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C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
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Volume 171 • Issue 2 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Outages ‘snowball’ —
residents now without propane Mountain Democrat staff Down from the 27,000 El Dorado County PG&E customers who Dec. 27 had their power knocked out by a powerful winter storm, on Tuesday morning 5,732 remained without electricity. Affected residents were mostly in Pollock Pines (1,867) and Georgetown (1,242), according to PG&E data. Some whose electricity has been restored are now out of propane and say they can’t get a propane company to refill their tanks. Pollock Pines resident Dan Clayberger ran out of propane three days into the power outage. His electricity came back on Sunday night and despite roads being cleared of snow, he said he cannot get a propane company to service his Gilmore Road address. And he’s called more than one. Clayberger told the Mountain Democrat his neighbors are having the same problem and the current theory on the block is that the propane truck drivers don’t want to fight their way through 4 feet of snow to get to propane tanks. Staff at the propane companies Clayberger contacted said they were “trying to come up with a plan,” according to the 80-year-old. Clayberger, who retired to Pollock Pines with his wife in 2001, said he hasn’t seen a storm and
In the
circumstances quite like these during his time in “Nature’s Wonderland,” as the mountain hamlet is fondly known. The Claybergers said they are using their fireplace insert to heat their home. When they wake up it’s about 54 degrees and they have no hot water, no stove, no amenities at all that they would normally run off propane. The couple was due a propane delivery as last week’s storm was rolling in, but that never happened. Now, their firewood supply is running low as they were only able to source 3 cords to their usual 6 this year. Clayberger said he remembers thinking “OK, there’s a shortage of wood. We’ll work around it.” And then the most snowfall for the region in the month of December since 1970 came with 214 inches measured at Donner Summit. “It’s a snowballing problem,” Clayberger said. Those still without electricity told the Mountain Democrat they have had to stretch their propane or gas supply to keep a generator running. One Pollock Pines woman who did not want to be identified said she bought a siphon to get gasoline out of her vehicle in case the supply for her generator ran out. Snowed in and unable to drive, she
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Photos by Mark Bowen Media
Gold Ridge Trail family José Torres and his sons Johnny and Frankie, from left, stopped to remove more than 2 feet of snow from the top of their brand-new Subaru Monday afternoon in Pollock Pines. José said he “didn’t want anybody on the freeway to get hit” with a roof full of snow. said she didn’t want to snowshoe the 3 miles to the nearest gas station. All schools in the Pollock Pines and Silver Fork elementary school districts were closed Monday and Tuesday due to weather impacts as was Markham Middle School in Placerville. PG&E Deputy Incident Commander Jason Regan reported Sunday that Pollock Pines was among the heaviest damaged areas repair crews were seeing following last week’s storm that took out trees and downed power lines across four counties. n
See Outages, page A3
NEWS 2021 in
The Mountain Democrat staff looks back on top news stories of 2021
Anthony Gumina gets life in prison Thomas Frey Staff writer Two years after Heather GuminaPLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Waters, a 33-year-old mother of three, went tragically missing in the summer of 2019, her husband Anthony Gumina was sentenced to a life term in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Two months after she went missing, Heather’s body was found buried several feet deep in the dirt on a property near the Guminas’ Pleasant Valley residence, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Heather’s body was reportedly found
wrapped in a carpet with a noose around her neck. “My life and her children’s lives, her brothers’ and sisters’ lives and other members of our family’s lives were completely shattered forever,” said Heather’s mother Joanna Russell on the day of Anthony’s n
See Gumina, page A2
1 DENTIST DENTIST!
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Three Years Straight!
PG&E trucks and equipment stage in the Pines Shopping Center on Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines. About 5,700 PG&E customers in El Dorado County were without power Tuesday morning.
DeVille running for county assessor News release Surrounded by family and friends at the Rescue Community Center, Jon DeVille announced his candidacy for El Dorado County Assessor at his campaign kickoff event last month. DeVille, who has been the chief fiscal officer for Sheriff John D’Agostini, was pleased to have the sheriff in attendance to help make the announcement official. “Jon DeVille has been a valuable asset to my team since 2013. Because of people like him, I have been able to provide top quality services to the people of El Dorado County.” D’Agostini said. “I know firsthand that Jon is very good at what he does and I know when it comes to the taxpayer, he will be meticulous with his oversight. Jon is exactly who we want at the helm ensuring people are fairly assessed. And he will fight for us when tax policy is debated at the state level.” DeVille holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Menlo College and a master’s of business administration degree from California State
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Jon DeVille speaks to supporters gathered at Rescue Community Center as he kicked off his campaign for El Dorado County Assessor. University, San Francisco. DeVille brings a blend of both private and public sector experience to the race. “As someone with experience in both Fortune 100 companies and for n
See DeVille, page A3
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