PROSPECTOR+ REAL ESTATE INSIDE TODAY


SEE WHAT’S NEW IN TODAY’S MAGAZINE CHECK OUT DETAILS BELOW


GET BACK TO NATURE WORKSHOP WITH NATURE WRITER


BARRY LOPEZ THIS WEEKEND LEARNING C1


THURSDAY,OCTOBER 7, 2010 WEATHER MAN H: 63o Weather, A9


L: 47o See full


FOUNDED IN 1864 TO PRESERVE THE UNION … ONE AND INSEPARABLE


50 CENTS Police: Woman attacked in Nevada City


BY LIZ KELLAR StaffWriter


An employee of a Nevada


Just in case — carry an umbrella! NEWS BRIEFS


 Entertainment and real estate join forces


Starting today, The Union’s Real Estate Showcase magazine will publish as a combined edition with the Prospector entertainment section every other week.


Real Estate Showcase will be a special pullout section of Prospector, which publishes every Thursday in The Union. In addition, Showcase still will be distributed separately throughout Nevada County.


The combined publication pro- vides timely Nevada County real estate information and listings along with comprehensive area entertainment, dining and event coverage.


City business was grabbed from behind in a frightening assault early Wednesday morning. The woman was attacked as she arrived to open the business


in the 500 block of Searls Avenue at about 4:15 a.m., said Nevada City Police Lt. Lorin Gage. She had her keys in her


hand and was about to open a door on the west side of the business when the assailant grabbed her around the throat


and torso,Gage said. “He physically lifted her off


the ground,”Gage said. The man carried her to the


back of the business,where there is a wooded area, and threw her to the ground. The woman told police she lost consciousness and her attacker was gone when


IN THE CLASSROOM WITH NEVADA COUNTY’S TEACHER of the YEAR


she came to. “Her clothes were


disheveled and her pants had been pulled down slightly,”Gage said.


The woman was able to


crawl to the front of the build- ing, where a customer came to her aid and called 911.


It was not clear whether the


victim had been sexually assault- ed and she was being treated and examined at an area hospital, Gage said. “She didn’t see his face,”


Gage said, adding that she described the man as having “foul body odor.”


Montana man caught hauling pot into town


BY LIZ KELLAR StaffWriter


A Montana man stopped for a


minor traffic violation was arrested after Nevada County Sheriff ’s deputies found drugs, cash and a gun stashed in his truck and a trailered car. A patrol officer stopped a truck with


Montana plates that was hauling a car on a trailer on Highway 20 just outside Grass Valley at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday; the lights were not working on the trailer, and the truck lights were obscured by the trailer, said Sgt. Bill Smethers.


Post a comment on the Web Photo for The Union by John Hart Firefighters on Stennett Street


 Fire damages home in Grass Valley


Firefighters quickly knocked down a blaze at a Grass Valley resi- dence, but the fire caused at least $60,000 in damage, officials said Wednesday.


The fire on Stennett Street, behind Colfax Avenue, was reported at about 3:45 a.m.Wednesday, said Grass Valley Fire Chief Tony Clarabut. Firefighters responded to find the entire interior, with the exception of a few rooms, in flames, he said.


The fire was contained within about 10 minutes, Clarabut said. Firefighters from Nevada County Consolidated, Nevada City and Ophir Hill fire departments also responded.


The fire, which caused an estimat- ed $60,000 in damage to the building and personal property, remains under investigation. — Liz Kellar


 Financial literacy


Free workshops to promote good management of personal finances will be given to high school students and offered to the public on Friday. Read Editor/Publisher Jeff Ackerman’s story.


See Page A3 LIVES LIVED Vesta Willson, 95 Obituaries on Page A5


INDEX Advice


Blotter Business


Classifieds Comics Lottery


Opinions Sports Stocks Sudoku


Photo for The Union by John Hart


Lori Davis, teacher at Grass Valley Charter School, reads to her students Tuesday from the book “Cave,” by Diane Siebert and Wayne McLoughlin.


