You can bet your bottom dollar the proposal to build a Dollar General in the Don Pedro area is going to create plenty of passion from both opponents and supporters.

Does it make “cents” for the community?

An estimated 300-500 people attended a Tuolumne County Planning Commission meeting in November. At that meeting, the site development permit for the project was rejected by the commission by a 5-1 vote.

However, store developer Joe Dell of Cross Development, based in Carrollton, Texas, asked that the decision be appealed.

The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors are now in the process of scheduling a special appeal meeting to determine whether the proposed store will be built.

The meeting was slated for February, but due to a scheduling conflict at Lake Don Pedro High School, the date is “still up in the air,” said Bev Shane, Community Resources Agency director for Tuolumne County.

“It may be in late January,” Shane said. “There are some dates in January where the gym is available. The facility has certainly lent itself as a great venue. It’s just down the street from the project site and in the area where the people most interested in the project live.”

Reasons for appeal

In a letter to the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors dated Nov. 23, 2016, which was acquired by the Gazette, Dell wrote the appeal “is being filed on the basis that we feel the Planning Commission did not review all of the details” of the proposal, and instead “based their findings for denial on emotions and a fear of competition.”

Dell also responded to a paragraph in the report by the planning commission, which read: “We’re not here to choose winners and losers, but the problem in this case is if any big corporation came here and put in money to build a store and then a few years from now closed it, the devastation to the community would be complete.”

Dell responded to this by writing, “This statement is based solely on assumption and not on fact. We believe findings of fact, means, facts. For this reason, we feel the denial was in fact, not based on actual findings of fact, but instead on emotional and assumptive feelings…”

Calls placed to representatives from Cross Development and Dollar General were not returned.

Concerns voiced

Some in the community are concerned about the effect of bringing in a 91,000 square-foot Dollar General would have on the community.

The site that Dollar General wants to develop is currently a mobile home park, and families would be forced to relocate if the application is approved.

“They would be removing the RV park,” Shane said.

In addition, the Don Pedro Market, which has been a fixture in the community for several decades, would be affected.

According to attorney George Harper, a solo practitioner from Madera who is representing the Don Pedro Market, the proposed store would be built “on the very next door lot” to the market, which is at Highway 132 and Las Palmas Way.

“They would literally be back to back,” Harper said.

Harper said “I think everybody understands that if Dollar General comes in, there’s not enough business for two grocery stores.”

“It necessarily means one of the two stores will go out of business,” Harper said. “I think the fear is the local market that has been there a long time will be the one that will go out of business. The local residents don’t want that. That store means a lot to them for other reasons than groceries.”

Harper said the store has a “long history of generosity in the community going back to the previous owners.” He said when organizations in the community need something, the store has been a “willing participant.”

He added the store has been there for over 30 years.

“It’s a local gathering place,” Harper said.

Don Pedro Market has gasoline pumps, a hardware store, a deli and a post office, and Harper said the local residents use those pumps because the next nearest pumps are “quite a distance away.”

Harper pointed out the hardware store which is attached to the market “cannot support itself standing alone.”

“The hardware store has no staff,” Harper said. “When people need hardware, whoever is on duty at the grocery store opens the hardware store. … It saves them from having to drive from Sonora or Merced.”

Harper said the issue is “not just grocery store versus grocery store.” The stakes are higher than that.

“If Don Pedro Market goes out of business and the Dollar General is there, they will lose all these services,” Harper said. “They’ll lose the sense of history of a local gathering place.”

Harper said “many of the ones” who move to the Lake Don Pedro area move there “specifically because they wanted to be in a rural type of environment.”

“They feel like box stores are contrary to the environment they sought out when they moved there,” Harper said.

Finally, Harper said the planning commission’s decision was based on the fact the commission and the board of supervisors are to consider “potential negative impact” to the local community.

He said the commission made their decision “based on the testimony” of the people who showed up and determined there would be a “significant negative impact on this small community” if this application was approved.

Craig Lawson has owned the building that houses the Don Pedro Market for almost 20 years.

He said supporters of the Dollar General store are “claiming they’re not going to have that much product on their shelves that (matches what) the market has,” but in actuality, he claimed, 90 percent of the products will be similar.

