Reporter's Notebook

The May 14 Elk Grove City Council meeting began with three members and ended with four. Jim Cooper was absent and missed the hiring of a new city manager, new city clerk and initial discussions on the city's budget.
After reporting on Cooper's absence, Council Member Cooper called up the Citizen to explain his absence.
"I was at training in San Diego," Cooper said, explaining that he is now in charge of the Central Valley High Tech Crimes Task Force and needed to get updated on some of the issues in the field.
Cooper said he told Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis of his training and that he would not be there that evening. Cooper had been present at other closed session special meetings of the council when it is believed discussions and interviews were held with potential applicants.

Elk Grove City Council Member Mike Leary has been vocal in his opposition to any sort of traffic ticket quotas in Elk Grove. Elk Grove PD Chief Robert Simmons has repeatedly said there are no quotas. The clashes between the two, and also between Leary and Davis, have brought public attention to the issue and spat.
Leary called last week and said he wanted to make sure that the public knows he supports the officers on the street 100 percent and reiterated that his focus on this issue is purely from the administrative angle.

The messy saga of the Vintara Park project and lawsuit by a local neighborhood association appeared to come to an end on May 27, when a local judge ruled in favor of many aspects of a lawsuit against the city. Supporters of the lawsuit who protested the issue of Vintara Park with the city for years showed up to enjoy their victory at the May 28 city council meeting (read about it in Ted Cox's story). The Citizen inquired with City PIO Christine Brainerd about the lawsuit but has heard no comment on the issue.

City council and planning commission agendas are often times hefty tomes weighing several pounds and consisting of hundreds of pages. The cake may have been taken Wednesday evening as the council discussed the Sterling Meadows project and its 1,600 page staff report. That is more than four times the number of pages as the city's preliminary budget.

The offices of the Elk Grove Citizen were recently vandalized again with more graffiti and spray painted messages on our outside wall. The new tagging was done by unknown people sometime in the last few weeks; and happened in the alley between the Citizen office and the Elk Grove Teen Center USA.

