Retired teacher Marge Jones, of Sonora, sits with her dogs Shadow (front) and Baby. Amy Alonzo Rozak / Union Democrat, Copyright 2013.

Jones, who just turned 84, built up 37 years of experience as a public school teacher and principal before retiring. 

Wet weather is expected to stick around through the weekend, making for a wet Mother Lode Easter, according to the National Weather Service.

 Friday clearing is forecast for the Central Sierra, but Saturday and Sunday will likely bring rain to the foothills, snow to the mountains and possible thunderstorms.

A Bay Area corporate watchdog group that has spent years promoting tap water over bottled is now targeting sales at national parks, including Yosemite.

Corporate Accountability International’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign launched earlier this year and generated buzz Wednesday with awareness-raising events around San Francisco. 

Pinecrest Lake relies on a good snowpack, which is mostly absent this year, to supply water to TUD customers. Amy Alonzo Rozak / Union Democrat, Copyright 2013.

“We’re under dry conditions now, everyone is,” Glen Nunnelley, an engineer with the Tuolumne Utilities District, said Tuesday.

A group of Tuolumne County residents is hoping to launch a community art project this year to commemorate a Sonora Farmer’s Market merchant killed in a car accident.

The group plans to assemble professional artists and local residents to paint an 8-by-24-foot mural on the south wall of the Land & Structures building at 105 S. Stewart St.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors adopted new regulations on short-term vacation rentals surrounding Tulloch Reservoir Tuesday in a 3-2 vote, following more than a year of bitter clashes.

Hours of public testimony swayed the board in recent months to alter the ordinance, the latest changes made to lowering associated fees and eliminating redundancies with the noise ordinance the board also approved recently. A controversial call to have homes inspected prior to issuance of a permit was replaced with a requirement to submit a floor plan and intended maximum capacity.

The economic situation of Calaveras County leaves a lot to be desired.

Community leaders gathered Tuesday for a study session of the county Board of Supervisors to discuss economic development to turn around the county’s sagging economy.

A land transfer between the Tuolumne Utilities District and a private property owner stalled on Tuesday after multiple members of the district Board of Directors questioned whether the district should give up land.

During a board meeting, directors were split on a proposal that would have turned over a narrow 0.19 acre plot at the district’s Tuolumne water treatment plant to Gene Elkins who owns property to the south. In return, Elkins would have given TUD a 0.15 acre easement for better access to the Camp Roach ditch.

A woman who suffered major injuries in a weekend auto accident in Murphys was in fair condition Monday at Sonora Regional Medical Center.

About 7:56 p.m. Friday, Jonelle Whitehouse, 31, of Murphys, was driving a 2003 Land Rover Discovery east on French Gulch Road west of Darby Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol report.

At a straight section of the road, Whitehouse veered right and struck a large tree head-on, the CHP said. 

Whitehouse told officers she turned to avoid a deer.

She was wearing a seat belt, the report said.

A garage attached to a Valley Springs home was damaged after it caught fire Monday morning.

About 20 percent of the outbuilding was destroyed, resulting in an estimated loss of $25,000, Calaveras Consolidated Deputy Fire Chief Jason Robitaille said.