Here, you'll find historical
information, photos, and maps of the Donner Lake
area, along with information about hiking this
road (click on the buttons above to see all
info).
Since 2005, we've worked to ensure that the public is free to use
this public road without intimidation or threats of violence
from the surrounding landowners, Frank and Julie Cadjew--who
have been intimidating and obstructing the public for over
20 years. (BTW, the Cadjews have never lived on this property;
they have NO legally habitable buildings on this
property--only small storage sheds. Their only listed phone
number is in
Reno).
Part of that work includes exposing and stopping corrupt local
politicians (and their lackeys) who are attempting to steal
our historic public road and give it to the Cadjews. Since
2005, two local politicians who fought us have been voted out of
office, and six others have quit their positions. More details
below.
Right,
this current photo shows a portion of the 1-mile
section of the old State Highway and Dutch Flat Donner Lake
Wagon Road that has been
illegally
obstructed since 1989
Below, the
1915 State survey map overlaid onto the Google Earth 3D view
of the 1-mile road section west of Donner Lake. The green survey
line matches up exactly with the visible old road.
What would we
do without the opinions of news editors? The editors of San
Francisco's Daily Alta had this to say on December 6, 1864:
Stanford
and Company, by their greed and tangling, are now engaged
building a feeder for their Dutch Flat and Donner Lake wagon
road over the mountains to Washoe, and nothing more. The whistle
of the locomotive will never awaken the echoes in the Donner
Lake Pass, for the reason that no locomotive can ever get there.
See our latest
additions:
Recently discovered
and "never before seen" official
State of California 1915 map of this old road based on 1915 state survey,
and ...
1916 AAA map of the this old road
(Maps/Surveys button above)
Aerial view of
old road from lake to summit. and ...
Closer aerial view of old road
adjoining the Cadjews' land (Hiking Guide button)
Rare 1865 photo of Pollard's Hotel
at Donner Lake, and ...
1925 Highway
40 construction photos near Summit Bridge, and ...
1927 photo of Highway 40 /
Victory Highway in
Citrus Heights (Historical Photos button)
Check out
our new Hiking Guide with lots
of photos and helpful information for
hiking this historic
public road
Trail
Maintenance
With some helpful
supporters, we've cleared a huge amount of brush from the
800 feet of road from Old Highway Drive to the barricade.
It's now a real road! Most of it looks the same as it did in 1926 when
Highway 40 replaced it.
We plan to do more clearing in September 2010--if you're
interested, please contact us at
info@historicdonnertrail.org.
Please support
our website by visiting the advertisers above or you can donate
directly on the Contact/Donate button above
A Quick History
Guide...
Historians agree that most of this trail was first an Indian route (petroglyphs
can be seen alongside the road near the summit), then used by
the early pioneers including the Donner Party (snow forced them
to turn around "two miles east of the summit" although the
survivors left for Sacramento using this route; that point two
miles east of the summit is on the portion of the trail that is
today being blocked).
Then in 1863, the same route became the much improved and costly
"Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road" built by Leland
Stanford, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and Collis Huntington
for the construction
of their railroad
(view article).
The wagon road played a major role in the railroad's
construction. During 1866, four locomotives were hauled into
Truckee over the wagon road. They were used for the construction
of the rails eastward from Truckee, while the summit tunnel was
still under construction.
In 1871, when the Central Pacific RR no longer needed the
DFDLWR, the CPRR “deeded back” the road to Nevada &
Placer counties.
On March 13,
1909, the
California State Legislature passed
"An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey, and
construction of a state highway from Emigrant Gap, Placer County
in an easterly direction through what is known as the Truckee
Pass to the west end of Donner Lake in Nevada County... and it
shall be the duty of the department to locate, survey, and
construct said road along the line of the wagon road known as
the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road..."
(view)
So
beginning in 1909, the road was a California state highway,
first called the Emigrant Gap State Highway, then the
Auburn-McKinney's State Highway, and after 1918, State Highway
37. (McKinney's was just south of Homewood at Lake Tahoe). The
road was never paved, always a gravel road, as were most
highways until the 1930s. Beginning in 1913, the road became
part of the first transcontinental highway known as the Lincoln
Highway, and it was also part of the Victory Highway.
After the new
and parallel Highway 40 opened in 1926, Caltrans decided that
this old public highway could be used as a "stock trail" to keep
livestock off of the new highway. In those days and up into the
1950s, livestock was herded along highways to greener pastures,
but often caused car accidents. Throughout the state, as new
highways were being built, any old parallel highways were
designated as "stock trails." This designation did not
restrict the road's use to only livestock, but simply added a
new public use. In fact,
USGS maps continued to label (and still do) the old road to the
summit as “Jeep Trail” or “Emigrant Trail.”
In 1956, the right-of-way of this old California highway from
Donner Lake to beyond the summit was "relinquished" by Caltrans
to Nevada County. However, the right-of-way is still, to this
day, under the ultimate control of Caltrans.
It is obviously a public road. It is not an easement, but
state/ county-owned land since 1871.
(more here))
This "stock trail" road was openly used by the public for
recreation and access for 62 years--from 1926 until 1987,
when a 1-mile section of the road was illegally blocked by the
Cadjews, new owners of the surrounding land, who purchased over
350 acres from Southern Pacific in 1987. Although a
few citizen complaints were made about the blockade over the
years, surprisingly, no legal action was taken. In 1992 and
again in 2001, at the urging of Truckee resident Milan Wight,
the Nevada County Board of Supervisors made a slight attempt to
take on the Cadjews, but nothing changed.
In
July 2005, we learned that instead of supporting the
public regarding this matter, one newly
elected County Supervisor, Ted Owens of Truckee, was
doing everything he could to have this historic public
right-of-way officially abandoned by Nevada County and
given to his admitted friend, Frank Cadjew, or as Owens
calls him, "Bucky." Ted Owens wants to reward the Cadjews
for their 20 years of intimidating, threatening, and blocking
the public, including ordering people at gunpoint into a Jeep
and driving them to the edge of his property!
We have
succeeded in stopping Owens's giveaway for now,
but he still
thinks he can pull this scam off and isn't giving up, as
evidenced by his recent
fake emails to
us. And the Cadjews continue to get away with their blockade and
threats to the public while they freely drive their vehicles on
the road.
Ask
him to show you a document in which the state or the county ever
gave the old road to the
Cadjews or the previous adjacent landowners, the railroad. If he
had such a document, he wouldn't have needed to ask the state to
allow the county to abandon it, as he did in 2006, and was told
NO by Caltrans. More details below in The Fight To Save This Road.
