Pland And Deardon Comment On U.S. Senate Vote Down

Sonora, CA — Tuolumne County Fifth District Supervisor Dick Pland summed it up this way, “It´s terribly disappointing and devasting to the public works road program in Tuolumne County.”

Pland was referring to the Thursday defeat of the Senate´s Energy Bill that included the Secure Rural and Community Self Determination Act. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada then stripped more than $80 billion in additional taxes so the bill would receive a positive vote later in the day and that´s exactly what happened. Falling by the wayside was the Act that would have brought $2.5 million annually to Tuolumne County.

Also lost was $1 million a year for the next four years for Tuolumne County schools with $178,000 of that allocated to Sonora High School. Principal Todd Deardon stated that that amount was never included in the program because it´s not wise to budget on hope. Deardon added that his number of faculty members will not be affected by the loss. The number of teachers is determined by a school´s attendence level.

County School Superintendent Joe Silva is returning from Washington, D.C. where he was lobbying over the past couple of days for passage of the energy bill.

Written by Bill Johnson