Jeff Forward
Editor, the Citizen

City Council Report: May 28

Council passes budget, appoints charter commission members

Local residents laud court ruling against disputed Vintara Park project

By Ted Cox
Citizen Staff Writer

“We’re here tonight celebrating a victory, a victory over our own city,” said Elk Grove resident Kathy Lee.
With the ink barely dry on a Writ of Mandate from the Superior Court of California, Lee was one of five Elk Grove residents to address the Elk Grove City Council Wednesday night, lauding their recent court victory halting the Vintara Park development plans and calling for changes in the city’s development approval process.
“Vintara is no more,” Lee told the members of the city council.
The Writ of Mandate, which was handed down by Judge Gail D. Ohanesian, ordered the city of Elk Grove and the City Council to “set aside their actions of Feb. 22, 2006, approving the Negative Declaration and Initial Study for the Project, an ordinance rezoning the Project site and a resolution giving approval to a tentative subdivision map, large lot map, design review, and an exception to lot area requirements.”
The case, which was filed by an attorney representing the Quail Ranch Estates Association, claimed that the city failed to conduct the adequate environmental impact reports, was improperly piecemealed, and lacked adequate public review.
The Court agreed that the city had not conducted proper assessments of traffic impact and water availability. The Court rejected the Association’s arguments that that city did not properly assess issues concerning flooding and storm water, water and sewer facilities, and air quality. The Court also rejected the Association’s arguments that the project was improperly piecemealed, that the mitigated negative declaration was improperly recirculated, or that the City did not provide adequate public review of the project.
“It is not our goal tonight to stand before you full of arrogance and self-indulgence,” said Rachelle Reinwald, a representative of the Quail Ranch Estates Association. “It is instead our goal to encourage you to use these events as an opportunity to evaluate the planning process.”
All five city council members were in attendance, but Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis was the only council member to address the ruling, called the Vintara Park Project, “an example of bad past practices.”
Davis also expressed his hope that future developers conduct “extensive community outreach.”
The night also featured the council adopted a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 after a continued discussion from the previous meeting on May 14.
City Finance Director Rebecca Craig made a brief presentation and answered questions from council members.
The budget includes two new city employee positions: a Community Enhancement Inspector, which would be funded by the Solid Waste Fund, and an Assistant City Attorney, which would be funded by a reduction in legal services.
Council members also considered a request for funds by the Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization, which facilitates economic development in the region. SACTO Executive Director Barbara Hayes was on-hand to respond to concerns about a requested $30,000 allocation of funds to SACTO for economic development in Elk Grove. The figure is based on a $0.25 per capita contribution derived from the 2000 census figures.
In their previous meeting, the city council had earmarked $1,000 in funding to SACTO. Wednesday the council unanimously approved a motion to allocate another $9,000, bringing the total allocation to $10,000. The funding will be achieved by a decrease in contributions to the city’s reserve funds.
Council members expressed gratitude to the City staff for preparing a balanced budget in a time when other governments are facing budget deficits.
“I’m excited about bringing a balanced budget back to this community,” said District 3 Council Member Michael Leary. “It’s really unique in this region to have a community that has a balanced budget.”
Council Member Jim Cooper, however, cautioned that harder times might be ahead.
“I don’t think we should puff out our chests, because our time may come,” Cooper said.
In a move to make Elk Grove a charter city, the council appointed seven people to the Charter Commission that was established in March.
“We got a lot of qualified applicants for this,” Davis said. Twelve people submitted applications for the seven open positions. Each council member selected one applicant to join the Commission, and two “at large” Commission members were selected by a council vote.
The five Commission members appointed directly by the city council were: Juanita Lopez, Jimmie Johnson, Christopher Orrock, Clifford Loveland, and Jake Allen. The Council voted unanimously to appoint “at large” members Heather Martin and William Farley.
Council members also requested that the newly appointed commission members be presented at the next city council meeting.
The commission was established to draft a charter to be presented to voters in Elk Grove in the 2010 general election. Resolution 2008-74 specified that each commission member must be at least 18 years of age, reside in the city, and be registered to vote.
The City Attorney’s Office has budgeted $150,000 to support the Commission for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Bob Williamson, senior project architect for the city of Elk Grove, spoke on a recommendation to expand the Corporation Yard Facilities to three yard locations.
The Corporation Yard currently houses the e-tran buses, the police fleet vehicles, and the city’s maintenance vehicles.
In 2006, the city hired SGS Group to examine the long-term needs of the Corporation Yard as the city ages and continues to grow. While the City currently owns 11.2 acres at the current yard location, SGS recommended that the City would need between 40 to 50 acres in the next 15 years.
Council members directed Williamson to proceed with an environmental review to explore possible new locations for the expanded yard.
Wednesday’s meeting also included a lengthy and sometimes rowdy discussion on alleged fencing violations throughout the city. Several residents expressed their frustration not only with what they believe are violations of the city’s fencing codes, but also that the city council has taken more than a year to resolve the issue.
At the center of the issue are several homes around the city that some residents say have expanded their fences beyond legal limits to make room for recreational vehicle parking.
Residents who addressed the council did little to mask their displeasure, sometimes speaking over council members or city staff after public comments were closed.
When Davis told the residents that the city council will be in contact with them, one person shot back from the audience, “We’ve been hearing that for a year now.”
Council members discussion included a proposed plan that would utilize aerial photographs to determine which homes were in violation of the codes. Part of the difficulty in enforcing the fencing issue is a lack of staff members to handle the complaints and the fact that some fences were legal in the County of Sacramento before the city of Elk Grove enacted new, shorter height requirements for fences.
The city council decided that instead of an aerial review of individual fences, a notice would be sent to homeowners when a complaint is received by the city. The homeowner would then have to prove their fence was constructed legally or face a fine.
The Council also appointed Mayor Davis as a representative on the Elk Grove Teen Center Board of Directors. Davis will replace Cooper, who resigned from the position May 13.

