THE RIGHT GEAR
Crocker opening Art lovers can soon enjoy a trip to this Sacramento museum.
‘Racing family reunion’ continues as fans return for speedway action.
News, etc., B1
Sports, A6
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Volume 170 • Issue 39 | 75¢
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Friday, April 2, 2021
Man gets 25 years to life in fatal firewood attack Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — A South Lake Tahoe man who beat his female roommate to death with a piece of firewood in 2019 will spend at least the next quartercentury behind bars. James Cleveland James Cleveland was handed a sentence of 25 years to life for first degree murder March 19 by El Dorado County Superior Court Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury. He also received an additional year for a weapons enhancement charge. On Jan. 13, 2019, South Lake Tahoe Police officers responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 1100 block of Carson Avenue at about 2:45 p.m. Initial reports said a man was hitting a female with a large object, according to police at the time. When officers arrived they found Valorie Turley, 65, in front of her residence in the driveway with significant head injuries, the Tahoe Tribune previously reported. Turley was transported to the emergency room at Barton Memorial Hospital and then flown via Calstar to Renown Medical Center in Reno where she was pronounced dead. The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office stated that during the trial multiple witnesses testified they heard Turley screaming for help. When those witnesses responded to help her they saw Cleveland brutally and repeatedly beating Turley over the head with a fireplace log. Cleveland, 71 years of age at the time of the incident, testified and admitted that Turley had said something to upset him and he “snapped” and “lost control.” Cleveland was found guilty Jan. 26. The case was investigated by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and prosecuted by deputy district attorney Casey Mandrell.
Mountain Democrat photo by Dawn Hodson
HistoriCorps volunteer Bobby Joe Evans of Fruita, Colo., cuts new siding boards that will go onto the Independent Order of Odd Fellows community hall in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma. Evans is one of the volunteers helping to rehab the historical building built in 1854.
Skilled to preserve
HistoriCorps tackles rehab of IOOF hall Dawn Hodson Staff writer
as HistoriCorps project supervisor Eric White explained what they needed ld but not to do as they installed new forgotten, the siding on the back wall of Independent the building. The previous Order of Odd Fellows week a crew had torn off community hall in the old siding and installed Marshall Gold Discovery Tyvek HomeWrap. State Historic Park in “I like teaching Coloma may have been construction and working built 167 years ago but with HistoriCorps,” said that doesn’t mean it’s not White, who has worked in up for a facelift. construction for 18 years. There to give it one “This is a way for me to are volunteers with Courtesy photo be out in the field, teach HistoriCorps. Between The IOOF building is surrounded by scaffolding as volunteers and also give back to the March 21 and April 9, the work to give the structure a chance at serving the community community.” lodge, one of the oldest another 167 years. One of those volunteering fraternal organization for the first time was preserving historical structures on buildings in the state, will public lands across America and has Brenda Carroll, 80, of Garden get some much-needed, deferred Valley. “I read about it and it been working with California State maintenance with most of the sounded interesting,” she said. It Parks for many years, most recently materials provided by California at Bodie and Monterey state historic was also a natural for her as she’s State Parks. on the board of the Gold Discovery parks. Their motto is a “workforce A nonprofit organization based Park Association. “It helps the park for saving places.” in Morrison, Colo., HistoriCorps to rehab the buildings.” On Monday a crew of eight provides volunteers of all skill levels with hands-on experience gathered in the early morning n See ioof hall, page A6
O
Supes divvy up more than $2 million in TOT funds Dawn Hodson Staff writer After a lengthy debate and some horse-trading the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors agreed on how to spend a portion of anticipated transient occupancy tax funding for the 2021-22 fiscal year. A 10% transient occupancy tax is collected by the county when visitors stay for 30 days or less in any lodging facility, except campsites. The tax was established in 2004 and the revenue can be used for anything but mainly has been put toward tourism and economic development. The county’s recent practice has been to direct 10% of transient occupancy tax revenue to the
Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office budget to cover costs associated with administering the vacation home rentals program and collecting the tax, 5% of prior year transient occupancy tax revenue to fund El Dorado County Veterans Commission grants and activities, at least 51% of transient occupancy tax revenue goes to the county’s economic development budget and the remaining amount to the General Fund to offset other general, ongoing obligations. In the 2021-22 fiscal year county staff is projecting some $5 million in transient occupancy tax revenue, although staff said the amount could be higher. Last year revenue was projected to be $897,776 on the West Slope and
$1.94 million in the Tahoe Basin. An additional source of revenue was $2.46 million from Airbnb. Of the $5 million assumed to come in as revenue in 2021-22, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office will receive $373,500 and the El Dorado County sheriff ’s search and rescue operations $265,000; $1,242,900 will go for economic development activities, including broadband; $63,252 to the Greater Sacramento Economic Council; $280,700 for the Veterans Commission; and $620,940 for the Wagon Train, local chambers of commerce and Tahoe Prosperity Center. That left $2.15 million remaining to be allocated. Requests for funding from the transient occupancy tax pot exceeded
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the amount available with requests totaling $4.5 million, including one to fund a fire boat for the El Dorado Hills Fire Department, for snow removal equipment and road maintenance, to reimburse Lake Valley Fire Protection District for search and rescue service calls, code enforcement and other needs. Supervisor Lori Parlin argued to add to the mix $5,800 for rescue equipment for the Georgetown Fire Department and to use leftover money to fund creating design standards or community plans for some of the county’s rural centers. “We need to stop kicking the can down the road and get it done, especially in the rural
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