Summerville Union High School District’s incoming superintendent, Robert Griffith, is holding off on suggesting changes to the school until he’s met with every employee there. 

Griffith presented a draft “transition plan” to Summerville High’s Board of Education Wednesday and said he’s already met with many of the district’s 84 employees. 

Safety agencies urge the public to make water safety a priority, as throngs of residents and tourists head to rivers and lakes this Memorial Day weekend.

Local emergency responders said the leading causes of drownings are alcohol or drug use, hypothermia, lack of preparedness for strong river currents, wearing improper clothing while swimming and unexpectedly slipping into waterways while fishing or walking along riverbanks.

When they were ready to retire, Ken and Patt Koral moved to Tuolumne County with the idea of farming, meeting their neighbors and living a rural lifestyle.

Since then, they have become known for taking an active role in the community, belonging to several service organizations and helping with many fundraising efforts.

If hotel and campground reservations are any clue, the Mother Lode will be brimming with Memorial Day travelers this weekend. 

Most accommodations in Tuolumne County were already booked as of Wednesday, but  some hotel rooms and campsites are still available, said Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nanci Sikes. 

Columbia Mobile Home Park residents are afraid their sewer, water and power service will be shut off soon because the park owner didn’t pay the bills.

Turn-off notices are posted on the office door at Columbia Mobile Home Park at 22217 Parrotts Ferry Road.

The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to reanimate the long-dormant Tuolumne County Water Agency and is also forming a special committee that will advise county leaders on water issues and policies.

The decision comes after months of meetings among county, city and water district leaders who weighed whether the county could take up some issues and long-term planning tasks related to the local water supply.

Sonora High Superintendent Mike McCoy and teacher Robert Mayben laid out an ambitious plan for agriculture classes at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees’ meeting, but students continued protesting the removal of teacher Stan Kellogg from the program.

McCoy and Mayben said they plan to start a vineyard, raise cattle, install solar panels, sell produce and develop local business partnerships. 

The Red Church’s Anglican congregration will likely be forced to return the property to the Episcopal Church as result of a legal settlement. File photo/ Copyright 2013.

Leadership and worshipers with St. James Anglican Church are finalizing the details of the settlement that will turn over the keys to the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, according to Fresno attorney Russell VanRoseboom, who has represented the Anglican diocese in the case.

Yosemite National Park officials Monday released a few new details about a Montana man’s fatal fall in a climbing accident on El Capitan over the weekend.

The climber was Mason Robison, 38, of Columbia Falls, just southwest of Glacier National Park. He died about 9:15 a.m. as he and a partner were climbing the 27th of 30 pitches to the top of the 3,000-foot granite monolith at Yosemite Valley’s northwest end.

A Manteca man drowned while swimming at South Lake Tulloch on Saturday.

At 6:38 p.m., the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office received a  call about a man who went missing near the south shore of the lake.