Below, Westward The Course Of Empire, 1862
painting by Emanuel Leutze.
The second wagon says "California" on the side.
Although the geography is not totally accurate, the
spot where the pioneers would be this excited to finally reach the
summit and view "the Pacific slope" would be at the old Donner Summit (a
few hundred feet south of the Highway 40 Donner Summit--see
here; for your GPS,
enter lat
39.314600, long -120.326020).
The valley to the left is supposed to represent the
Sacramento Valley, but in reality, it would be the Van Norden
valley--called Summit Valley
in those days--with many hills to descend before seeing a view of the Sacramento
Valley as detailed here.
Just one example of the thousands
of documents on the website is the 17,000-word report by
Theodore Judah in 1861 detailing his reasons for choosing the
Truckee Route over the South Tahoe route for the
transcontinental railroad--an
amazing amount of work by Judah (right).
He died at age 37. Judah's
monument in Old Sacramento is well deserved--he was one of the
top people who built America.
Read about and see the fake emails that Nevada
County Supervisor Ted Owens, AKA Red Fergus, sent us
about "secret documents": click
here
Read the outrageous letter that Supervisor
Ted Owens and the other lock-step Nevada County Supervisors
sent to Caltrans asking for permission to officially abandon the old
highway in 2006:
click
hereNote: Nevada County
is in California
Read another letter from Supervisor Owens
pushing his phony arguments, with our responses to each of
his lies:
click here
Click
here
to read recent letter from a supporter to Ted Owens
Click
here
to read more comments from our
supporters
A Truckee Police officer and a Nevada County Sheriff detective
(left) talking to Frank and Julie Cadjew at their illegal barricade
on July 3, 2006. More details below. Roll mouse over for closeup
(allow Active X control if asked).
The
Cadjews' 1987 deed from Southern Pacific Development:
"This grant
is made subject to all easements, covenants, conditions,
reservations, and restrictions of record."
"Subject to any and all
easements and rights of way in, upon, or across said lands."
The Ted Owens "Alternate Trail" SHAM
Part of corrupt Supervisor Ted Owens's attempt to smooth-talk other
officials into accepting his giveaway of the old county / state highway
to his old friend includes his bizarre plan to build another trail on
the Cadjews' land as a trade for our already-built historic road. Never
mind that the Cadjews have never committed to providing any land, and
never mind that the Cadjews have stated they don't want to pay for even
an environmental impact report for such a trail, and never mind that the
cost of building such a trail would be in the millions, we are just
supposed to believe homebuilder Ted Owens that this is a realistic and
sensible plan. Ted Owens refers to this as the "Alternate Trail Plan."
We refer to it as the "Alternate Trail Sham" or the "Trade Our Trail
Plan."
Right, the map Supervisor Ted Owens presented at a Board of Supervisors
meeting in February 2006 showing his plan to TRADE our historic
trail for a new trail, and then give the county land from the old
road to his old buddy!
Now, with
help from the new Google Earth program, we have a 3D video
that gives a very accurate representation of what their
"Alternate trail" would really be like. To click here view,
click here (It will load in 1 to
2 minutes on a high-speed connection.)
Google Earth also allows us to
determine the exact elevation points of their proposed trail, which
make it even more laughable.
Keep in mind that the 1909 state highway through this area follows
exactly the old Indian trail and is a nice gradual climb throughout
the entire route. Here are the elevation points of the Ted Owens
proposed trail: Elevation: 5961 - at
trailhead on Old Highway Drive, then
up
a very gradual 86 feet 6047 - take off from original trail at the
barricade, then down
30 feet in a steep drop into rocky Summit Creek for a horizontal
distance of 200 feet! 6017 - then
up
50 feet in a steep climb for a horizontal distance of 324 feet!
6067 - then
down
70 feet 5997 - then up
297 feet in 2100 feet horizontal distance! 6294 - then down
24 feet 6270 - then up
3 feet 6373 - then
down
22 feet 6351 - then up
126 feet 6477 - then down
30 feet 6444 - then up
57 feet 6501 - then
down
67 feet 6434 - then up
20 feet 6454 - back at original trail As we said before, only
warped minds
could come up with such an idea.
The morons
who thought this up also don't seem to notice that over one-third of
their new route is in Placer County--and Placer will never go along
with this. (The
black horizontal dashed line in the above map is the county
boundary).
More about the map
above:
Notice the
large open area that homebuilder Owens's plan
creates for the Cadjews. And we are supposed to believe that
this is not about subdivision development?!
Owens claims
his alternate trail is just to ensure Cadjew's privacy!
What about
the privacy of the 16
Washoe Road homeowners whose houses back up to the proposed
trail?
What about
the privacy of the many homeowners whose houses are closer
to the proposed trail than Cadjew's 10' x 15' "cabin" /
shack?
Notice that
if Truckee were to not go along with Owens's plan, the
starting point of Owens's alternate trail would begin at the
Truckee Town limits, about 600 feet northwest of the
barricade.
Who will pay to build this new trail? The taxpayers?
Who
will pay to build the 40-foot
long bridge across this much deeper, wider,
and rockier section of Summit Creek? The taxpayers?
Who will pay for the Environmental Impact Report? The
taxpayers?
Who will lose a valuable historical
asset? The taxpayers and the public for
generations.
Who will benefit? The Cadjews and ?
Why would the Cadjews offer
some of their land as trade if they actually owned the
historical road and had a right to keep the public off of
it?
Why would the county give up a trail which is free of
liability issues for a new trail on which the county will be
liable for accidents? (by law, counties are immune from
liability on stock trails)
Only Logical Conclusion: This entire
"alternate trail" proposal is a SHAM that the proponents
never intend to complete--a game to be played only until the
historic road is officially abandoned!
Despite
the obvious insanity of this Trade Our Trail plan, various
government hacks are still trying to push this down our throats. In
May 2007, (former) Truckee Councilperson Josh Susman (voted out Nov
2008, hopefully due to us) told us that he agreed the goal would
be to keep the trail in its historical alignment, but when we
brought up the official state survey detailing that
alignment, he threw a fit and accused us of backing down on his
"deal." He wrote in an email to us:
"If you
want my further involvement you must now convince me of your honesty
and sincerity in actually wanting a outcome that truly seeks a
solution. A solution that best serves the community as a whole. That
you are not merely intent upon perpetuating an unfriendly,
sensational situation."
Susman
also wrote that he wants a "Win-Win" situation, so that the
lawbreaking Cadjews and corrupt Owens can "Win." We say
Hell No to appeasing crooks! And the "community as a whole"
appears to be 100% in support of our position.