Local ag students shine at Sac County Fair

The 2008 Sacramento County Fair was filled with eager, hard-working students from 4-H and FFA programs from every area of Elk Grove. Here is this year's Grand Champion Turkey, raised by Florin High School junior Stephanie Sloan. The bird nabbed $1,000 in the junior livestock auction.

Jamie's Journal & Cancer Blog

As many of our readers are aware, one of our staff writers - Jamie Gonzales - has cancer. She is chronicling her experience via a column in the Elk Grove Citizen - Jamie's Journal - as well as in a new blog she's created. It is linked at left under the Citizen News Links section.
Jeff Forward
Editor, The Citizen

Pleasant Grove lady Eagles soccer loses in play-offs

The Davis Blue Devils defeated Pleasant Grove 4-0 in the first round of the girl's soccer play-offs Friday.
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Arjil made 24 saves on the day to keep the Eagles in the game. Look for a full story with photographs in Wednesday's Elk Grove Citizen.

Back at it; the blog isn't dead yet

It has been awhile, but the blog is back. That's right, I finally figured how to reset my password and now have access to the blog again. I will get some news up on this as soon as possible, as there are some big things happening in Elk Grove.
Notably, there is a special meeting of the Elk Grove City Council on Monday night where a new city manager may be hired.
Sorry to all our readers (yes, you two) about the inaction on the blog...we here at the Citizen (i.e. Jeff) are still learning the ins and outs of the Internet.
Thanks and back soon.
Jeff Forward
Editor, the Citizen

Laguna Lake rescue

Rescue workers pull out a victim who was traveling in a car that crashed and submerged in the lake. Photo by Cameron Macdonald.

Dramatic Rescue at Laguna lake

Local authorities responded to a call of a vehicle in a lake on Wednesday afternoon. Cosumnes CSD firefighters search for the victims after a car drove into and sunk in an artificial lake at Laguna West. These photos were taken by Citizen Staff Writer Cameron Macdonald.

Man killed in I-5 accident Wednesday

By Cameron Macdonald
Citizen Staff Writer

A 35-year-old man died Wednesday when his jeep crashed into a steel light-pole near the Laguna Boulevard overpass on Interstate-5 on Sept. 5. A passenger in the vehicle was hospitalized for moderate injuries, authorities reported.
The deceased man, who was reportedly from Sacramento, was not identified and Sacramento County coroners could not be reached for information about him, as of press time.
Jasper Begay, spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol, said that the incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. on Sept. 5.
The driver was traveling in a 1991 Jeep Cherokee northbound on Interstate-5’s fast lane when the accident happened, Begay said, adding that it appeared the driver drifted over into the freeway’s center divider and struck a steel guardrail.
The jeep then bounced away from the rail and spun sideways across all four northbound lanes and into the dirt of the roadway’s right shoulder.
“Somehow he avoided hitting the other vehicles,” Begay said.
He said that the driver was wearing a seatbelt at the time, but he died instantly when the vehicle’s driver door struck the light-pole.
The victim’s passenger was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center for medical treatment.
This incident occurred around the same time that a car carrying an elderly couple had crashed into an artificial lake a mile away in Elk Grove’s Laguna West area.

