Let’s do lunch
Top Achievers
It’s time to get your order in for a CASA Kids Box Lunch.
Celebrate El Dorado County’s top Realtors, top students.
Prospecting, page 6
Inside
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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 170 • Issue 34 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Monday, March 22, 2021
Liz Kane played the game of life like a pro
Gardeners on duty
Thomas Frey Staff writer On March 10 former Mountain Democrat sports editor Liz Kane passed away in Placerville at the age of 79. Kane always walked with a loving purpose whether it be seamlessly on the sidelines of every El Dorado County Liz Kane high school sporting event, the fairway to gently tap in a birdie on hole 18 at Cold Springs Golf and Country Club or the 2 miles she walked everyday through Placerville where she often caught up merrily with her neighbors. Liz and her husband Sammy had five children of their own, but from 1994-2013 while she worked at the Mountain Democrat, she treated every high school student-athlete as if they were her own. El Dorado High School coach Peanut Harms said he didn’t know how Liz made it to every meet that he coached or game that his daughters played in. “I think she really was emotionally attached to her craft,” Harms said. “She wasn’t just covering a sporting event, she was experiencing the sporting event and that came across loud and clear in a positive manner.” Liz was born in Hawaii where she lived during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shortly after her family moved to Reno, Nev., where she met her future husband Sammy Kane. They soon married and moved to Orangevale where they raised a family. While her kids attended Pershing Elementary School the library wasn’t in great shape. Liz and Sammy stepped in and transformed the library. “They made shelves and a nice area for books and projects,” said her son Michael Kane. “My mom and dad made it into a really nice library.” There was always a game on at the Kane household and the kids all played sports. When they were playing in Little League games coached by Sammy, Liz would be perched behind home plate keeping score and taking notes before turning around a story for the Orangevale News. n
Mountain Democrat photos by Thomas Frey
The Placerville Garden Club got to work March 16 after they got wind litter was piling up and tall weeds filling in around the Veterans Memorial Building in Placerville. Lauralee Flannery, left, and Rick Colgate break out the weed wackers to cut down tall grass and ready the area for a flower bed. Home Depot donated $150 worth of supplies to the effort.
Joan Kilpatrick, left photo, gives a little TLC to a tree outside of Veterans of Foreign War Camerado Post 10165 headquarters on Placerville Drive. Green thumb Susan King, right photo, fills the new flower bed with mulch. Daffodils, iris and poppies will light up the area.
See Liz Kane, page 3
Redistricting in the works in EDC Road projects Dawn Hodson Staff writer El Dorado County is moving forward with redistricting that will redefine state legislative districts as well as local supervisorial districts using data from the 2020 census. At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting supervisors approved a process and timeline for carrying redistricting out, deciding to follow the same process used previously with the board and an internal redistricting team of staff overseeing the work. An internal redistricting team has already been formed and consists of the chief administrative officer, surveyor, county counsel and registrar of voters. Changes to districts are anticipated given that 2010 census data indicated El Dorado County grew by nearly 25,000 residents
from 2000 to 2010 and growth was spread disproportionately across supervisorial districts, with a loss of population in District 5 by 10% (currently Supervisor Sue Novasel’s district) and an increase in the population of District 2 by 46% (currently Supervisor George Turnboo’s district). Staff indicated it’s likely the 2020 Census will reflect similar swings in population that will affect district populations, requiring the re-drawing of boundary lines. The process to be followed will include setting up a redistricting webpage on the county’s website as a way to provide up-to-date information including agendas, minutes, meeting announcements, press releases, maps, etc. The web page will include, or link to, the following information: • A general explanation of the redistricting process for the
county • Procedures for a member of the public to testify during a public hearing or to submit written testimony directly to the board • A calendar of all public hearing and workshop dates with the time and location of the public hearing or workshop • The notice and agenda for each public hearing and workshop • The recording or written summary of each public hearing and workshop • Each draft map considered by the board at a public hearing In addition an e-mail address or comment form is to be established to allow for public comments and questions. People will have the ability to subscribe to the webpage so that they receive an e-mail notification when new
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bumped forward Dawn Hodson Staff writer Additions and changes to West Slope road and bridge capital improvement projects, including advancing several projects into fiscal year 2021-22, were adopted by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors last week. These projects are ones that have had changes in construction start date or cost changes. They include extending Country Club Drive from El Dorado Hills Boulevard to Silva Valley Parkway; Phase 2B of improvements to the Highway 50 interchange at El Dorado Hills Boulevard; realignment of North Shingle and Durock roads near the Highway 50 interchange at Ponderosa Road; and improvements at the Highway 50 interchange at Ponderosa and South Shingle roads. New projects approved included rehabilitating approximately 6 miles of Ice House Road from Highway 50 to Peavine Ridge Road — the end point of the previous Ice House Road
See Redistricting, page 2
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