"Unfriendly" and "sensational" was Frank Cadjew kidnapping Truckee
residents at the point of a gun or chainsaw (kidnapping with a
deadly weapon), and his signs warning the community that they will
be attacked by his vicious dogs! Oh, by the way,
Susmanreceived a $2000 contribution from Ted Owens's
Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe for his 2004 election.
This seems
to be a good place to again point out that another Truckee
Councilperson, Barbara Green, received a $2000 contribution from
the Cadjews for her 2004 election to that position--a
"no-strings-attached" TWO-THOUSAND DOLLAR donation for a small-town
council position--that's a huge donation for any office-seeker, from
dog-catcher to the presidency! The Cadjews may have felt that Green
would continue to fight for the Cadjews as a Truckee
councilmember--since she had been doing such a great job
"negotiating" with the Cadjews since 1999 regarding the blockaded
road. Unfortunately, Green won reelection in Nov 2008--by only 58
votes. Green received only 24% of the vote in 2008 compared to 35%
in 2004.
About 800 feet of the blockaded road is
within the Truckee Town Limits. The remaining mile is within the
County of Nevada. Therefore, we have two agencies to battle. The two
governments have a cozy inbred connection, with Ted Owens being a
former Truckee councilperson and moving to the Nevada County Board
of Supervisors, and Barbara Green being a former Nevada County
Supervisor and moving to the Truckee council. And then we recently
noticed that Nevada County Supervisor Ted Owens has an office in the
Town of Truckee's Town Hall. And Owens's Contractors Association of
Truckee Tahoe (CATT) has its office in the Town Hall, with CATT
posters in the building permit department!
It may surprise people from larger
counties that it only takes a total of 2 to 3 thousand votes to
become a Nevada County Supervisor. Not the margin--the total votes.
In 2004, only 3181 voters elected this clown Owens who almost succeeded in officially abandoning our historic
highway in 2006, and was able to call out law enforcement and
Truckee officials to keep the public from using their road in 2006
(see below), and continues to peddle his influence while harassing
us and once threatened to sue us.
June 9, 2010 update:
Another One Bites The Dust...John
Spencer, the self-proclaimed "educated eyes" on the Board of
Supervisors is voted OUT. Spencer, a surveyor, surveyed the
Creekside Woods subdivision adjacent to the Cadjew property in 2008
while he was a supervisor,
and staked out
the old road 10 feet narrower than the subdivision map that HE
signed off on! Then, after we
brought this "mistake" to the attention of the Town of Truckee,
he staked it
out again--4 feet narrower than his map!! His signature is on
the subdivision map and his name is on the steel stakes in the
ground. Back in 2006, during
Nevada County's attempt to abandon the road, Supervisor Spencer
didn't like that some of our supporters suggested in the local paper
that he may have a
financial interest in abandoning the road. In a
2006 supervisors' public meeting, he lectured us like he was some
judge and we were on trial and stated that we should be "sidelined." See Spencer's unbelievable 2005
letter to us on the Documents page.
The proposed
area for their "alternate
trail" The historic trail as
it exists today
Vs.
July 7, 2008:
The Best
Hike Yet--From the Summit to Old Highway Drive
Just part
of the group of over 30 who made the hike from the
summit. Here we are near the end of the hike in front of
the illegal barricade.
Another successful hike on the Historic Donner Trail
(Old Highway 37) was held on Sunday, July 6, 2008. More
than 30 people of all ages showed up! We all met at the
ski school at the summit on Old Highway 40 for the hike
downhill. We located the old summit on the old road by
GPS and saw the Stephens Party monument and walked
through the 1914 under-railroad tunnel and made our way
to the petroglyphs. We hiked the full distance down to
the trailhead on Old Highway Drive, taking in the great
views and history. No interference for the main group,
but later, a trio of hikers that were walking more
slowly were confronted by a Cadjew thug who told them
that they were on private property. One of the trio told
this person that they were on a public road and they had
a right to be there. The jerk went away.
Thanks to the great people who made
the hike! Don't miss the next hike during the Labor Day weekend.
Check back for exact date.
Prior
events in chronological order
July 4, 2007:
On July 1, 2007, we held another hike on State Highway
37, also known as the Historic Donner Trail (right).
We had
an even better than expected turnout, despite a
harassing and threatening letter from the Cadjews'
attorney, Michael R. Kealy of the Reno law firm Parsons
Behle & Latimer,
to the Donner Lake Property Owners Association just
prior to the hike.
(view letter here)
Interestingly,
Mr. Kealy is not licensed to practice law in California,
yet he is representing a party who claims be a
California resident against a California association
regarding a California road.
After co-chairman Stan read the attorney's letter at the DLPOA
annual beach meeting on June 30, he invited any member to join him
to hike the trail and witness him being arrested. But unlike last
year (see below), neither law enforcement, nor the Cadjews, nor
their henchmen, nor Supervisor Ted Owens, were to be seen at the
time of the hike.
July 3,
2006:
July 3, 2006, a showing of law enforcement called out by Ted Owens
On
July 3rd, (2006) as we and several hikers were about to take a
pre-announced hike on the trail to the summit, a contingent from the
Truckee Police (including Police Chief Berry) and Nevada County
Sheriff deputies, including a detective, met us at the trailhead and
told us we would be arrested if we hiked on the trail past the
Cadjews'
barricade. Two or three Town of Truckee officials were also there
for some reason. At one point, Chief Berry suggested that we
“talk to Frank Cadjew”
who was at his untaxed
10' x 15' storage shack on Donner Pass Road (or as Ted Owens insists
on referring to it, Mr. Cadjew's "house" or "residence" or "cabin").
With the OK from Berry, Stan (our co-chairman) then hiked past the
barricade another few hundred feet to Cadjew’s building. As Stan
walked onto the Cadjews' deck, he was surprised to see none other
than Supervisor
Ted Owens(right),
who appeared to also be surprised to see Stan. Out in the driveway
were several government vehicles. Does this sound like the proper
activity for a County Supervisor? Not to us. Owens proceeded to
make more of his now-famous outlandish claims, including a claim
that our recent plotted survey (based on a 1915 official state
survey) is not accurate because it used GPS technology (wonder how
often homebuilder Owens uses GPS surveys for his own benefit).
Cadjew even claimed that pioneers never used this road! It was at
this meeting that Stan heard Owens say that his push to abandon the
old road was over "for now" due to Caltrans' requirement for a CEQA
report (see below for more detail).
And Owens made no mention of his ludicrous "alternative" trail
sham
that he tried to shove down our throats just a few months ago (see
below). No mention of it now, probably because Mr. Cadjew never even
committed to giving land for such a purpose and certainly doesn't
want to pay for a required CEQA report for such a trail and
certainly doesn't want to pay for construction of a mile-long trail
and bridge!