City employees get new retirement benefit plan

By Blake Ellington
Citizen Staff Writer

When the Elk Grove Police Department began in 2006 one its main hurdles was hiring new officers because of the current retirement health plan.
Recruitment for law enforcement during the department’s infant stages was no easy task, as identified by every person responsible for its creation, but with a change in policy, so the Elk Grove City Council ushered in a new health benefits program for those who work for city employees at the Aug. 22 meeting.
“Going into our interviews, there were a number of questions about our current retiree medical plan and we did in fact lose candidates because of that,” said Police Chief Robert Simmons. “I can see this (the new plan) as a great recruitment tool but also a retention tool because people are not willing to give up their retirement medical benefits to go on to another agency.”
The new plan offers $800 per month for executive-level employees who have served for five years and regular city employees who have served for 10 years. The money is placed into a “Health Reimbursement Account” HRA and accumulates each month. Employees are eligible, along with their spouse, for both of their lives.
The time accrued by the employee which makes them eligible after the initial grace period is based on “active employment.” This means, someone who takes a large extended amount of leave will not be able to use that time towards their five or 10 year probation period.
City council had a few a problems with the language of these requirements.
“What happens if someone is pregnant and has a child, takes an extended period of time off, it seems that we are going to penalize the woman because it has to be after employment when she took off nine months or a year because of her child and other places don’t really do that,” Elk Grove Mayor Jim Cooper said.
City Council members Michael Leary and Pat Hume, who were both on the Retiree Healthcare Committee appointed on Jan. 10 to come up with different options for healthcare benefits, explained that the point of mentioning “active employment” in the documentation was to make sure those accrued six months of sick time could not be used towards that five or 10 year increment level.
“They can’t bank accrued leave and then use that and say ‘you know I have nine-and-a-half years in but I’ve got six months of accrued leave I’m out of here pay me,” Hume said.
City Council Member Sophia Scherman also expressed concern however over the treatment of pregnant woman who sometimes can stay in bed for up to seven months and then “after that are home with their newborn.”
Deputy City Manager, Frank Oviedo said staff would draft up the documents to make sure that that issue was addressed including not losing sick time for the birth of a child.
City Council Member Gary Davis made some additional clarifications on sick time.
“A year after the birth of that child, you are allowed to use your sick leave,” Davis said. “So I hope that doesn’t get lost in the mix.”
The plan, which is being funded through a transfer of $1.5 million from the city’s reserve fund, is also only good so as long as the employee does not work for another agency following termination of employment with the city of Elk Grove. So in other words, if someone works for the city of Sacramento after they begin collecting retirement health benefits from Elk Grove, their benefits are suspended or terminated should the new agency (Sacramento) supply its own set of benefits.
The program is similar to the one the Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD), city of Folsom, city of Roseville and the Elk Grove Unified School District uses.
Cooper had additional concerns over the distinction between executive time requirements and regular city employee time requirements laid out in the plan. The city currently has four department heads including the city manger, city attorney and city clerk.
With an extensive background in law enforcement, Cooper questioned why the management officials at the police department (police captains and sergeants) weren’t also included in the language and considered “department heads.”
Hume explained the reasoning of that decision by the Retirement Healthcare Committee over the course of their five meetings since January.
“The reason being is that their jobs are a little more secure because they are not at the will of political whims of change,” Hume said.
The plan was passed 5-0 yet in still to bring in a new retirement health benefits program with the included change to not penalize someone who takes an extended leave of having children of some catastrophic illness.
“We tried to find one that is not fluctuating so that we know what our expenses are, it makes it much easier to come up with that year so that we can project out, these are your employees this is their age range,” Hume said.
Aside from attracting and keeping more employees in the city, the new healthcare plan will also help the general fund’s pocketbook according to Oviedo.
“If you were to fund fully and do it similar to what other agencies have done, our first year payment would be in the million dollar range compared to what we are paying which is more in the $400,000 range,” Oviedo said.
In other news, the 21,000 or so residents in Elk Grove that use either a wood or pellet burning stove could be in jeopardy of losing that privilege in the near future.
In two years or so the federal law against these types of fireplaces may take effect and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District warned the city council of the health effects of wood particles in the air during the winter at the meeting.
Air Pollution Control Officer Larry Greene presented the issue to council.
“The reason why we are doing this is the two-fold, one is because of the health impacts from smoke that comes from fireplaces on our citizens, secondly, we have an opportunity to get ahead of the power curve on a new federal standard that is coming down the pipe,” Greene said.
Greene went on to say that wood smoke makes up for 45 percent of the pollution in the region during winter and that it can cause lung conditions and heart disease.
In response to such statistics, the Management District is proposing no burning on days with poor air quality, which accounts for about 30 days of the year. The restriction would apply to the burning of any solid fuel including wood, pellets and manufactured logs from November through February.
Council members raised concerns over those who can’t afford SMUD services, like senior citizens, and rely on wood burning stoves for their main source of heat during the winter months.
“We would consider an economic hardship and there would be some things people would have to come and show us,” Greene said. “I would have the option of giving those people a pass.”
The enforcement would need to be in the form of visuals only. Residents who should call and complain that they see smoke coming from a chimney would not be enough. A member of the Management District would have to witness the smoke first hand to issue a citation.
Scherman, as well as other council members, had issues with the ban on pellet-burning stoves which are often credited as being fuel efficient.
“I own a pellet burning stove, I’ve had it for about 10 years and it is a cleaner way of heating the area that you are in,” Scherman said.
Leary shared his comments on the importance of wood-burning stoves.
“My parents use a wood-burning stove to keep their house warm and they are retired so to maintain a gas heater in that house would be and astronomical amount of money,” Leary said.
The city of Fresno currently has a similar program.