Educator helps inspire eager learners at Grass Valley Charter


BY GREYSON HOWARD StaffWriter


T


eacher Lori Davis whispers the names of the continents, and groups of her combined first- and


second-grade class spring up from the floor, running to their respective tables named Antarctica,Australia and so on. It’s Tuesday morning at the Grass


Valley Charter School, and they’re learning about caves in preparation for a field trip to California Caverns next week. When she asks for a volunteer to read


from their reading booklets,all hands go up. It’s that eager learning environment


that has won Davis recognition as Teacher of the Year for the Grass Valley School District and for Nevada County — and has her in the running for California’s Teacher of the Year. Soon, it’s time to draw and write


about what the children have learned. When they hear Davis’ announcement, more than one student exclaims, “yesssss!,” in a barely restrained hiss of enthusiasm. “I get to teach the way I want to


teach,” Davis said after the students went to recess, crediting the charter school’s unique structure for her recent recognition. She has been at the school from its begin- ning — 15 years — and helped mold it. “I’m very lucky to have been involved in


Photo for The Union by John Hart


Teacher Lori Davis helps Makai Malin in class Tuesday at Grass Valley Charter School.


the decision-making and design,” she said. The focus at Grass Valley Charter is


“expedition learning,”where students spend time learning about a topic in depth, doing research and field work, to make everyday lessons such as spelling and reading relevant to the world around them, she said. “We try to have topics that are rich


and compelling, something real,” Davis said. Students “are really much more inter- ested in doing quality work. “They ask if they can do second or


third drafts, and talk about how they’ll do a project differently next time,”David added. “It’s important to them because they know


Tax collector candidates neck-and-neck in $$$


C5 A2 B4 D1 C4 A5 A4 B1 B4 A8


VOLUME 145 ISSUE 296


BY MICHELLE RINDELS StaffWriter


In the home stretch of a


competitive race for Nevada County Treasurer/Tax Collector, candidates are neck-and-neck in fundraising. Both raised


about $20,500 between July 1 and Sept. 30, most of it from loans to themselves. Candidate Tina Vernon is


statements filed Tuesday with the county Clerk-Recorder Office. Candidate Dai Meagher


spent $18,532 between July and September, according to his statements. Meagher arrived shortly


after


More election news inside See Page A8


slightly ahead in spending — she paid $21,652 during the period, according to financial disclosure


Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline, and his documents are stamped as having been received on


Wednesday. Counting earlier contribu- tions during the four-way race in


See CONTRIBUTIONS A8


it’s going to go somewhere.” Last year, the class’s work on coyotes


ended up on a sign along the American River.This year, they may work to eliminate plastic bags in the community — but that may change if something else piques the students’ interest,Davis said. And because they’re going to a cave


next week, they’re more interested in learning about them this week than if they were just working out of a traditional text book, she said.


INSIDE TODAY


For more about area schools and students, turn to the Learning section. See Page C1


The cave is one of the class’s adven-


tures, designed to challenge students. “They do that challenge and realize


they can go into the dark, scary cave, then they know they can challenge themselves in reading that next book,”Davis said. Davis sees earning district and county


recognition, and being in the running for the state award, as broader recognition for charter schools as an alternative to tradi- tional learning. “I don’t really want the attention


myself, but I like that our school is getting recognized,” she said.


To contact Staff Writer Greyson Howard, e-mail ghoward@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4237.


The deputy noticed a “strong odor


of marijuana” coming from the car on the trailer, and a chemical odor typical of methamphetamine coming from the truck, Smethers said. The driver, identified as Troy


Damschen, 50, of Lewistown, Mont., consented to a search. Narcotics officers found a small


plastic cylinder hanging from the truck keys that allegedly contained nearly 3 grams of meth.They also allegedly found 2 ounces of crystal meth hidden in a stash can inside the passenger-side door, Smethers said. They also allegedly discovered a


loaded .38-caliber Derringer pistol and ammunition, and what Smethers described as “the beginnings of a home- made silencer,” 97 hydrocodone (a painkiller) pills, digital scales and pack- aging material, and $6,500 in cash. Officers also allegedly found 15


pounds of marijuana packaged in reseal- able plastic bags inside the compartment walls of the car and packed inside four spare tires that were inside the vehicle, Smethers said. Damschen was arrested on suspi-


cion of possession of controlled substances and possession for sale, trans- portation of controlled substances, possession of marijuana for sale and transportation for sale, and possessing controlled substances while armed. He remains in custody in county jail.


To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@the- union.com or call (530) 477-4229.


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