171
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Volume 171 • Issue 47 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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COVID-19 vaccinations in schools delayed Dina Gentry El Dorado County Of ce of Education
Photo by Laurie Edwards
The race is on for children 6 years and older to fetch eggs during the Community Easter Egg Hunt on the soccer field at Promontory Park in El Dorado Hills April 16. Community Service District Recreation Superintendent Sandra Montgomery estimates 1,000 children gathered a total of 7,000 plastic eggs in this year’s event.
Easter eggcitement Photo by Michael Raffety
Adam and Benjamin Caldwell, along with Leo Santos, from left, hunt eggs at the Church of Our Saviour Episcopal egg hunt Sunday in Placerville.
Photo by Laurie Edwards
Annakarina Logsdon of El Dorado Hills helps balance her 10-monthold Eowyn Logsdon after collecting a few eggs at the El Dorado Hills Community Services District’s egg hunt Saturday morning.
see more photos online at mtdemocrat.com
Photo by Laurie Edwards
Rhett Parkhurst, 10 months old, gathers his “first” egg with assistance from his Aunt Katy Ricardo. Proud parents are Beau and Vam Parkhurst of El Dorado Hills.
The California Department of Public Health announced Friday that the student vaccine mandate (that included a personal belief exemption) will be delayed until no sooner than July 1, 2023. The mandate was set to go into effect this summer. This announcement comes as the FDA has not yet fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for individuals of all ages within the seventh- through 12-grade span. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration was waiting for the FDA approval before engaging members of the public in the rule-making process for adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccines for public school students. The full announcement delaying the mandatory start of the COVID-19 vaccine can be found at bit.ly/3OeHf9j. Also on April 15 it was announced that Senate Bill 871 will not proceed. This bill applied specifically to updating the requirement for children to attend public child-care or school by adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of immunizations required for enrollment, potentially prior to full FDA approval. This bill would have also removed the personal belief exemption for COVID19 and any future vaccines added to the list by the Legislature or the California Department of Public Health, including removal of the personal belief exemption currently included in the governor’s Oct. 1 plan. Read Sen. Richard Pan’s full statement at bit.ly/3JM8jJx. On Nov. 9, 2021, Dr. Ed Manansala, county superintendent of schools, and all superintendents of the 15 El Dorado County school districts, wrote a letter to Gov. Newsom. The letter emphasized El Dorado County’s belief in local control and the importance of safe, in-person instruction for students and educators. Specifically, the superintendents highlighted that the vaccine mandate would have the consequence of families leaving for other alternatives to classroom-based instruction. “As we maintain a safe and healthy environment for all students and educators, we are grateful that the proposed vaccine mandate will no longer be a challenge for our education system,” Manansala said after the recent announcement. “As we move forward into 2022-23, we will protect the conditions for our students to learn and thrive.”
Helpful Harry Norris served the community Community advocate and businessman remembered
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Eric Jaramishian Staff writer If Harry Norris wasn’t described as the former owner of an iconic El Dorado Hills gas station, community servant would also be accurate. He has a legacy of giving back to El Dorado County. Norris provided his expertise over the 40 years he lived in the county before his death April 7 at age 87. “Harry loved the county and gave himself in every way that he could to to enhance and improve things as much as he could,” said Joy Norris, Harry’s wife of 12 years. Harry came to the county in 1984, settling in El Dorado Hills with his son Brian and thenwife Jan. He bought
Harry Norris the El Dorado Hills 76 gas station, which he held onto for 25 years. The gas station, first opened in 1964, was one of El Dorado Hills’ first businesses. Norris served as an esteemed director of the El Dorado Irrigation District from 2003 to 2011. n
See Norris, page A6
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Mountain Democrat file photo by Mike Roberts
Three generations of owners swap stories at the landmark Union 76 station, one of the first businesses in El Dorado Hills. Pictured in 2009 is owner Sam Bhullar, who had purchased the station and service bays from Harry Norris, center. Del Haven, right, opened the station in 1964, when gas was 23 cents per gallon and there were only 50 houses in El Dorado Hills.
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