Twain Harte TimesTwain Harte Information & Photo Gallery

Hm… I was at the grocery store and ran into a couple of co-grand jury members. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that something is up with the Tuolumne County Grand Jury.

1. This is the first year that Judge Donald Segerstrom oversees the jury. (Nothing wrong with that.)
2. The judge hand picks the foreman, who just happens to be about the judges age, and guess what? He used to be a prosecutor some where in the bay.
3. The first day we go in and have a seat. He already has rules posted on the wall. (This should have been my first clue.)
4. Up until I left, they had gone through 5 jury members and I know for a fact at least two other left since I did. The lady I spoke with today at the store, said they were leaving in droves.

The jury foreman is a heavy handed, old-fashioned tyrant.  I don’t think this is by accident.  I think he has an agenda, but I can’t prove it.

He thought I should leave because I don’t ride with other people.  He acted like it was a big deal.  It’s none of his business. He said it would cost the county too much money.  I could have stayed and fought, but it just wasn’t worth it to me.  He wanted me to leave, I gave him what he wanted.  There were other issues as well. Like the fact that I didn’t sit at the table with everyone.

Stupid petty stuff that doesn’t matter to anyone.  Except him.  He’s definitely set in his ways.

What it really came down to is that as a grand jury member I was bound by secrecy.  I’m not so good with secrets.  As far as I’m concerns secrets are made to be told.  I have kept a couple of secrets in my life but that’s about it.

I believe they had already gone through each of the standby jurors.  They will be looking for more.  What they need is a new foreman.

It will be interesting to see what they come up with in their report. Assuming, of course, that the grand jury isn’t disbanded like the grand jury in El Dorado County earlier this year.

Related Links

Related articles

• Grand jury will fight witness intimidation
• New county grand jury in watchdog role
• Mistrial declared when jury foreman skips IA trial
• Grand jury: Filner’s worst nightmare?

Image via Wikipedia

The Twain Harte Homeowners meeting was well attended, with over 100 residents in attendance today at Black Oak School. Many issues where discussed, with residents expressing concerns regarding local signage and fire safety issues.

The Twain Harte Homeowners Association took up a donation for the Daffodil Fund, matching funds will be provided by a board members family, as part of the Twain Harte beautification project. Other projects include new informational signage for the Twain Harte area. The signs have already been approved by the Twain Harte board and will be put into place once approval for the new signs have passed muster with Tuolumne County.

County response to many issues has slowed to a snails pace as we discovered over the July 4th weekend, when an injured buck was shot by a sheriff and left to die on our property. I brought this issue up at the meeting but my question was never addressed, the moderator quoted time constraints as an issue. With over 400 Tuolumne County jobs having been cut or eliminated altogether, bringing the 950 county positions down to a mere 550, getting services in the future could take an act of congress. The county is due to lose another 81 jobs during the months of July/August.

The Twain Harte Community Services District (THCSD), will be seeking yet another rate increase to cover needed upgrades to our antiquated water and sewer services. The details are shared by Scot A. Moody, General Manager, on page 5 of the bi-annual newsletter available online in pdf format. I must admit having our electrical meters switched over to “Smart Meters,” wasn’t a big hit with the locals and now they are discussing switching our water meters to digital meters.

One of the projects listed is the replacement of our existing mechanical water meters with digital (green technology) water meters. The digital meters will allow the district to read the meters in a more efficient manner and will save the district manpower and fuel costs associated with this process. Additionally, the electronic meters are much more accurate than manual meters, and will allow us to provide you with better service. The District expects to save in excess of $43,000 annually as a result of this project. [Read more…]

There are even talks of putting a hydro-electric power plant online, which has been sitting idle since 1985, in order to sell power back to TUD and provide an offset for some of the planned rate increase.

The 2011 Litter Pick-Up Dates are as follows:

• August 6 at 9:00 AM
• September 3 at 9:00 AM
• October 8 at 9:00 AM
• November 5 at 9:00 AM
• December 3 at 10:00 AM

Volunteers are always welcome to assist in the clean up efforts. Many hands make light work.

The issue I was most concerned about, the string of burglaries that were occuring in the Twain Harte area, was only briefly addressed. It was reported that 29 local breakins had occured in Twain Harte over a 6-month period, the main suspect was taken into custody last month, so the issue has been put to rest.

I am concerned because a group of about 50 mexican nationals were camping at Beardsley over the July 4th weekend and were causing trouble with local campers. It was reported that the non-English speaking group was playing loud music until 3:00 a.m. and raiding campsites. The trouble ended with guns being drawn by local campers, as the rangers were powerless to act against such a large group of people.

If you plan to go camping this year use caution and get to know the campers near you. You may need to band together to protect your family and your camping gear against unwanted predators and mischief makers.

Did you catch yesterday’s news from MyMotherlode? I’m referring specifically to, “Marijuana Collectives Challenge Charges.”

June 23, 2011    03:28 pm
B.J. Hansen, MML News Director

Image via Wikipedia

Sonora, CA — Eight of the nine suspects arrested following a raid of three
medicinal marijuana collectives in Tuolumne County appeared in court today
before Judge Douglas Boyack.

Today’s arraignment proceedings were continued until August because attorneys
for the eight plan to file a demurrer next month. The legal maneuver
often challenges that while facts presented may be true, they do not constitute
a legal basis for a lawsuit.

“The charges are lacking proper basis, and these are people who were acting
in complete compliance with the medical marijuana laws of California,” says Kali
Grech, Attorney for Sara Herrin of Today’s Health Collective. “The DA is
refusing to recognize those laws and respect those laws.” [Continue reading…]

What I would like to know is why on God’s green earth is District Attorney Donald I. Segerstrom, Jr. draining the taxpayers money conducting expensive raids and trying frivolous lawsuits in the Tuolumne County Court? Maybe he didn’t get the memo that not only is Tuolumne County broke, but so is the state of California. What in the world is this man thinking?

This part really gets me… Is our District Attorney a communist?

Law enforcement officials argue that the collectives were selling marijuana for
profit rather than just collectively cultivating it for medicinal purposes.

What? They opened up businesses, are they supposed to pool their money to pay for the lights and the rent? Of course they are selling marijuana for profit, someone has to supply it and why on earth would they supply it for free? No one else would expect them to.

No one expects the drug companies to operate as a non-profit and charitable foundation. They are capitalists, they lobby in Washington D. C. and they spend a boat load of money while they are at it. Why doesn’t the district attorney send his swat team to Rite Aid and arrest the pharmacist for selling drugs for profit?

It makes just as much sense. Send Mr. Segerstrom, Jr. a message. Stop wasting our money or he can be replaced.