Someone has read this blog....

Well, I met the first person outside of our office who reads the blog - that being Nan Mahon, a local Elk Grove author, columnist for the Bee EG edition, and also a former Citizen staff writer.
That is nice to know, that someone is reading the blog...or, at least knows of its existence.
On a side note, the blog has not had an entry since Aug. 2, for a variety of reasons. Mainly, I am busy at the office working on many aspects of the newspaper. Our summer, college intern - Sarah Kyo - just finished and went back to school. Now, we are beginning yet another school year.
High School Football, here I come.

Police investigating possible theft from CSD medicine supply

Authorities are investigating a reported security breach in an inventory space where the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department stores their medicinal narcotics.
Steve Foster, fire chief for the Cosumnes CSD, said that the case is an ongoing criminal investigation and is also a personnel matter within the CSD.
“As soon as we discovered the breach, we immediately reported it to the authorities,” he said Wednesday night.
Foster could not comment on the details of the case details since it is still under investigation, but did say that CSD staff is actively working with officials from the Elk Grove police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Sacramento County health officials on the case.
Foster said that, to his knowledge, such an incident has not occurred before within the CSD.
Foster noted that since the incident, the fire department has changed the way they store their medicinal narcotics inventory under the supervision of medical authorities.
CSD staff discovered the breach several weeks ago, Foster said, noting than authorities had made no arrests as of press time.

Brief was compiled by Citizen Staff Writer Cameron Macdonald.

SACOG: Elk Grove needs more low-income housing

Report says more than 4,800 very-low income housing units are needed; council offers debt relief on utility bills