So now all Owens has left is to use his position
to influence law enforcement to keep the public off the
publicly-owned trail! Despite Owens's claims, he has
NO LEGAL BASIS
to continue this fraud! He has provided not one bit of evidence to
support his false claims!
July 3, 2006:
WE WON! (one battle) Nevada County has
decided to rescind its formal request to Caltrans to legally abandon
the Historic Donner Trail, known to Caltrans as Highway 37. This was
told to us by none other than Supervisor Ted Owens on July 3rd.
Apparently, Caltrans' CEQA requirement proved to be too much for Ted
Owens. Owens could not ask Nevada County taxpayers to fund the CEQA
which had as its goal the removal of a public right-of-way which
would benefit a private property owner. The value of the removal of
the historic right-of-way could be worth millions! However, it
is clear that the game-playing by Owens and other politicians is
still continuing--we will continue the fight. Check back for
details. Thanks to all our supporters!
April 5, 2006
Board of Supervisors Meeting:
Owens tried one more tactic to help the Cadjews by attempting to use
Prescriptive Right or Adverse Possession to steal the road from the
County. Supervisor John Spencer said he believed that it was a
judicial function to prove that a person has established a
prescriptive right, not the County's function. The County Counsel
should point out that it's not even a judicial function, since
statutorily, a prescriptive right or "Adverse Possession" cannot be
claimed on government property!
March 31,
2006
Our Letter to
the Editor published in the Sierra Sun:
Moving roads next?
In the Sierra Sun article (“Caltrans wants
enviro review of trail alternative” March
24) Supervisor Ted Owens, lead promoter of
giving our historic public road to a private
party, is quoted as saying that he
“anticipated” the request by Caltrans for a
California Environmental Quality (CEQA)
report. This raises the question, why then
did he push this through the Board of
Supervisors without first completing the
CEQA? Was he hoping Caltrans might not
notice and just rubber stamp his request?
Owens also appears to be jumping the gun by
indicating that the study will be completed
soon, however, he has yet to ask the Board
of Supervisors for taxpayer funds to pay for
this study that will only benefit a private
party. The study could easily cost over
$100,000 and take over a year to complete
with many public hearings.
Owens is also quoted as stating that a large
section of the historic trail washed away
during winter storms and he believes his new
trail alignment “is now an even better
proposal.” He may have forgotten that in his
February letter to Caltrans, Mr. Owens
stated the historic trail could not be
located. Yet he knows that the historic
trail washed away? And Owens fails to
mention that his re-alignment is not just a
few feet away, but half a mile south of the
old trail.
Owens also claims the new trail alignment
will “keep the trail from passing next to
the property owner’s cabin.” Owens
apparently feels the county should inject
itself into how close the 150 year-old
historic trail is to the owner’s 10-foot by
15-foot, untaxed “micro-cabin” located
within Truckee (in his letter to Caltrans,
Owens calls this the property owner’s
"house”). Apparently, Owens will help any
Nevada County homeowner who would like a
public road moved away from their house.
Interestingly, the “cabin” is much closer to
Donner Pass Road than the historic trail.
Will Owens next try to have Donner Pass Road
moved to make the owner even more happy?
Rick Martel, Co-chairman
Historic Donner Trail Committee
March
24, 2006
Sierra Sun
article:
Caltrans wants enviro review of trail alternative
15-year fight over Donner Summit path access continues By
David Bunker
Caltrans is asking that Nevada County
perform an initial environmental review before abandoning a historic
stock trail that runs from Donner Lake to Donner Summit.
Backers of allowing full public access on the stock trail, which
corresponds with the Dutch Flat Wagon Road route and old Highway 37,
were pleased with Caltrans’ request. They hope the environmental
review will lead to the preservation of the old road and open public
access for recreational uses. The stock trail has been at the
center of a controversy over public recreational access across
private land for nearly 15 years. While a group of Donner Lake
homeowners insist the public has a right to use the trail, the
property owner and Nevada County staff say the old stock trail
right-of-way can be used only for the transportation of livestock.
"We are very glad to hear that Caltrans agrees that this road is a
valuable historical resource and they are requiring a [California
Environmental Quality Act] study
before any abandonment hearing,” said Rick Martel, who is part of
the Historic Donner Trail Committee, based in Stockton, Calif.,
which is pushing for the trail’s preservation. Caltrans is asking
for the environmental review because of the historic nature of the
trail.
Nevada County District 5 Supervisor Ted Owens, who brought the issue
before the county board and backs an alternative
trail through the same piece of private property, said the request
by Caltrans was expected.
“The initial study is in no way a road block,” Owens said. “It was
anticipated.”
Why then didn't you
complete it before asking Caltrans for permission? Owens said the issue will likely be on hold until the snow
melts and the research for an initial study can be completed.
Will you make the taxpayers pay for
this, Owens?
A large section of the trail washed away during winter storms, said
Owens,
Nonsense--and we'll
prove it
and he believes his trail alternative, backed by the Truckee Trails
Foundation
funded by Owens's Contractors Association
is now an even better proposal.
Of course you do.
The new trail alignment will bypass the portion of the trail that
was damaged by winter storms, keeping the trail from passing next to
the property owner’s cabin, Owens said. It will then tie back into
the stock trail as it gains elevation.
Look at Owens's proposed alternate trail map above--it "bypasses"
the old trial by a mile! And Cadjew doesn't live in or pay
taxes on his tiny shed.
March
21, 2006:
"Ya,
what if we say that due to the December storm, the road no longer
exists! Great idea! I can announce it at the next Board meeting."
(headline is imaginary; the following quotes from the March 21st
Board of Supervisors meeting are real)
Ted Owens: “I did meet with the Truckee Historical Society on the
stock trail issue. That’s going to go away for awhile, it appears.”
In
your dreams Owens. What does the Historical Society have to do with
the trail issue? And how could anything they say have you think it
would "go away for awhile?" Unless of course, you were coercing them
to support you.
Ted Owens: “We did have, on the 15th, believe it or not, another
stock trail meeting*, where I learned that, one of the interesting
things I would like to talk to you about Mr. Shulman, is
approximately 2000, maybe 2500 feet of the old road, contested as to
whether it was the stock trail or not, was wiped out in the storm
event of December, so that will total somewhere in the neighborhood
of 3500 feet of no road, that no longer exists. So we’ll be talking
about that.”
