to the CAO and he tried to match up their budgets with resources. Then again met with the departments for a paring down, but he also mentioned that the budget is a moving target because the State still has not signed a budget. The CAO said that a line has to be drawn somewhere and that it is better to have a higher fund balance than not to have any money. No one from the public had anything to say on the budget nor the supervisors.

The last item of the day at 2:00Pm was the fire trucks. The BOS was to approve the specs on the fire trucks and to approve when to go to bidding on the eleven fire trucks and four tenders. This meeting began after a ride around in a fire truck on loan from the City of Tracy which is similar to the ones the county will be purchasing. All the Supervisors at once went for a ride while Deputy Fire Chief Jim Wilson was the driver.
Supervisor Dianne Fritz said that she was very honored to have been a part of getting these fire trucks for the firefighters. Fire Chief Jim Wilson said that these fire trucks were very close in specs to what CalFire uses. That the warranty is measured in Years not Mileage. Also that the fire trucks meet all ISO specs.  Supervisor Janet Bibby asked if there are different manufactures besides Pierce. Jim Wilson said that there are probably 6 or so.  When questioned why no 4 wheel drive, Mr. Wilson said that with the locking rear differential that these trucks will have 80% of the capability of a 4 wheel drive truck.  Also that the 4 wheel drive trucks might not fit into the stations because they are taller and that the center of gravity is higher causing a safety concern.
These trucks will go out to bid in about three weeks.
The BOS voted 5-0 to purchase 11 fire trucks and 4 water tenders and to report back to the BOS in 30 days with the bids.
Under public comment volunteer firefighter Dennis Buck mentioned that Jim Wilson had done lots of homework on these fire trucks and that one or two people have different thoughts on the fire trucks, that these trucks are long overdue and he is afraid the BOS will hesitate.
Looking back at the audience he said to anyone who wanted to challenge the CSA “To bring it on.”