By Blake Ellington
Citizen Staff Writer

The Elk Grove City Council – short of two members – got a jolt from the Sacramento Area Council of Government (SACOG) at their July 25 meeting when a report was presented to council members stating that Elk Grove should add an additional 16,208 total housing units by the year 2013 - 4,820 of those being “very-low income” housing.
SACOG has allowed for a 60-day comment period for all of the local jurisdictions under their umbrella of influence to come up with comments as to any disagreements or problems that could arise because of their projected numbers.
Council members requested SACOG officials come back with a more realistic number and to take Elk Grove’s past performance in housing development into consideration.
“I think it’s important that we send a message that we value this exercise, it’s important,” said City Council Member Gary Davis.
Davis said Elk Grove does have housing program fees currently in place that helps get “units on the ground, which really is usually the most significant prohibitor often times to get it when it’s built.”
The regional needs assessment by SACOG was calculated with an overall figure by the state and then distributed to various area cities for further determination on how that figure should be allocated throughout their jurisdictions.
Members of the city council expressed their view that the share of the pie is a little high based on the city’s capacity.
“If you look around at the six counties and 22 cities in the region which SACOG is a part of, Elk Grove has done the best job,” said Elk Grove Mayor Jim Cooper. “You look at Folsom, Roseville they are way behind us in building affordable housing.”
Council members went on to make note that they aren’t pleased with the way to study was done and how the numbers were compiled by SACOG, which initially planned to take the growth projections out to 2035 and then reverted to 2018 because they wished to overlap other efforts and staff work time.
“We felt like that they actually needed to go back to 2013 which is actually the planning period,” said Jim Carney, housing advisor. “I think the current methodology is better than the first one.”
Council members weren’t convinced.
“We definitely don’t like the result of it,” said City Council Member Pat Hume. “In April there were some concerns raised and it says one of those concerns was that some jurisdictions are doing better than others, and I think we are one of those jurisdictions.”
The city has recently identified some low-income sites and approved the rezone process for these sites.
Council members also requested SACOG respond to these current advancements and that the 16,208 figure be looked at more closely in relation to the city’s capacity. The general consensus was to make other jurisdictions come up with their fair share and to not penalize Elk Grove.
“We are collecting data from the other jurisdictions as to how they have actually been producing units in comparison to Elk Grove’s and we will get back to you when have it complete,” Carney said.
In other business in a short meeting, the members of the city council sympathized with late utility bill payments.
The delinquent utility payment report was brought forward to the council, members to be approved and sent to the county of Sacramento for collection. The list of customers in question have not made payments on solid waste and storm water utility charges for 10 months and have liens attached to their properties as a result.
Though it was acknowledged by the council that the majority of those customers have been initially dodging payments, exceptions were made for individuals with certain life circumstances that put them in a tight financial spot.
Kathy Nguyn, a college student in attendance on behalf of her mother and father who speak little English, stood in front of council to voice one such circumstance.
“I am currently not working, I am going to school and so my parents actually have to pay for my college tuition, my school books and my rent, so it’s super hard for them to pay for all these expenses,” Nguyn said. “We are were hoping for an extension if possible.”
Nguyn and her family just moved into their Elk Grove house not that long ago from a studio in a bad neighborhood. Her mother, who stood by her side at the podium while her daughter took it upon herself to explain their hardships, had been seeking a job transfer from Walgreen’s for a full time position but has yet to receive it. Her father is dealing with mental health issues and diabetes.
“Every time we did make a payment we would have to pay our late charges, so instead of paying the bill we were paying our late charges,” Nguyn said.
The family was requesting an extension on the payments due, thus to avoid collection requirements from the county.
The collection process, headed by city Utilities Billing Manager Bonnie Puleo, is in its second year and currently is seeking to collect about $576,000 in past due bills. The customers had received three to five notifications of their late charges up until this point.
Nguyn continued to vouch for her family’s diligence in attempting to make prior payments on time.
“We paid every single bill on time, if you go back in our history,” Nguyn said.
Council members, with a nod of understanding, took the college student’s effort to heart and agreed for Puleo to make arrangements for an extension and payment plan.
“In some cases we have adjusted our late fees as they make those payments depending on the situation, we are always willing to work with them,” Puleo said.
Davis mentioned a similar request from another resident made in person to the city clerk earlier that day.
“I’d just like to ask that we also reach out to this gentlemen,” Davis said.
As for the other customers on the list provided by staff, council members felt that the program is needed for the county to receive the money due.
“A lot of them just ignore the bill, but you have some cases where people just can’t afford it,” Cooper said. “We are also aware of that, too.”
The Elk Grove Municipal Code states that any solid waste and storm water utility charges that remain unpaid for 60 days can be collected as a “special assessment on the residential parcel.”
The collection program received a 100 percent recovery rate last year.
“That’s not bad,” Davis said.
Council voted 3-0 to send the report to the county for collections barring payment plans be coordinated with the requesting parties.
In other action, a General Plan amendment, specific plan amendment, and rezone to the Waterman Park 75 project based on the Elk Grove Planning Commission’s recommendations was also approved in a 3-0. vote
For more information on the meeting visit www.elkgrovecity.org.

