Matt Ray resigns
Easter Egg Hunt
Art lovers delight
Local artists and businesses ready for a fun Third Saturday Art Walk.
Athletics leader steps down after two prosperous years at Union Mine.
This Sunday
April 17th Starts at 11:40am
Church of Our Saviour
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Volume 171 • Issue 45 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, April 15, 2022
The hunt is on
County taking steps toward biomass cogeneration Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
One-year-old Arya Kesner, above, shares her eggcitement as she and sister Katiya, 3, show off their finds to mom Morgan. The Cameron Park family joined in the fun Saturday at Rasmussen Park as part of the Cameron Park Community Services District’s annual egg hunt. As Peter Cottontail makes his way through El Dorado County Easter weekend, youngsters will be out in force in search of the colorful treats he leaves behind. Cameron Park youngster Maya, 2, left, takes to the Rasmussen playfields to scoop up Easter eggs. Find information on local egg hunts planned for this weekend on page B1 in “In the Know.” Photos by Mitchell Weitzman
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El Dorado County leaders are hope to make a biomass cogeneration facility happen. Supervisors at their April 12 board meeting approved the formation of an ad hoc committee with goals of formulating plans on locating and establishing such a facility. The ad hoc committee would consist of former county Environmental Management Director Greg Stanton leading the effort, District 4 Supervisor/Chair Lori Parlin and District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo. Turnboo is a long-time advocate for implementing a biomass facility in the county. “A biomass facility in our county would be a great thing,” Turnboo said. “Especially when you are talking about all the debris that is in our forests’ floors that we can take out and produce power and electricity, which would be awesome.” Biomass cogeneration is the process of simultaneously producing electricity and heat using plant-based materials, including waste wood, wood residue and forest debris. Stanton, who retired from the county in May 2021, was asked by Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton to return the same year as an annuitant employee to assist with the research of the proposed facility. The biomass project was added to the county’s strategic plan update in 2021. “We are at the point where it is time to have a serious conversation about site locations as well as the scope and size of the facility,” Ashton told supervisors. “We feel an ad hoc committee with a couple of (supervisors) to participate in those
see more photos on page A9
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See Biomass, page A8
Caldor can’t stop Sierra-at-Tahoe celebration Mountain Democrat staff TWIN BRIDGES — Sierra-at-Tahoe opened its doors and spun its chairs this past
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Saturday and Sunday to welcome back skiers and snowboarders for the first time since the Caldor Fire. This season would have been the ski resort’s 75th year of operation but the 220,000-acre-plus blaze caused too much damage to Sierra’s infrastructure. Sierra-atTahoe management was however able to muster a two-day anniversary celebration and open areas of the mountain that weren’t as devastated by Caldor’s flames. The blaze destroyed a maintenance shop, damaged chairlifts and killed countless trees at the ski resort that operates on a special use permit in the Eldorado National Forest.
With spring weather and plenty of sunshine, it was the first time many attendees saw the Caldor Fire’s impact on their home ski resort. The tenor of the crowd started out somber but quickly changed as old ski pals reunited and new friends reveled in remembrance of what was and the potential of what lies ahead for their winter haven. “This weekend is about reconnecting with our Sierra family, to share in the joy of what makes this place so unique and special and to allow our loyal guests the chance to process what happened, so we can all move forward with rebuilding it, together,” said Sierra-atTahoe General Manager John Rice.
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Rice described the anniversary as a needed “big group hug.” “The way the world is we all just kinda needed to come together and show our resilience and that we are going to take this place to the next level,” he continued. “It’s going to be different but it’s going to be great.” Long-time passholder Erin McEvoy said she has been riding at Sierra for almost half her life. “(Sierra-at-Tahoe) is where I met my husband and now we are teaching our son on the very slopes we skied together on,” she noted. “This will always be our home.” McEvoy was one of the many guests starting the
Photo by Matt Bombino
See Sierra-at-tahoe, page A6
On a run surrounded by trees burned by the Caldor Fire, a snowboarder carves their way as Sierra-at-Tahoe reopened for two days April 9-10 to mark its 75th anniversary.
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