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Volume 170 • Issue 4 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, January 8, 2021
7 coronavirus deaths reported this week Thomas Frey Staff writer El Dorado County has now seen a total of 31 COVID-19-related deaths since the virus outbreak began in March 2020. Four new deaths were reported Wednesday afternoon, including an El Dorado Hills man and woman 65 years of age or older, one South Lake Tahoe man 65 years of age or older and one greater Placerville area man 65 years of age or older. With three other COVID-19 deaths reported Tuesday evening, the county has learned of seven deaths this week as of press time. Those three residents are two North County men 65 years of age or older and one Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Rescue man 65 years of age or older. Forty COVID-19 patients are hospitalized n
See deaths, page A8 Mountain Democrat photo by Jana Rossi
Restaurant fines racking up Dawn Hodson Staff writer El Dorado County has assessed three county restaurants $500 a day for operating in violation of COVID-19 state health code restrictions — the result being thousands of dollars in fines. Café El Dorado in El Dorado has been fined $53,200, Apple Bistro in Placerville $53,200 and Danette’s Brick Oven Pub in Placerville $38,600, for a grand total of $145,000. A spokesperson for the county said the first round of invoices is now 90 days past due and heading to collections. Once December invoices are created that will add another $15,500 to both Apple Bistro and Café El Dorado’s total and another $13,000 for Danette’s Brick Oven Pub. The restaurants have been fined for operating without a health permit. Their permits were pulled after they continued to n
See fines, page A8
Kim Hart holds the newspaper from 27 years ago when son Jesse Williams, center, came into the world with a little help from then 23-year-old paramedic Mark Brunton, right.
Special reunion Young firefighter meets fellow hero who delivered him
Jana Rossi Staff writer
J
esse Williams and Mark Brunton had met before … not that Williams would remember it. Twenty-seven years ago Brunton and five fellow Cameron Park firefighters walked into Williams’ parent’s home just in time for Brunton to catch a brand-new baby boy. He would be named Jesse and later become a Cameron Park Fire Department intern, working at the very station where his birthstory heroes were assigned. In December Williams shared stories and smiles with Brunton — a meeting both of them will remember this time. Williams’ mother Kim Hart shared the Valentine’s Day birth story with the media during the gathering, explaining that she and her then husband Dick decided their sixth baby would be born in the comfort of their Cameron Park home with the help
of a midwife. But babies don’t often follow parents’ schedules … and Jesse was no different. He decided he was ready to meet the world before the midwife was able to get there. Hart said she remained calm; after all, this wasn’t her first rodeo. She said she didn’t want Dick to call the paramedics but he wasn’t comfortable with not having the midwife there. “Six giant firemen came through the door,” she said, reminiscing, adding that they weren’t really giant but at that moment it seemed like it. One of the firefighters, 23-year-old Brunton, arrived just in time to “catch him.” Brunton had only been on the job for three months. Although he had delivered two other babies in his short tenure, he acknowledged, “Nothing had been this imminent.” He said he remembers that day as being “nerve-wracking and scary,” especially since delivering n
See reunion, page A7
Trump loyalists rally in protest of election results Kevin Christensen Staff writer Across the nation President Donald Trump supporters on Wednesday protested results of the 2020 election. In the nation’s capital a violent crowd stormed the Capitol building in an effort to halt Congress’ certification of the electoral college vote that would formally name President-Elect Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States. In Placerville Trump loyalists gathered peacefully along Highway 50 near downtown, also protesting the results of the election. Despite Biden winning 306 electoral college votes to President Trump’s 232, some think the count is inaccurate. “We want a fair and free election,” said El Dorado Hills resident Tracy Garwood, who organized the protest. “I feel there is definitely enough evidence to investigate the election
and want to see a hand recount in contested states.” Garwood said he also helped organize “back the blue” rallies earlier in 2020 in reaction to demonstrations that called for defunding the police. For Garwood, Wednesday’s rally was about the future of the country. “If the election was legitimate and there was no fraud then there should be no fear of a recount,” he said. “I don’t think the country will do well if close to 50% of citizens don’t believe the election was fair.” Placerville residents David and Mary Ramirez were also on hand for Wednesday’s protest. Both said in the 1960s they were Democrats but they have since changed their stance. They too think November’s election results are not legitimate. “I feel like the election was stolen,” Mary said. “I have seen on video ballot boxes being stuffed and many n
See rally, page A7
Mountain Democrat photo by Kevin Christensen
Demonstrators wave flags and show support for President Donald Trump Wednesday in downtown Placerville as Congress got to work certifying Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.
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