Jan. 28 Psst, Pass it on – A 28-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly tried to provide contraband to inmates picking up litter on the side of Highway 49 in Auburn. The suspect was on parole and was also allegedly in possession of some stolen goods such as a wallet, credit cards, cell phone and prescription medication.

Jan. 27 Not a Jackpot – A man reported that someone walked away with his coat, which also contained his wallet. Where was he? Whiling away the hours at Thunder Valley Casino. Loss is estimated at $600.

Jan. 25 How Did That Get There? – A 50-year-old man, already behind bars at the Placer County Jail, found himself in even more trouble when 4.5 grams of suspected marijuana was discovered in his cell.

Jan. 23 Put That in Your Pipe! – A 46-year-old male Martinez resident was stopped by deputies at Fiddyment Road and Athens Avenue in Lincoln. The driver reportedly admitted he had methamphetamine and a “meth pipe” in his vehicle. He was booked into Placer County Jail on drug related charges.

Jan. 22 Out for a Snack? – A 58-year-old female was arrested for driving under the influence while in the parking lot of a popular Foresthill market and eatery.

Jan. 6 Good Deed – A Placer County Sheriff Deputy hand-delivered flyers in Foresthill’s Michigan Bluff area informing folks that a warming center had been opened at Memorial Park. The area had been suffering from an extended power outage due to the severe storms in early January.

— Compiled from Placer County Sheriff’s Office crime reports.

Auburn residents Monica Sue Marks, 38, and Abraham David Marks, 49, went before Placer Superior Court Judge Robert P. McElhany on Thursday last week and plead not guilty to a charge of child endangerment.

The official charge, “cruelty to a child by abuse, neglect or endangering health,” was enhanced by “great bodily injury” due to the age and condition of the child when found.

The Marks are accused of not properly feeding or caring for their infant, who had lost a third of its weight when the six-week-old baby was taken to a doctor on Dec. 26.

The medical facility alerted authorities and the Auburn Police Department arrested the couple at their Racetrack Drive home. The baby was placed in protective custody through Child Protective Services and is reportedly doing much better.

The defendants were appointed attorneys and bail remains set at $150,000 each.

According to Scott Owens of the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, the Marks could face six years in state prison if convicted. If the enhancement charge sticks, it could add another four to six years.

The next step is a conference set for Feb. 7 in Department 8 at 8:30 a.m.

Doug Ose, surrounded by supporters, announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for the 4th Congressional District seat. Photo by Don Chaddock.

Sacramento Republican Doug Ose, who served in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005 for District 3, is looking to return to Washington, D.C. with help from 4th Congressional District voters.

Held for 17 years by John T. Doolittle, who has been under investigation for his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the seat was almost lost two years ago to Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Lt. Col. of US Air Force and Roseville resident.
Lew Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, said Ose is the best choice to unite the district’s Republicans and defeat Brown in November.

To secure the Republican nomination, Ose has to get by Roseville’s Eric Egland, a U.S. Air Force Reservist and anti-terrorism consultant, former state Sen. T. Rico Oller and Nevada County’s Theodore Terbolizard. Auburn Vice Mayor Mike Holmes, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in 2006, bowed out of the race earlier this month. Ted Gaines, a former Placer County Supervisor and current state Assemblyman, also announced he would not seek the party’s nomination to replace Doolittle.

According to the Egland campaign, they raised $61,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007, bringing his total to more than $140,000.

Democrat Brown has been building his war chest, raising another $200,000 by Dec. 31, 2007, raising his total for the year to $700,000. He is sitting on $483,000 in cash going into the June Primary, where he will most likely have no competition landing the Democratic nomination.

Nathan Granner, tenor vocalist, and Beau Bledsoe, classical guitar player, will perform at the next offering of the Auburn Community Concert Association’s 2007-2008 Season on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m. at the Placer High School auditorium located at Agard and High streets in Auburn.

Granner is currently one of three “American Tenors” featured on PBS and on the Sony label.
Bledsoe and Granner have collaborated on numerous occasions.

Season tickets are $55 for adults and $125 for a family. Individual concert tickets are available at the door for $25 each.

Future programs include the Djokie and Jalbert Duo (piano, cello) on Sunday, March 30 at 3 p.m., and the Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio, on Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, call Connie Burns at 916-652-5584 or Sue Dings at 530-885-9009.

No longer should property owners complain about not being informed about a development being planned near them.

County supervisors amended the county code requiring signs be placed on nearby property with information about the project.

The 4 by 8-foot signs are to be erected adjacent to each public right-of-way street frontage that the project site abuts. The signs shall include information about the pending development project and include contact phone numbers and a brief description of the approvals being sought along with other information.

Three Placer County supervisors will be going to Drexel University in Philadelphia next week to talk about the university possibly establishing a 6,000-student campus west of Roseville.

The trio – Supervisor Chairman Jim Holmes, and supervisors F. C. “Rocky” Rockholm and Robert Weygandt — also will follow up on a county-approved strategy to try to attract new business to locate in the county, and then go on to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal government officials to discuss legislative and regulatory issues affecting the county.

Doug Ose

Standing on the steps of Auburn's iconic Historic Courthouse on Friday, surrounded by dozens of supporters and TV cameras, former Rep. Doug Ose announced he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated by John T. Doolittle in January 2009.

Doolittle said he will not seek reelection and doesn’t plan to endorse a candidate to replace him.

Ose served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 1999 through January 2005, representing the 3rd District.

Read the next edition of the Sentinel for complete election coverage.

Democrats need to work together

Dear Editor,

As “Tsumani Tuesday” approaches, I have these thoughts on the major candidates.

First, Republican frontrunners John McCain and Mitt Romney seem determined to follow in the footsteps of the worst president in American history, George W. Bush. They mistakenly believe that American soldiers can win the civil war in Iraq, and they are comfortable with domestic policies that make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I fail to understand how voters could pursue these values and this form of patriotism.

At the same time, Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are mudslinging like children in a playground. They should be joining the other Democratic candidates in presenting a united front of racial equality, gender equality, helping the underclass, and reaching out to all of America in a tone of graceful purpose. Regardless of who wins the nomination, Democrats need to show that they can work together, as well as with Republicans, or their time in office will be ineffective.

Stuart Rawlings, Clipper Gap

As The Sentinel’s political prognosticator and resident curmudgeon, I herewith offer my thoughts on the presidential primary election to be held February 5.

After watching Senators Clinton and Obama verbally duke it out on CNN while former Senator John Edwards just stood there like the southern gentleman he is, all I can say is that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would get my vote if he ran as an independent.

And after catching GOP debates in which Senator McCain told us how tough he’d be on terrorism, Governor Huckabee spoke with piety, former Governor Romney bragged about his business expertise and ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani ballyhooed his 9/11 heroics, Bloomberg is looking better all the time.

For purposes of the national media, a Clinton-Giuliani matchup would be a barnburner, but I don’t believe that Rudy can win his party’s nomination. The November election will be between Clinton and McCain, but wouldn’t it be peachy if Mayor Bloomberg somehow got into the mix?

Joe Carroll is a longtime reporter and writes the weekly "Auburn Augur" column.