Harry Potter is this generation's Hobbit

I have only one request - don't tell me the ending of the new Harry Potter book.
I know, you Potter fans have probably heard a lot of that request. But, I am in a bit different situaton: I am only on chapter four of the very first Potter tome.
In other words, you reveal the ending and you're ruining the next six books for me!
It's funny how much Harry Potter has fascinated nearly all segments of society - here in the United States and abroad. Harry reaches all ages, all economic classes, and both men and women.
Unlike most of the current generation of youth, I have not read the Harry Potter books....I did see one movie! I am only beginning the first book of the Potter series and I have to admit, it's not too bad. I am turning the pages, slowly, but I am turning them. I began reading the book two weeks ago and have progressed four chapters. Hagrid is rescuing Harry from his aunt and uncle's torment. (Hope I got that right, Potter fans).
The popularity of the Harry Potter series reminds me of my time in junior high school, the fabulous early 1980s, when our class was assigned to read "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. I plowed through it - as did many of my classmates.
Afterall, my elementary school days had been filled with the reading of tomes about the Battle of the Bulge, the Civil War, the 82nd (All-American) and 101st (Screaming Eagles) Airborne Divisions; the D-Day invasion; Erwin Rommel and the African tank battles between him and Monty; and also the Arnhem airborne operation.
So, delving into a fantasy world of Dwarves, Hobbits, Elves, Goblins, Orcs, and dozens of other fantasmic creatures was a welcome respite from the real-life stories of military engagements.
I loved "The Hobbit" and that Christmas, my grandmother bought me the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a boxed set of paperbacks. Again, I read them as fast as possible and then re-read all four novels many times over. By the time I'd had my fill of Hobbits and dragons and the like, I had read "The Hobbit" about nine times and the three books of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy a total of seven times each.
My friends and others in school during those years also became fascinated with the Tolkien tales. Instead of dressing up as the characters in the novels, most of us began playing Dungeons and Dragons to recreate the fastasies of the Hobbit world.
I sense from our college intern - Sarah Kyo - and our staff photographer - Rebecca Maston (Both HUGE Potter fans) - that they have the same connection with Harry that we did with Bilbo and Frodo and Sam.
Although this is supposed to be the final Potter book, you never can say never. Maybe Harry will return for one more battle? Don't despair, Potter fans, you can alway read the books again, and again, and again. They will get better every time.

Jeff Forward is the editor of the Elk Grove Citizen. He welcomes all comments and criticisms - just not the ending or details fo the next six Harry Potter books.

Under his spell - fans flock for last Harry Potter tome

The interior of the Laguna Boulevard Borders store was crowded with enthusiastic Potter fans who came dressed for the occassion. Photo by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.