(above quote is
word-for-word, just as the articulate Owens said it; no typos)
Mr. Shulman is the county counsel Robert Shulman; Nevada County's
legal advisor. But why in the world would Owens want to talk to the
county counsel about the road being "wiped out" in a winter storm?
Maybe like this: Ted Owens: "How does this sound Bob--if we say the
road no longer exists, then can we say that the county no longer
owns it? And then can we say that the Cadjews own the area where the
disappearing road used to be?"
(3500 feet is 2/3 of a
mile!)
"Road no longer exists." Hmmm. Does homebuilder Ted
Owens mean the topsoil for 2/3 of a mile washed away? Or did 2/3 of
a mile of the road vanish? Wonder what Owens will say when we see
that 2/3 of a mile of the road hasn’t ceased to exist? And notice
how he first knows where the "old road" is, since he knows 3500 feet
of it was "wiped out," yet he makes sure he qualifies that by saying
"contested as to whether it was the stock trail or not."
Read more about this
above.
* On this day, Owens reported on 8 meetings he had had in the past
few weeks, and for 7 of the 8 meetings he mentioned the names of
each group or individual he met with. But not this second stock
trail meeting where he "learned" such amazing facts about a road
disappearing--the same public road he wants to give to the Cadjews.
Supervisor Owens's statements here and elsewhere make very clear
that he will stop at nothing in his attempt to benefit a private
party at the public's expense.
March 12, 2006:
Great News--Caltrans
Puts Up Roadblock to the Owens Giveaway Plan!
Caltrans is now requiring a CEQA initial report to be completed
prior to any abandonment hearing "due to the potential historical
significance of the trail." Will Owens try to have Nevada County
taxpayers pay for this CEQA report so that one private party will
benefit? (California Environmental Quality Act)
Over a period of some fifteen years, a portion
of the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road, in use as a foot trail,
has been blocked, where it enters the property of one Frank Cadjew,
between Donner Lake and Donner Pass. Recently I read in the Grass
Valley Union that two of the Nevada County Supervisors favored
abandoning the public easement on the old road, and relocating the
"stock trail" (for that is how it was described). I wrote a letter
to the Union, suggesting that the trail, in its historic alignment,
be left open. Then, a man named Rick Martel, who is involved in the
fight to keep this historic trail open, asked me to write a letter
for the Sierra Sun.
Which follows.
Remove the barricades
(Published March 3, 2006 in the Sierra
Sun)
With regard to Supervisor Ted Owens’
“‘Whoa’ on the stock trail,” (Sierra Sun Feb. 24) I am pleased
that he values historical integrity. This “stock trail” is also
the historic Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road, dating to 1864.
Several of the first businesses at Donner Lake and Truckee were
owned by Dutch Flat folk, including my relatives, the Towle
brothers, who sawed lumber for the CPRR snowsheds.
Almost all the historic public trails in this part of the Sierra
saw plenty of sheep and cattle; but there was much recreational
use as well, from the Gold Rush forward. Think of author Alonzo
Delano and actress Lola Montez visiting the local high country
in 1853. Think of painter Gilbert Munger, on the North Fork of
the American River below Old Soda Springs in 1872.
A wonderful network of trails existed here — trails and old
wagon roads — before the Tahoe National Forest came into
existence in 1905. Naturally, these old trails became Forest
Service trails and were patrolled and maintained by forest
rangers.
Unfortunately, unrestrained timber harvests have ruined many of
these historic trails. Others have been gated closed or blocked
in some way, or blazoned with “no trespassing” signs.
At the bottom line, we have done a terrible job of preserving
the fine old trails bequeathed to us by our parents and
grandparents. It is a terrible, terrible thing to lose public
trails, to lose The Commons and our access to The Commons!
What about the Big Granite Trail? What about the Sugar Pine
Point Trail? The Big Valley Trail, Mears Meadow Trail,
Monumental Creek Trail, Big Bend-Devils Peak Trail, Long Valley
Trail?
Ruined, ruined, ruined, ruined.
I do not know all the facts in this Donner Lake case, but I
would beg the property owner to remove his signs and barricades,
and accept, please accept, that his property is encumbered with
an historic public trail — the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon
Road.
Russell Towle
Dutch Flat
March 24, 2009:
Sad news: I just learned that Russell died last August 8,
2008 in an auto accident on the Yolo Causeway. We had exchanged
emails and talked on the phone several times since early 2006. Russell would send
me emails with much detail about the history of this road,
always encouraging my effort to keep this road public. I had
always expected that one of these days we would meet up for a
hike on this Donner Trail / DFDLWR. He was a one-in-a-million
expert on all things Sierra, including trails. He was also an
excellent writer, and produced a wonderful blog which is still
available for everyone to enjoy and learn from at
http://northforktrails.blogspot.com/.
Here is an example of his writing and knowledge, which he wrote
just 5 days before he died:
"It was interesting
to see, scant weeks since the area had burned, that many of the
bushes and small Black Oaks were stump-sprouting, fresh green
foliage pushing up through the grey ashes from the roots and
burls below. The Bush Chinquapin seemed the most eager to
sprout, while the burled Green Manzanita more rarely showed new
growth. All in all, maybe one bush in one hundred is already
showing new growth sprouting from the roots.
It was also interesting to see an occasional ant. And I saw some
few footprints from deer. As I scouted back and forth on the
blackened brushy slope, I began to see that the inimitable
California Ground Squirrel had at least sometimes survived the
inferno, and fresh dirt was piled outside their burrows, every
two hundred yards or so."
Here is Nevada County Supervisor and homebuilder Ted Owen's column
published in the Sierra Sun on Feb 23, 2006, in response to our
co-chairman Rick Martel's My Turn column a week earlier:
(Our response is in blue)
My Turn:
'Whoa' on the stock trail
by Ted Owens
The "stock trail" has
been getting a good deal of ink lately even though the acrimony
and finger pointing has been going on for more than 15 years
without result. It is clearly an issue worthy of discussion in a
public hearing by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, where
all interested can participate in the discussion and solution.
The author of "Red Herrings on the Historic Trail" (My Turn
column Sierra Sun Feb. 22) wishes to avoid such a hearing and
attempts to present to you, my fellow citizens of Truckee, what
my positions are on the matter. The writer, "Co-chairman of the
Historic Donner Trail Committee," located in Stockton, Calif.,
according to his letterhead, has not discussed with me my
findings, thoughts or position on specifics. He must be a
mind-reader or know someone in my gym. I intend to save those
for the public hearing.
