The Union Democrat
Forming foundations
Agroup of more than 40 people, including volunteers and potential future homeowners, worked together in 90-degree heat on a recent Tuesday to build a community garden at the Eureka Oaks Habitat for Humanity affordable housing development in Angels...
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Mist matters
The megapopular Mist Trail corridor, which includes Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, is the busiest, most impacted hiking area in the entirety of Yosemite National Park, and the park is seeking public comment on a draft environmental report for mitigating...
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Student pathways
Hundreds of elementary, middle, and high school students attended the 2026 Career Technical Education Expo and Showcase on May 29 at Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, an event intended to allow young people to explore careers and workforce development...
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Eviction siege
Atense standoff that kept a downtown Sonora neighborhood on edge Wednesday afternoon ended peacefully at 5:02 p.m., after two men who had barricaded themselves inside an East Church Street residence surrendered to law enforcement following hours of...
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Capstone moment
School is officially out as the Summerville High School class of 2026 was celebrated on Friday night, June 5, at Thorsted Field for their senior graduation. A total of 136 graduates had their names called over the loudspeaker, with fireworks galore...
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Bright future
Asea of caps and gowns filled Dunlavy Field on Thursday night as Sonora High School’s class of 2026 said goodbye under the lights. A packed stadium welcomed the 174 seniors onto the field at 7 p.m. Eli Ingalls and Jolene Beach gave a “welcome” speech...
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Shared triumph
More than 90 teens and adults graduated from Sonora Union High School District alternative education programs this spring, and about 80 of them attended a ceremony and raucous celebration Wednesday evening before hundreds of overjoyed parents, family...
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Real-world skills
Eighteen second-year Construction Tech students at Sonora High School, including sophomores, juniors, and seniors, built an unfurnished, trailer-mounted, 200-squarefoot tiny home using recycled and energy-efficient materials from November to June this...
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Civic duty
NOTE: Election night results are not included in this edition due to the newspaper’s 5 p.m. print deadline, but are up online in a story on our website at www.uniondemocrat.com. More follow-up coverage will appear in Thursday’s paper. County results...
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‘Furry lawnmowers’
Aherd of 100 goats recently helped reduce wildfire risk and brought neighbors together in a Sonora Firewise community. The grazing project was organized last week by homeowners Haze and Rudy Contreras in the Sonora Knolls/dragoon Gulch subdivision,...
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Hometown roots
Maverick Alaway isn’t just a once-in-a-generation talent on a 125cc motocross bike. In fact, the 15-year-old Ione native is more akin to a once-in-alifetime type of phenom who’s currently in pursuit of an unprecedented Triple Crown performance this...
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Out There
The day after the National Park Service reopened Highway 120 in Yosemite National Park for spring and summer, I rode my motorbike over Tioga Road and Tioga Pass to U.S. 395 and used Sonora Pass to return to downtown Sonora. That was Saturday, May 16....
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Unified stride
Special Olympics athletes, family members, and other advocates for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and personnel with the Sonora Police Department, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol took part Wednesday...
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Saddle success
Ateam of mule packers from Aspen Meadow Pack Station in Tuolumne County took first-place in a six-event, multiday packing competition over the long holiday weekend at Bishop Mule Days in Bishop, which is known as the “Mule Capital of the World.” Chris...
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Day of remembrance
Advocates for military veterans, survivors of deceased veterans, and community members gathered at numerous locations in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties Monday to honor service members who have lost their lives, including casualties of the ongoing...
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Out There
Last Saturday, May 16, I got up before 4 a.m. to check how cold it was at Tioga Pass. It was 50 degrees in downtown Sonora and below freezing at the highest paved mountain pass in the state. I expected that and dressed for even colder conditions on my...
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Lasting devotion
Ahead-on collision near the Grand Canyon almost ended Ruth and Verne Walter’s marriage before it had barely begun. Days after their wedding on May 22, 1966, the newlyweds were driving in Verne’s 1965 Thunderbird on their way to New Orleans for their...
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Cannabis caution
Amother from Colorado who is also an award-winning speaker and bestselling author spoke plainly to Sonora Elementary School students Wednesday about the dangers of today’s high-potency THC products — marijuana, vapes, edibles, and dabs — and addiction,...
