-Headline News

  With pressure mounting to adopt the county’s general plan, the Plumas County Planning Commission is down one member.

  When former supervisor Robert Meacher left office at the end of 2012 that also concluded the term of Betsy Schramel, his appointee to the planning commission.

Looking at Sandy Osman and her golden retriever Maverick, there is no doubting the affection that exists between the two. Maverick, one of three retrievers owned by Sandy and Marc Osman, moved up a notch in Sandy’s “love pecking order” when he saved her life. Photo by M. Kate West

 M. Kate West

  When Sandy Osman decided to take her three dogs for a walk on March 2, she had no idea of the peril she would face at Catfish Beach.

  Catfish Beach, which is located northeast of the Northshore Campground, has been a favorite swimming beach for generations of locals.

  “On the way back from having breakfast with my parents in Westwood I noticed the ice was melted and I told myself I could take the dogs for a walk there,” Osman said.

Bella, an 11-week-old European brown bear, plays shy after drinking some milk from her bottle during Chester Elementary School’s March 20 Parent Teacher Association assembly. Photo by Samantha P. Hawthorne

Samantha P. Hawthorne

  For the first time in nearly three years, the Parent Teacher Association for Chester Elementary School hosted a special assembly for the students. The March 20 live animal assembly gave students the chance to get up close and personal with eight different species of wild animals.

  Three representatives from the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation traveled all the way from Oroville with their animal companions.

  Plumas County’s programs to help former jail inmates and parolees reenter the community are gaining momentum and their success affects local residents in a number of ways — from public costs to the crime rate.

  County officials charged with overseeing the process, the Community Corrections Partnership, learned about the successes of another small northern California county during their monthly meeting March 20.

  Plumas Bancorp, the parent company of Plumas Bank, released its 2012 earnings, showing a net income of $1.95 million, up from $941,000 earned in 2011. That is an improvement of more than $1 million. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, the bank’s net income increased by $302,000 to $547,000 as compared to $245,000 during that same quarter the prior year.