"On second thought, I'll just give my thoughts and positions
right now in this column." Owens accuses "the author" (Rick
Martel) of wanting to “avoid a hearing where all interested can
participate…” Here is the official notice for the February 14th
Board of Supervisors meeting--see how much Owens wanted public
participation:
“Nevada County Supervisor Ted
Owens will be bringing the attached agenda item to the Board on
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 requesting permission from Caltrans
to vacate the stock trail easement across Mr. Frank Cadjew's
property…Caltrans' permission is needed before the county can
initiate a vacation process. Board discussion on Feb. 14
will notinclude public testimony and debate.”
Only after we complained, were we allowed 3 minutes to speak.
Owens makes clear he doesn’t want debate on this matter. Owens
makes clear he wants to vacate the trail easement. Owens makes
clear he in the letter he sent to Caltrans that he has already made
his decision, with 10 reasons supporting the abandonment and none
against. And of his 10 reasons, four continue the sham argument that
there is no legal location of the road.
Owens's "public hearing" is only to decide where to put the
"tentatively agreed to" alternate trail--his letter to Caltrans
makes this clear.
Read the letter Owens
and the other Board members sent to Caltrans --
click here
Owens's article
continues:
However, let me offer a few
foundational points on the issue. The writer has claimed that Leigh
Fitzpatrick of the Truckee Trails Foundation and I are intent upon
two things; "taking" a historic trail and "taking" general access
away from the public and gift them to a property owner. Actually,
it is the opposite. Mr. Fitzpatrick and I have endeavored to meet
the needs of the property owner, trail enthusiasts, and address the
historical integrity we all value. Besides, we cannot "take" that
which we do not "have".
The biggest load of BS--The County of Nevada DOES "have" the
trail--why would you, Owens, need to ask Caltrans to abandon it if
the county didn't "have" it? Endeavor this!
The historic trail - physically every
rock, sage and tree - are already Mr. Cadjew's property. The
easement, designated as a "Stock Trail", as the Sierra Sun editorial
("'Over our dead bodies' isn't a negotiating point" Sierra Sun Feb.
15) accurately pointed out, was for the limited purpose of driving
untethered stock. It is not unlike a public utility easement many of
us have on our rightfully owned property here in Truckee - the use
is limited and specific.
It is very much unlike a public utility easement! First, it is NOT
an easement. Second, Owens is continuing his made-up claim that the
trail “was for the limited purpose of driving untethered stock” and
therefore it is legally off-limits to the public, while he again
refuses to provide evidence for his claim--because he has none!
There is no law restricting public use of stock trails. Owens is
flat-out LYING when he says otherwise. Again, we need to point
out that Owens is attempting to seriously weaken or eliminate the
property rights of all easement holders with his outrageous actions
in this matter. That issue is moot regarding the old road, since it
is not an easement.
Yet we have a
property owner working in a collaborative and generous manner within
our community to meet the most needs for the most people. In true
Truckee fashion, he deserves this public hearing.
What is Truckee
fashion? Sounds more like Hazzard County, Georgia and Boss Hogg
fashion.
So who is the
property owner anyway? I'm tired of referring to him that way.
Is
someone forcing you to write "property owner?" What a clown.
He is Frank Cadjew,
called "Bucky" by his friends. His wife is Julie, but I just call
her Mrs. Cadjew. Lifetime Truckee resident Ron Borden ran into me
recently and told me "Bucky" got the nickname in elementary school,
which back then was today's Truckee Community Center in town. Bucky
was raised in Truckee by his grandmother, and still owns the house
he grew up in on High Street. He has a strong and personal
attachment to his land at Donner Lake, and is above all, more
"local" than many of
us have an
opportunity of becoming.
Here, Owens makes clear he has added
a new role for himself to the role of legal advocate for Mr.
Cadjew--Owens is now the public relations spin doctor for Mr.
Cadjew. His silly portrayal of Mr. Cadjew as a generous, true
“local” is a bit hard for us to stomach, since for 18 years, Mr.
Cadjew has kept Truckee locals from enjoying their public
trail by piling up boulders in the trailway and posting signs
warning
Truckee locals of his “Rottweiler Guard Dogs Ahead” (and the
implied violent attack by the dogs). Add to that the many first-hand
accounts of a rifle-bearing Mr. Cadjew and his henchmen ordering
Truckee locals off their public trail. No, we don’t need to
be mind-readers Mr. Owens, you’ve made your “position” perfectly
clear. Those of us who wish to preserve this historic trail (and
many of us are locals) never thought we’d see the day that our trail
would be in imminent danger of being lost forever. What is even more
shocking is to see that the lead proponent of giving our trail to a
private individual is a politician and a "fellow citizen of
Truckee."
Let's get it all out at the hearing.
That's the ball field I was elected to play on, not the newspapers.
So Owens prefers to “play” in his “hearings” rather than the
newspapers. We can see why.
Feb 21, 2006
Sierra Sun "My Turn" article:
Red herrings on the historic trail
By Rick Martel
"Red Herring: A fallacy that introduces an
irrelevant issue to divert attention from
the subject under discussion, often used by
politicians when they field questions from
the public or press."
The Sierra Sun editorial (“‘Over our dead
bodies' isn't a negotiating point” Sierra
Sun Feb. 17) concludes that Supervisor Ted
Owens’ alternate trail plan is a reasonable
compromise since the trail was only meant
for livestock movement. This argument has no
basis in law or the facts.
We have located Caltrans documents dating
back to the 1930s that prove all stock
trails were used for recreation and other
public uses. More importantly, there is no
California law restricting the use of stock
trails to only livestock movement. Owens, et
al, may imply there is such a law, but none
exists and never has.
Owens, Truckee Trails director Leigh
Fitzpatrick, and property owner Frank Cadjew
have also failed on their other central (and
diversionary) argument — that Nevada County
cannot enforce legal access to the trail
since the trail cannot be legally located. I
recently found the very complete and
detailed 1915 State survey fieldbook for the
road, which has now been professionally
plotted. Makes you wonder how hard they
looked for this record since it took me only
three hours to find it in Sacramento.
Of course, they’ll bring up the property
rights argument. Another red herring. We do
not want any land to be taken from Mr.
Cadjew and we do not want any new easement
from Mr. Cadjew. We do want to use our
public right-of-way as we did for decades
before Mr. Cadjew bought the property. He
hasn’t created any new rights for himself by
putting up the blockade and threatening the
public since 1987, and the public has not
lost any rights by his actions. Furthermore,
we are defending and protecting property
rights, since easement rights are property
rights.
Owens and the others are attempting to
seriously weaken the property rights of all
easement holders. A question to those who
have easement rights to access your
property: would you simply sit back and
allow a governmental body give your easement
to the landowner?