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Bears triumph
Summerville High School’s varsity coed tennis team captured its first-ever Sacjoaquin Section Division II title last week, defeating Bret Harte in a match that came down to the final doubles court.
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Doubling up
Family dynasties squared off Sunday in the International Frog Jump Grand Finals Championship at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee south of downtown Angels Camp, where 88-year-old Lillian Fasano clinched her second title in three years...
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Leap forward
The California redlegged frog, wiped out in Yosemite National Park for decades, has made a significant comeback in the past 10 years thanks to coordinated human interventions and restoration efforts, according to state and federal Fish and Wildlife...
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Shared success
More than a year after four Tuolumne County school districts began sharing bus drivers to combat staffing shortages, officials say the experiment is paying off. The “Shared Services Tuolumne County Transportation” program recorded no canceled...
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Solemn tribute
Scores of spectators, including Tuolumne County elected officials and county government workers, joined local law enforcement leaders Wednesday for a ceremony at Dambacher Detention Center to remember and honor law enforcement personnel killed in the...
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‘It’s market season’
The very first Sonora Certified Farmers’ Market event of the year is scheduled for 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. this Saturday in the parking lot bounded by Stewart, Shepherd, and Theall streets. “It’s market season again,” said City of Sonora Community...
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Roundup reunion
Thousands of spectators lined downtown Sonora’s main thoroughfare Saturday morning for the 67th annual Mother Lode Roundup Parade that featured about 100 entries.
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Rise to royalty
Kaelee Gates, a 22-year-old resident of Copperopolis, was graced with a fancy new tiara, belt buckle and sash to honor her as the 2026 Mother Lode Roundup Queen during a coronation ceremony Thursday at Black Oak Casino Resort. In 2023, Gates took...
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Shaping futures
Sixteen teachers from schools across Tuolumne County were recognized last week for their dedication in the classroom at the annual Excellence in Teaching Awards, hosted by the Tuolumne County Board of Education and Tuolumne County Superintendent of...
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Wall of fame
Jamestown residents gathered Sunday afternoon for the unveiling of a long-planned mural at the corner of Seco and Main streets that celebrates the community’s railroad and filmmaking heritage. The 40-foot-long, 6.5-foot-tall mural complements work...
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Little legs, big fun
The seventh annual Tuolumne Dachshund Derby took place once again this past Sunday at West Side Memorial Park in Tuolumne, with nearly 50 floppy-eared participants competing in the races. Families and dog-lovers traveled to Tuolumne from across...
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Shared history
Modesto residents Cristal Baez Arellano and Jacquie Marroquin, volunteers with the Tuolumne County-based nonprofit Conamor Building Bridges, welcomed people Saturday to Columbia State Historic Park, site of the first documented Cinco de Mayo...
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175 years strong
Friday was May Day, long recognized as a day for ancient Celtic, Roman, and Germanic spring festivals and the birth of the modern labor movement in 1886 in Chicago, and it was also recognized as the City of Sonora’s official birthday as an incorporated...
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Open, for now
Caltrans opened Highway 108 from Kennedy Meadows Road to the 9,624-foot top of Sonora Pass at 10 a.m. Thursday, much to the relief of some business owners along the upper 108 corridor who say the past winter has been hard on them. “Winter was very...
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Prayers for leaders
Agroup of more than 50 students, parent-chaperones and teachers from Mother Lode Christian School flew to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to visit memorials, museums and historic sites in Virginia and the nation’s capital, where students prayed...
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Ancestral voices
Mariposa-based members of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation welcomed visitors with prayers, songs, and dance at an Honoring Mother Earth event, hosted Saturday by the Tuolumne Band of Me-wuk Indians and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-wuk Indians of...
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Building futures
Many of Tuolumne County’s most influential figures in business, government and philanthropy came together Thursday night for a gala fundraiser that’s expected to meet or exceed the goal of generating $300,000 for the nonprofit Resiliency Village, a...
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Reviving history
A co-ed, sanctioned All-american Soap Box Derby competition for children and teens is scheduled in April 2027 on Stewart Street, marking the return of historic soap box racing that took place in pre-world War II downtown Sonora, city Chamber of...
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Out There
Earlier this month, desperate to catch some waterfall action before flows from a belowaverage winter cease, I did Vernal Fall on the Mist Trail and the base of Upper Yosemite Fall on consecutive weekends. April storms so far have kept waterfalls...
