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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 p a p e r – E s t . 1 8 5 1
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Volume 170 • Issue 54 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, May 7, 2021
Gonzalez pleads not guilty in fatal hit-and-run Thomas Frey Staff writer
Efrain Gonzalez awaits his arraignment in a Placerville courtroom Tuesday.
Efrain Gonzalez, the 20-yearold man charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after reportedly confessing to the April 23 hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian in Placerville, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Judge Mark Ralphs’ El Dorado County courtroom. As Gonzalez sat silently in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, his courtissued public defender Kellen Farnum urged Ralphs to release Gonzalez, saying his client had no criminal record and that he was willing to submit to any terms, including GPS
Mountain Democrat photo by Thomas Frey
EDC stays in orange tier n 73% of residents receive at
least one dose of vaccine
monitoring. Less than a minute later deputy district attorney Brett Swenson took the court through the events that occurred the night 64-year-old Placerville area transient Ronald Ameral was fatally struck. “The defendant was driving down Broadway at a high rate of speed, approximately 60 to 65 miles per hour,” Swenson said. The defendant didn’t stop to render aid or stick around in any way whatsoever, according to Swenson, and instead fled the scene. Gonzalez and his vehicle, an Infiniti G35, were identified about a week later after extensive investigation work by the
Placerville Police Department. “Not only is he a flight risk for the charges that he faces, he is a flight risk in the fact that he actually fled from the scene of a very serious crime,” Swenson said. Ralphs mulled the matter before agreeing with Swenson. “Assuming the truthfulness of the allegations, the one indisputable fact is that he ran,” Ralphs said. “There is clear and convincing evidence the defendant poses as a very serious flight risk.” Gonzalez’ bail is set at $225,000 and he will have a pre-preliminary hearing June 1 and a preliminary hearing June 3 in Department 7 of El Dorado County Superior Court.
Rising to shine
Thomas Frey Staff writer Although case rates are hovering at about 8 to 9 per 100,000 people, El Dorado County will remain in the orange tier, according to El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams. The case rates are “technically red tier numbers” Williams said, giving a report Tuesday to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on COVID-19 impacts in the county. The testing positivity rate’s stability is helping keep the county orange. “I haven’t seen much change in testing positivity in a while,” Williams said. “The “The chances chances of us leaving of us leaving the orange tier anytime soon are the orange tier probably pretty low.” anytime soon She noted that the are probably case rate is the 10th highest in the state pretty low.” and that different — Dr. Nancy Williams, variants may be the El Dorado County cause of the increase. public health officer County Public Information Officer Carla Hass reported that vaccinations will no longer be available at Red Hawk Casino. The Public Health office on Spring Street in Placerville will provide Pfizer vaccines each Monday and Thursday while the South Lake Tahoe Public Health office will have the Moderna vaccine Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Hass said 73% of county residents have had at least one dose of the vaccine, with 31% being fully vaccinated. Appointments for vaccines had been in high demand until recently. “From December when we started vaccinating we would advertise a clinic and it would fill up within 12 hours or less,” Hass said. “About mid-April we started to see that demand decrease.” There were more than 500 open spots at Red Hawk’s final mass vaccination clinic. “We’re just seeing a massive falloff in demand for the vaccine,” Hass said. Because of the falloff county officials are considering offering no appointment, walk-up clinics. Williams urged both teens and adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it’s available to them. “What we’re learning about vaccines so far is that they’re proving to be highly effective both in preventing severe and clinically recognizable cases,” Williams said.
Photos by Laurie Edwards
Volunteers went to work early Saturday morning, spreading their efforts to spiff up public spaces all over Placerville as part of Rise and Shine — a community day of service organized by the city of Placerville and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Beth Leal of Cameron Park, right photo, hefts a bag full of trash she collected out of Hangtown Creek. At left, Shannah Thompson and Elder Mangelson of the Diamond Springs and Green Valley congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apply a fresh coat of paint in the men’s restroom at Lions Park. See more photos on page A9.
Neighborhood radio watch does test run Dawn Hodson Staff writer
Courtesy photo
Bob Hess, president of the El Dorado County Amateur Radio Club, installs a repeater in the Oak Hill area. Holding the ladder are radio club members and neighborhood radio watch program volunteers Michael Picco, left, and Cliff Olmstead.
Local radio watch groups continue to grow as they put the technology to use to provide an alternative communication source in the event of an emergency where phone lines or cell towers might be compromised. The Coloma-Lotus, Oak Hill and Cosumnes River areas currently have active neighborhood radio watch programs, conducting training workshops and on-the-air gatherings each week called safety nets to allow people to practice their radio operating skills. This year, according to Alan Thompson, public information officer for the El Dorado County Amateur Radio Club, there are plans to expand the program into the Placerville, Pollock Pines, Gold Ridge, Sierra
Springs, Cedar Grove, Camino, Rancho Del Sol, Fair Play, Grizzly Flat, Happy Valley, Mt. Aukum, Omo Ranch, Outingdale, Pioneer and Somerset areas. Part of this program includes installing a radio repeater near Placerville and in Mt. Aukum. A repeater operates much like a cell phone tower to extend the range of radio coverage. In Placerville the area covered will include Texas Hill and surrounding areas within 5-10 miles of downtown. Thompson said repeater sites are carefully selected based on proximity to communities, elevation, defensible space and backup power. The repeater in Lotus is at a home on top of Baker Mountain and in south county the owners of Kehret Vineyards on top of Mt. Aukum have offered their location. n
See Neighborhood radio, page A9
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