“The bottom line is the Dollar General will put the Don Pedro Market out of business,” Lawson said.

Lawson reiterated that should the Don Pedro Market go out of business, “the gas pumps will be pulled.”

He said supporters of the Dollar General store are “not getting the big picture here.”

“They’re looking out for themselves, and that’s it,” Lawson said.

“There’s nothing wrong with competition,” Lawson said, but “if the area can’t support it, what are we doing?”

The developers will need three votes in favor of the project for it to move forward.

Shane said lawsuits could be filed by either side following the decision.

She said in order to file a lawsuit, “you must first exhaust your administrative remedy,” which in this case is taking the matter before the board of supervisors, and “anything beyond that, it goes into the legal court process.”

“Is there a chance? There’s always a chance,” Shane said.

Decision could affect Mariposa County shoppers

Although the proposed Dollar General store would be located in Tuolumne County, it could still affect Mariposa County shoppers, many of whom pass through the Lake Don Pedro area. Part of the Lake Don Pedro community lies within Mariposa County.

Mariposa Board of Supervisors District 2 representative Merlin Jones said he understands it is “quite a volatile” discussion going on right now about the proposed Dollar General store.

Jones said he believes most people in Coulterville, a 22-mile drive from Lake Don Pedro, do their shopping elsewhere.

“I would say the people in Don Pedro use it, (but) the people in Coulterville probably go to Sonora,” Jones said. “That’s where the majority of them will go. Not many come down to the Don Pedro Market down there.”

Shane said the public meeting is not “limited to” Tuolumne County citizens. She said anyone, including Mariposa County citizens, can “provide input.”

“It truly is a public hearing,” Shane said.

When the hearing time and date are set, the Gazette will provide the information in a future publication.

Matt Johnson is Sports and Education Editor of the Mariposa Gazette and can be reached at matt@mariposagazette.com.

Ken Corallo and Marla Kertzman stand in front of the arena they created. Their Mariposa Event Center has become host to a number of activities. Photos by Matt Johnson Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-partseries about the Mariposa Event Center. Seenext week’s edition of the Gazette for detailsabout a ranch sorting event that will be held inhonor of a Marine who passed away in a caraccident.

An announcer booth was constructed not long ago for the Mariposa Event Center, and it has wheels, allowing it to be moved easily around the center. Ken Corallo and Marla Kertzman have built quite the oasis in the midst of a small community.

The husband and wife, who own and manage the Mariposa Event Center in the Don Pedro area, have taken an ordinary house and barn and turned it into one of the hot spots in Northern Mariposa County.

The couple originally moved from the Bay Area to Bootjack. In June of 2001, they moved to La Grange.

“I fell in love with the barn,” said Marla of the property where they now live.

When they first purchased the property, only the house and the barn were there.

But Marla was competing quite a bit, barrel racing three days a week. In a desire to practice more, the couple decided to construct an arena.

“Originally the arena was put in for us,” Marla said.

The process started in 2003 with the pad being cut for the arena. In 2005, the sand which makes up part of the arena’s surface was brought in. Around that same time, Ken put up fencing for the arena, as well as short light poles for illumination.

At first, the couple made the arena bigger than it really needed to be at 200 by 300 feet, but they eventually scaled it down to 150 by 300 feet.

“We looked at it and went, ‘Wait a minute, that’s really big,’” Marla said. “It’s (now) considered a standard course riding arena.”

As time went on, the couple met many of their neighbors and realized there was a need for the community to have a place to come and ride, and to “have some fun,” Marla said.

Ken pointed out there are several miles of a trail system that runs in the surrounding area.

“There are a lot of trails,” Ken said.

Over the next few years, through hard work and help from a few key connections ­— including District 2 County Supervisor Merlin Jones, the couple had a fully operational arena constructed.

“We knew he was really horse-friendly,” Marla said. “We approached him and had a meeting with him. He committed to help us navigate all the paperwork. … He’s a huge advocate. Even today he’s a huge sponsor and supporter of what we’re trying to do here. We’re extremely thankful to him for everything he’s done.”

“He got us meetings with all the right people at the County,” Ken said.

The result of the hard work is a place that now brings the community together and offers “honest fun” and a family friendly” environment,” Marla said.