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Station shutdown
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to cut $2.3 million from the county’s 2026-27 agreement with Cal Fire, which terminates six full-time county firefighter positions, eliminates one fire engine and its crew, and will result in...
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Home improvement
Thousands of visitors turned out over the weekend for the 43rd annual Home and Garden Show at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, where more than 100 vendors showcased home improvement services and products, landscaping tips, artisan goods and more....
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Cultural stories
The number of Latinos in California has continued growing from the 1500s as part of Las Californias under Spain, from 1821 to 1848 as Alta California under Mexico, and from 1849 through today as the 31st state of California. Latinos are now the Golden...
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Coyote Sam strikes again
Now in its 67th year, the Mother Lode Roundup is still like a hometown reunion, but the 2026 Roundup Rodeo might get staged on Mother’s Day weekend without bucking broncos, cowboy-busting bulls, and ornery steers. The dirty, stinking, foul-mouthed...
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Endangered landmark
Sonora Elementary School graduates who remember attending classes in the Dome in the 1960s are leading an effort to repair the iconic 117-year-old building’s roof, so that the Dome can eventually be retrofitted and restored for public use. Linda...
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Out There
In the week that led up to last Saturday, I knew I wanted to go try to walk up to the base of Upper Yosemite Fall. The forecasts included rain, possible thunderstorms, and potential for snow in Yosemite Valley. I told my buddies we should go for it....
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Last stride
Forty-eight years ago, longtime Tuolumne County resident and retired Union Democrat reporter and columnist Chris Bateman saw an opportunity to capitalize on the “running boom” of the 1970s. What transpired from the young innovator’s mind has become a...
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Past meets present
Sonora High School juniors who are studying Advanced Placement U.S. history got an inside look at the Tuolumne County Museum and History Research Center on Thursday. Their goal was to learn some the basics of how county museum and research center...
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Out There
The dry, record-warm month of March and the state’s April 1 manual snow survey showing Sierra Nevada snowpack at near-record lows mean this spring’s snowmelt is way ahead of schedule, so waterfall flows in Yosemite National Park are peaking right now...
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Small Change 4 Big
Representatives for a Jacksonbased nonprofit that advocates for people dealing with homelessness recently invited Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman to tour Tuolumne County’s sanctioned Camp Justice with Tuolumne County Sheriff David Vasquez and Sgt....
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Wranglin’ Roundup
Past and present Mother Lode Roundup royalty, members of the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Posse and numerous volunteers throughout the community came together on Saturday morning to host the county’s first ever Wranglin’ Roundup. The event saw nearly a...
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Roots and reckoning
Sylvia Alden Roberts is known in Tuolumne County for preserving Black history of the Gold Rush, but her newest book takes an inward look at a formative time in her own life while growing up in the Jim Crow South. In “The Other Side of Nolan Street: A...
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Spring revival
The record-warm month of March brought an early start for some wildflowers, butterflies, frogs and snakes in Tuolumne County. Even if you missed those first blooms, there should probably be ample opportunities to find and enjoy more wildflowers close...
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Winter meltdown
California’s final manual snow survey of the 202526 winter season on Wednesday showed the Sierra snowpack at near-record lows, following an unusually hot March that accelerated this spring’s snowmelt months ahead of schedule. The findings at Phillips...
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Ancient ancestors
Sonora native Debi Bolter shared the latest discoveries from what’s considered to be one of the world’s most important fossil sites for understanding human origins during a presentation Tuesday in Columbia. About 50 people came to Angelo’s Hall in...
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Deadline approaches
Residents of Camp Justice, Tuolumne County’s sanctioned homeless camp near the new Law and Justice Center campus southeast of downtown Sonora, are supposed to be moving campers and trailers out of the camp by this Wednesday or Thursday, Sheriff David...
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Creative tides
Artists with the Sonora nonprofit WATCH Resources Inc., which offers support and services to adults with intellectual disabilities and their families, are preparing a month-long exhibit of handmade, hand-glazed, ocean-themed artwork. The “Under the...
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Topping out
Awet storm — potentially bringing the first rain and snow in more than a month to the parched Mother Lode and the rest of the Central Sierra — is possible next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The last time it rained and snowed in Tuolumne County was...