Finally, why would Mr. Cadjew make his offer
of an alternate trail easement through the
steep rocky outback of his property if he
had the right to keep the public off the
historic road?
If common sense doesn’t prevail in this
matter, the legal facts will. Our side has
the law and facts; their side has no legal
or factual basis for their claims — just a
not-so-slick sleight-of-hand show. We’re
confident that any vote by the board of
supervisors and/or the Truckee Town Council
to abandon the public’s historic trail
right-of-way will be easily and quickly shot
down in court. Hopefully, common sense will
prevail and there will be no vote to abandon
the road.
Rick Martel is co-chairman of the Historic
Donner Trail Committee.
Feb 15, 2006
Letter
to the Editor published in the Grass Valley Union:
Keep trail open
By
Russell Towle
In
last Saturday's article about a trail dispute near Donner Lake,
Nevada County supervisors Ted Owens and John Spencer are said to
support the abandonment of the easement, so that private
property can reign supreme, while We the People can "go take a
hike" - somewhere else.
This so-called "stock trail" is the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon
Road. It was built as a toll road serving the mines of Virginia
City, during the Civil War, but after completion of the Central
Pacific Railroad, in 1869, it was given to Placer and Nevada
counties by Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker.
It is one of the most historic roads in all California, not to
put too fine a point on the thing.
It has been a public road since 1869, and is the direct
predecessor of the Lincoln Highway, Highway 40, and today's
I-80.
It must remain open to the public, and the "no trespassing"
signs and boulders removed.
Russell Towle
Dutch Flat
Feb. 15, 2005:
Representing Private Interests
The Nevada County Supervisors voted Tuesday, February 14, to send a
letter to Caltrans asking for permission to abandon our historic
trail, officially known as State Highway 37/Lincoln Highway. Despite
comments from many members of the public unanimously opposing the
sending of Ted Owens's letter, and despite the display of over 250
signed petitions from our supporters, and despite being told that
their claim that the trail cannot be legally located is FALSE, they
just went ahead with their plans to give this public right-of-way to
a private party.
SO WE ASK, Supervisor and homebuilder Owens
and Supervisor and land surveyor Spencer:----Why are you working so
hard to give away the public's property to a private individual?!
Why do you ignore facts that dispute your claims when those facts
benefit the public's interest while you continue to put out false
and misleading statements when they benefit Mr. Cadjew? Your actions
during all this are
highly unusual and very suspicious!
Even more
suspicious than when you, Mr. Spencer, came to OUR meeting in
October of 2004 claiming you were interested in helping us do the
needed trail survey, one month before your election. A year later,
before ANY action by Mr. Cadjew against the County, you write on
County letterhead that you will suggest that Mr. Cadjew ask for an
abandonment and that you are betting on Mr. Cadjew to win "in
court." (Click
here
to see Spencer's letter).
Here's a news flash, Owens and Spencer: Mr.
Cadjew is not your client! Mr. Cadjew can hire his own attorney
to battle the county or the state. Your actions fly in the face of
the law, all logic, and your duties to protect the public from
attempts to take public property!
This matter could have been easily dealt with at any time,
including at this week's Board meeting, by allowing law enforcement
to do its job as it would with any other lawbreaker. But no, Owens
and Spencer initiate action on behalf of this private individual and
refuse to consider opposition by the vast majority of the public.
Last year,
Owens and the others in Cadjew's camp even opposed conducting a
survey on Cadjew's property to correctly locate the historic road!
The historic road they claim cannot be located yet will be
available for once-a-year hikes! (We have a legal survey from 1915
California State survey data).
To our supporters: We will
be following up with Caltrans if this matter gets that far and
convince them to not permit Nevada County to abandon the trail. We
are happy to say that, due to all the recent publicity, as of today,
February 15, we have new support, including the
Oregon-California Trail Association
and two other major national historic agencies. One benefit of
this meeting on Tuesday was that we finally got to see their
proposed alternate trail route, originally promoted 3 years ago by
former NC Supervisor and now Truckee Councilmember, Barbara Green
(she the recipient of a $2000 campaign contribution from the Cadjews
in 2004).
Above is the map provided by Owens at the Board of Supervisors
meeting... This obscene proposed alternate trail through very rough
terrain is the result of warped minds working together:
Feb. 14, 2006
Sierra Sun article:
Users of historic trail balk at compromise
By David Bunker
A sign on Frank and Julie
Cadjew's property
warns hikers who use the
trail to keep out.
Enlarge
A simmering dispute over a historic trail
across private land near the western shore
of Donner Lake will stew a little longer.
The Nevada County Board of Supervisors voted
Tuesday to explore solutions to the impasse
that is pitting a land owner against
homeowners around Donner Lake.
(Not accurate
reporting: The Board voted to ask Caltrans
to hold a hearing to approve the Board's
request to abandon the road; the Board had
found its solution.
The owners of the
(surrounding) property, Frank and
Julie Cadjew, said the easement across their
land for what was a stock trail to move
cattle has no legal description.
Furthermore, they said the path of the trail
is now unclear and obscured. "Nobody knows
where it goes," said Frank Cadjew. "I don't
even know." Cadjew said that hikers often
end up walking a dirt road he has built on
his property.
(Solution: signs)
But some Donner Lake neighbors, who have had
confrontations with the Cadjews while trying
to use the trail, argue that the county will
be abandoning history and giving away public
access if it trades the historic easement
for a new trail alignment on the other side
of the Cadjews' property.
"We're not about to be backing down," said
Rick Martel, a member of the Historic Donner
Trail Committee, in an earlier interview.
"Over our dead bodies will this trail be
given to Mr. Cadjew."
District V Supervisor Ted Owens said he
hopes an agreement between the property
owner, Nevada County and the Truckee Trails
Foundation can lead to the new recreation
trail that will link Donner Lake to Donner
Summit and allow an annual history hike on
the trail. In exchange the county would
abandon the stock trail easement, which
skirts the Cadjews' cabin.
For that to happen, however, the county will
ask Caltrans permission to abandon the trail
easement, which the county has held since
1955. The action will bring the matter to a
full public hearing before Caltrans, and
then the county board, before a decision is
made. Why Caltrans
permission? Because it's a
California State Highway--yet Owens
wants us to believe that this road is
private property! One which the public has
no right to use!
Owens said that an agreement for a new trail
would benefit the public since the old stock
trail, which was the route of the Lincoln
Highway and an early wagon road, is not a
legal recreation trail. "Using the trail as
a hiking trail, a mountain biking trail, a
picnicking trail - none of those rights
exist today," said Owens in an earlier
interview. "The trail has a single purpose,
which is to transport stock."