Promoting education and competition

The event center is an equestrian, livestock and K9 facility created for training, education and competition for riders of all ages, levels and disciplines. It is open seasonally from May to November.

One day, the event center hosts veterinarian lectures on how to manage back road emergencies while riding horses. On other days, it hosts vaccine clinics.

“We really want to put forward a lot of education out here,” Marla said.

On the competition side, the event center hosts everything from cowboy challenges — timed obstacle events — to cattle sortings, English and Western schooling shows, barrel races, cowboy mounted shooting and more.

One of the most popular offerings from the event center are the open ride nights on Friday nights.

“In the summer, it’s nice for them to come out in the evenings when it’s cooler,” Marla said.

Improvements continuing

The event center has now been holding events for three years.

The first year, Ken put up shade structures for spectators. The second year, trees were installed. Last winter, an announcer booth was constructed, and taller light poles were installed to illuminate the arena better.

“Thank God I have some wonderful, local friends that are electricians and linemen, and they came out and we did it all ourselves,” Ken said.

In addition, just this year, Ken and Marla put in a second well, which they hope to use to irrigate a pasture nearby the arena to help reduce dust. The hope is to turn it into a green pasture where horses can eat.

In the future, they hope to build another shade structure to make spectators more comfortable.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Marla said with a laugh.

If you build it, they will come

Despite being in a place that some might consider out of the way, Ken and Marla said it’s not uncommon for them to welcome spectators and competitors from several hours away.

“We have the locals as close as a half-mile away that come and are our regulars,” Marla said. “But we have people from Hollister, the Bay Area, Shaver Lake, Fresno, Clovis.”

Part of the enjoyment for Ken and Marla comes from seeing competitors get “better and better” over the years.

“It’s really rewarding,” Marla said. “You see some amazing horses, amazing riders. You see great sportsmanship and horsemanship.”

Marla said “really awesome people have stepped forward who really want to see” the event center succeed.

“We’re just really thankful for all of them,” Marla said. “And the community, they’ve been great. They’re very supportive.”

The Mariposa Event Center is located at 2759 Ranchito Drive in La Grange. It offers over five acres of parking and also offers warm-up areas.

For more on the event center, visit its Facebook page or www.mariposaeventcenter.com.

Matt Johnson is Sports and Education Editor of the Mariposa Gazette and can be reached at matt@mariposagazette.com.

After a weekend of torrential rain, Mariposa’s rainfall totals were boosted by almost three inches.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the total for Friday through Monday was 2.98 inches.

That rain brought the County’s total rainfall for March to 8.76 inches, according to the Western Regional Climate Center.

Add that to the 2.22 inches in February, 8.45 inches in January and 5.16 in December, and the amount of rainfall looks good for County.

But the El Niño, which weather forecasters have said is fueling the storms, is starting to weaken, and hasn’t brought the amount of rainfall that was forecast last autumn for California.

The rains that came last weekend brought slick roads and a few fender benders to the County, but overall there was little damage from the storms.

Mariposa County Public Works said crews were busy, but didn’t have to deal with anything unusual.

Other areas of the West Coast weren’t so lucky. A man was killed in Washington when a tree crushed his car.

Closer to home, a California Highway Patrol officer was killed late Sunday on Interstate 80 near Donner Summit. He was struck by an out-of-control car while he was out of his vehicle. The weather was so bad at the time the officer had to be taken by ambulance instead of a helicopter.

The precipitation is forecast to disappear for a while, according to the National Weather Service. The next chance of rain is Sunday and Monday. Sunday’s storm may bring about a third of an inch and Monday is forecast to see about half an inch.

Other than those storms, the forecast through Wednesday, March 23, is for sunny days and highs in the high 60s or low 70s.

Lake McClure has seen its storage rise with the recent rainfall, although it’s still lower than normal, with a total storage of 217,822 acre feet. The lake can hold more than one million acre feet.

Other reservoirs across the state are also reporting higher levels from the recent storms. Shasta is at 75 percent of capacity, and 99 percent of historical average.

Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area, which used to be known as Badger Pass, has reported several feet of snow for skiers.

The storms last weekend brought flood warnings across the state, but little damage was done.