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Frontier democracy
With a midterm election year throughout the country, many voters are thinking about issues, candidates and how they will cast their ballot in the primary and general elections. It really wasn’t too different at Mormon Gulch when the ‘49ers there began...
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Mission accomplished
The Blue Zones Project Tuolumne County is wrapping up five years of activities, events and communitybuilding actions to improve the health and well-being of the community. After leading 60 months of community engagement, partnerships and policy work,...
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Honoring heroes
What began as a call for photos and information about local veterans for a special display at this year’s Mother Lode Fair has grown into a far-reaching effort to document — and preserve — Tuolumne County’s military history. Led by longtime fair...
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‘Stories Across Cultures’
Chinese immigrants who came to the Gold Rush often faced mobfueled, government-sponsored, newspaper-backed discrimination, racism and hatred as soon as they arrived in California and the Mother Lode, and some of their experiences were shared Thursday...
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Forest unity
The Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions collaborative and its emphasis on bringing competing interests together to find common ground on fire fuels reduction and forest health were hailed Thursday morning during the first day of a two-day regional meeting of...
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Seeds of stewardship
Sonora Elementary School students and faculty celebrated Arbor Day on Wednesday with the Tuolumne County Garden Club and accepted a donated, pre-planted, fenced Chinese pistache sapling donated by Subaru of Sonora. A few steps from a venerable oak...
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Free bird
red-tailed hawk recovering from a severe gunshot, arrow, or pellet gun injury was released Sunday by the Sonora-based nonprofit Mother Lode Wildlife Care at a location off Murphys Grade Road northeast of Angels Camp. Residents discovered the injured...
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Born lucky
Sonora resident Mary Louise Nofal Davies, who was born a century ago in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, turns 100 years old today at Golden Sonora Care Center off Greenley Road. She was born on St. Patrick’s Day, but she is not Irish. She is Lebanese by ancestry....
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Drawn discovery
The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has acquired one of the earliest known drawings of Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America, and a rare companion lithograph that were both created in 1855 by artist Thomas...
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Pain at the pump
Military conflicts in the Middle East frequently cause global oil prices to spike due to fears of supply disruptions, and the U.s.-israeli conflict with Iran that began two weeks ago has severely impacted Iran, a major oil producer, and access to the...
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‘Dream It, Be It’
About 140 freshmen and sophomore girls at Summerville High School took part in a career mentors event Wednesday that drew many of the leading lights among the area’s working professional women. The Dream It, Be It event was organized and sponsored by...
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Request for relief
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday morning to request $6.3 million in state funding to build a 25-acre-foot reservoir at the former Sierra Pines Golf Course property in Twain Harte that would provide water during water...
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Forest focus
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, the former timber industry executive who has led the federal agency since his appointment by President Donald J. Trump’s administration last March, visited staff with the Stanislaus National Forest, Tuolumne...
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‘Stories Across Cultures’
About 150 people came to Columbia College on Thursday to hear Stephanie Beaverguzman, an enrolled member of the Indigenous Hoopa Valley Tribe of Northern California, and Kyle Cox, cultural resource manager for the Tuolumne Me-wuk Tribal Council, share...
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All cleared
Six months after a devastating lightningsparked blaze tore through Chinese Camp, property owners who lost homes and buildings can now begin rebuilding after Tuolumne County officials announced the completion of post-fire debris and hazard tree removal...
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End in sight
Repairs on storm-damaged sections of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s Main Tuolumne Canal were expected to be completed Wednesday night between Lyons Dam and Twain Harte, PG&E announced Wednesday afternoon. Testing of the canal is scheduled to begin...
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Me-wuk milestone
With an eye toward the future and nod to the past, tribal elders and current-day leaders of the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-wuk Indians of California gathered this past weekend for a ribboncutting ceremony to mark the reopening of the tribe’s...
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Political roadblock
For more than a month, Republican lawmakers in California have blasted a legislative proposal to study alternatives to the state’s gas tax, declaring it a dishonest ploy by Democrats to hike taxes on drivers — a claim that’s gone viral on social media...
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February boost
February storms brought much-needed snow to the Central Sierra and the rest of the Sierra Nevada range, but region-wide and state-wide, the snowpack’s vital snow water equivalents are still below average for this time of year, the state’s third manual...
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