(An absolute
lie--Owens has nothing to back this up)
Still, the Donner Lake neighbors were
supported by Lincoln Highway Association
members at Tuesday's supervisors meeting in
Nevada City, and the Donner Lake Property
Owners Association have supported making the
trail public. The trail committee has raised
enough money to do survey work along the
trail, and the results show that the trail
that is used today closely matches the
Lincoln Highway route and the old wagon
road, according to Martel.
"We owe Mr. Cadjew nothing but to advise
hikers to stay off his private property and
on the marked trail," Milan Wight, a
longtime activist for having the trail
public, said at Tuesday's meeting.
Some Donner Lake homeowners owners have
lobbied the county to force the Cadjews to
remove boulders placed at the trail's
entrance that block vehicles.
Martel said his group will accept no
compromise. They want the historic trail
marked out and opened as a public recreation
trail.
But Leigh Fitzpatrick, executive director of
the Truckee Trails Foundation, said the
proposed new easement could turn into a
beautiful section of trail. The Cadjews have
tentatively agreed to donate the trail
easement and allow an annual history hike.
"We were really blown away with how
beautiful it was," said Fitzpatrick, who
walked the potential new trail twice last
year. "It really offers some stellar views
of Donner Lake and the Donner Summit area,"
The Truckee Trails Foundation stepped into
the situation to help broker a deal, since
the dispute did not seem to be moving
forward. "The approach to this point has
been a lot of finger-pointing," Fitzpatrick
said.
The Truckee Donner Historical Society and
the Truckee Town Council have also expressed
support for the a compromise trail
agreement. Although Truckee Donner
Historical Society President Gordon Richards
said he would like to see the historic route
become the established trail, the new trail
and an annual guided history hike on the old
trail may be the only viable solution at
this point to the dispute. "The historic
route is absolutely historic," Richards
said. "It boils down to the legal issue of
the definition of a stock trail ... we
support having a public hearing on the
issue." (prior to this
statement, Richards had rejected our request
asking for his public support and told us he
and the Historical Society were in agreement
with Owens!).
October 2005
Our first message on this website
Our most important
project at this time is to stop the Nevada County Board of
Supervisors from “abandoning” (the official term) the trail
right-of-way. This means they would actually give away the rights to
the right-of-way from Nevada County to a private party! If this is
done, the trail will be lost forever.
In his letter of June
6, 1992 regarding Mr. Cadjew (the party blocking the public trail),
Mr. G. B. Tucker, then Nevada County Supervisor (one with more
educated eyes than some on the current board), documented the
transfer of this road from the State of California to Nevada County.
Mr.Tucker wrote, “After considerable background research and case
review, it is concluded that public access could not be legally
denied.” He further noted that Mr. Cadjew was given notice to remove
the blockage and any other obstruction to the access or legal action
would be taken.
This was over 13 years ago! Mr. Cadjew STILL has no legal right
whatsoever to block access to the trail right-of-way. The trail is
there where it always has been, and there is no need at all to
negotiate with Mr. Cadjew for an alternate route or anything else.
Such a compromise would invalidate the historic integrity of the
original trail and would be completely unacceptable. If such a
backroom deal were struck, the trail would lose its historic
importance forever, and there would be no turning back. It would
simply be gone to future generations who would want to walk the real
path of California's pioneer's and early automobile drivers.
Below, our flyer we sent to 500 Donner Lake property owners in
2005 along with a petition.
Over 250 responded with signed petitions.
A special tribute to the
Cadjews and Ted Owens and the Nevada County Board of Supervisors
and the Nevada County Sheriff:
March 8, 2002 news article:
Mario Flavio Garcia harassed and intimidated local citizens into
not using Florence Lane, a well-known unpaved public
right-of-way in Auburn. Garcia made statements to the effect
that Florence Lane was a private road, that permission was
needed to use the road, ordered the citizens "to never come
back"... and he physically blocked the path of those trying to
use the road. The PlacerCounty Sheriff's
Department was called and a deputy visited Garcia to make Garcia
aware that in America anyone has the right to travel on, and
use, a public road.
A few months earlier, Garcia sued a local citizen to have a
website removed from the Internet. The website exposed Garcia's
actions regarding the road. The citizen responded to the lawsuit
by filing a Motion to Strike under California's
Anti-SLAPP statute, CCP
425.16. On January 15, 2002, a Placer County
Judge ruled against Garcia, and ordered Garcia to pay his
neighbor's full attorney's fees and costs that were a direct
result of Garcia's frivolous lawsuit. Garcia was represented
by senior partner Etan E. Rosen of Beyer, Pongratz, & Rosen of
Sacramento.
Does the name Mario Flavio Garcia sound familiar?
Yep, it's the same wonderful person
Apparently, Garcia didn't have support from the Placer County
Board of Supervisors while he bullied the pubic.
Apparently, the Placer County Supervisors didn't order local
law enforcement to prevent the public from using the road.
Apparently, the Placer County Supervisors weren't trying to
officially abandon the road and GIVE it to Garcia.
Obviously, Garcia didn't have the connections that the
Cadjews have in Nevada County.
(see July 3, 2006 story above)
Notices
The public may freely use the entire old road
now--today--and feel confident that the era of the Cadjews'
terrorizing and bullying the public is over. We will not tolerate
any more harassment or intimidation. And we certainly won't tolerate
any threats of violence or ordering hikers into vehicles at the
point of a gun or chainsaws and driving them away--as witnesses
report the Cadjews did in the past. Nor will we tolerate police
agencies who tell victims that they won't take a complaint against
the Cadjews, as witnesses report happened in Truckee. If Cadjew or
any of his thugs stop you or threaten you while walking on the old
state highway, they are committing a crime. Take photos, videos, and
ask for names. Call the Truckee Police or Nevada County Sheriff.
Notify us of any new interference
while using this public road.
This website is a forum for
participation in government and civic affairs, a forum for its
authors and supporters to speak freely on public issues, and to
petition government officials for redress of grievances. Any
lawsuit filed against the Historic Donner Trail Committee or any
of its officers, members, attorneys, advertisers, or supporters,
including supporting organizations will be considered a SLAPP
complaint and will be litigated accordingly, to the full extent
of California's anti-SLAPP law:
en
an environmental impact report for such a trail, and never mind that the
cost of building such a trail would be in the millions, we are just
supposed to believe homebuilder Ted Owens that this is a realistic and
sensible plan. Ted Owens refers to this as the "Alternate Trail Plan."
We refer to it as the "Alternate Trail Sham" or the "Trade Our Trail
Plan."
'
barricade. Two or three Town of Truckee officials were also there
for some reason.