Sarah Kyo
Citizen College Intern

“10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!,” fans yelled out as the witching hour neared on July 20.
At the stroke of midnight, July 21, cheers erupted throughout the Borders store in Elk Grove.
No, this wasn’t a countdown for a new year. Instead, it was a welcome for the newest addition to J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Since this seventh volume marks the end of the boy wizard saga, prior to the event, Borders General Manager Doug Thompson said he expected a larger turnout than what the store witnessed during the release of the previous book. On Friday evening, the store was packed full of people, waiting and anticipating late into the night for the book. Hundreds of people, many wearing Harry Potter-related outfits, had flocked to the store’s Grand Hallows Ball.
Among the activities at the event included the Harry Potter Spelling Bee, in which contestants took turns spelling words from Harry Potter books. To start off the game, a contestant spelled the last name of Harry’s close female friend, Hermione.
“G-R-A-N-G-E-R,” said the contestant.
“Does anyone know if that was correct?” asked Andy Harr, the master of ceremonies.
“Yes!” shouted the crowd.
“Indeed, that was correct!” exclaimed Harr, who wore a cloak and bushy wig.
Later during the bee, Harr. who was standing on a tall ladder that acted as a platform, almost stumbled when climbing down to give a contestant a consolation prize.
“Don’t worry kids,” Harr said. “It’s just magic.”
After six rounds, April Adalim, 15, won the spelling bee, earning a free pen and the first volume from the Pendragon Series. The winning word was “serpensortia,” a spell that causes a large serpent to come from the end of a wand.
Wearing a black robe over her Loretto High School uniform and a red-and-gold scarf, Adalim said she came to her first midnight release celebration because it was the last Harry Potter book.
“I hope that the last book won’t be a disappointment, and it’ll tie-up loose ends,” said Adalim, who had also drawn a lightening bolt-scar on her forehead with a pen and poked out the lenses of her sister’s old glasses in order to resemble Harry.
Another event at the Grand Hallows Ball was the costume contest. Melissa Forsberg, a student from Cosumnes River College, was crowned the queen of the ball in her red-and-white, off-shoulder ball gown. She was dressed as the fat lady from the portrait that hangs outside of the Gryffindor common area.
“She always dresses good,” said Forsberg, who had used her high school senior ball dress for the costume and had some red flowers painted across her face.
However, Harr said his favorite activity was the Great Snape Debate in which people took turn speaking into a microphone, expressing their opinion regarding the loyalties of the character, Severus Snape. Customers could visually show-off their position by wearing a purple sticker with the words “Snape is loyal,” or an orange sticker with the words “Snape will betray.”
“Everyone was really animated,” Harr said on Sunday afternoon.
Harr, who is also the merchandising supervisor at Borders, talked about how passionate people were about the topic and that the amount of people who wanted to participate could have possibly delayed the midnight release of the book.
Ever since the first book was published a decade ago, the series has sold 325 million copies worldwide, according to CNN.
Customers who had preordered the seventh Harry Potter book by July 13 from Borders picked up a certain colored wristband starting at 9 a.m. on Friday. The first block of people who could line up to purchase their books had orange wristbands. The line for the orange wristbands started at the registers and snaked towards the back of the store.
The next group would have silver wristbands, then blue, green and pink. The people who did not preorder the book were in the final group with purple wristbands.
However, Deborah Midas won a raffle, allowing her to move to the front of the line and become the first person to purchase Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows from this location.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Midas said. “I never win anything. I looked at the number twice, and I kept shouting.”
Midas, who had preordered the book in December, had picked up a pink wristband at around 10:30 p.m. That color bracelet would have put her in the second-to-the-last group.
However, even Dumbledore couldn’t receive his book in a timely fashion. That is, Owen Mosburg, the male costume contest winner who dressed as the Hogwarts headmaster, had a purple wristband around his wrist.
Mosburg, who wore a beard, a pointy hat and robe, hadn’t pre-ordered his book nor planned on attending the event initially. He heard the youth group from his church, United Methodist Church, was going to be in attendance.
“I think it’s great that Elk Grove came together,” Mosburg said. “There’s a lot of people interested in Harry Potter.”
After midnight, there were still people waiting outside of the store to get a wristband. At around 12:30 a.m., the line stretched towards the Crazy Sushi restaurant.
Harr said the final customer left at around 3:30 a.m., and overall, about 80 percent of the store’s Deathly Hallows inventory had been unloaded during the weekend.
As of Sunday afternoon, though, Harr said he hadn’t had a chance to read the book, though he looked forward to it.
Harr said, “Just hopefully—hopefully—nobody spoils the end.”

Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry!!!!

April Adalim, 15, dressed in her best Gryffindor attire and attended the Grand Hallows Ball at Borders on the evening of July 20. Adalim won the night's Harry Potter spelling bee and received a pen and book for her Potter prowess. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.

Potter mania continues....

Daniellesherri Baker, Katie Tam, and Ariel Ryan (left to right) represent the character of Professor Trelawney while they wait for the release of the final Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Photograph by Rebecca Maston Citizenstaff photographer.

Harry Potter Revelry continued...

Employees of Borders were dressed in costume Friday night for the big occassion, characters included this person as Albus Dumbledore. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.

Harry Potter fans revel in excitement of final book

Christopher Duran dressed in his Harry Potter costume in honor of the midnight release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book. Scores of Potter fans invaded the Borders store on Laguna Boulevard for a night of wizard fun. Photograph by Rebecca Maston, Citizen staff photographer.

Harry Potter Mania hit Elk Grove last night

Scores of wizards, Muggles, and other Harry Potter aficianado's were at Borders Friday night for the release of the latest Harry Potter book. Elk Grove Citizen Photographer Rebecca Maston and College Intern Sarah Kyo were at Borders to catch all the Muggle madness, their full report - along with Shannon Savage's story on Saturday's Potter fun at the Elk Grove Library - will be in the Wednesday, July 25, edition of the Citizen.