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PLACERVILLE • 85 Placerville Drive (530) 303-8962 • JACKSON 705 S. State Highway 49 • (209) 560-6676 C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
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– Weekend Edition – VOLUME 174 • ISSUE 44 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2025
A HOME FOR ‘MAC’ AND CATHIE Community turns dirt on first Title 25 project
Shelly Thorene Staff writer
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onstruction on the first Title 25 home broke ground for U.S. Navy veteran Mac MacNeil on Sciaroni Road in Grizzly Flat on May 23. Non-profit Construction and a host of others worked together to get the project, spearheaded by District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo and Planning and Building Director Karen Garner, off the ground. R.W. “Mac” MacNeil, 77, lost his two-story home in the 2021 Caldor Fire where he lived with his girlfriend, Cathie Adams. He, along with many others in the area, dropped his homeowners insurance when rates skyrocketed. The couple currently live in an older RV on the property. Turnboo was the first speaker at the gathering and told the crowd the whole community and the county were “coming together to make this happen.” He said he recently went back to Washington, D.C., to “fight for individual assistance for the residents of Grizzly Flat and others who were impacted by the Caldor Fire.” “We also expanded Title 25 to include Phillips, a small town where Sierra Ski Ranch is,” the supervisor noted. “This will help the rebuilding process. “I am still fighting to lower insurance costs,” he added. “The problem is a lot of these people out here were seniors. Their insurance was cancelled ■ See TITLE 25, page A4
Mountain Democrat photo by Shelly Thorene
Supervisor George Turnboo, right, presents a certificate to Mac MacNeil for his efforts after the Caldor Fire destroyed much of Grizzly Flat, where he lives with girlfriend Cathie Adams, right. Ground broke on the couple’s new home last week.
Awesome Awning Marshall celebrates emergency room project’s completion
Fernando Diaz Marshall Hospital
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brief ribboncutting ceremony on Wednesday, May 20, formally opened the new ambulance awning outside of Marshall’s Emergency Department.
The event, attended by Marshall’s executive leadership, members of the hospital board and trustees from the Marshall Foundation for Community Health, donors to the project and members of the region’s emergency services teams, was held to coincide with National Emergency Services Week. The new ambulance awning will provide significant benefits to both the community and emergency services personnel. The project includes an expansive protective structure over the hospital’s ambulance bay and an enhanced door
replacement at the Emergency Department. This much-needed improvement will shield patients and emergency services staff from inclement weather, including rain, snow, wind and extreme temperatures, during their most critical moments, ensuring better protection and support for all involved. “I’m excited to be able to open this critical and much anticipated enhancement to our emergency department,” observed Siri Nelson, CEO of Marshall. “Building this protective structure was the right thing to do for our patients and our first
Courtesy photo
A crowd gathers under the Marshall ER awning, which will shield patients from harsh weather conditions when they arrive at the Placerville facility. responder partners in the field. Marshall is committed to providing an elevated experience for every patient, every time, and that means
ensuring their safety and comfort from the first moment they arrive at our door.” The project began in January 2025 and
was funded, in part, by more than $500,000 from the Marshall Foundation for Community Health and its donors.
DOT maps out more gas tax-funded road work Jo Carrerow
Mountain Democrat correspondent A presentation by the El Dorado County Department of Transportation to the county Board of Supervisors last week on future road maintenance projects was initially not well received by District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine. Supervisors were presented with a list of State Bill 1 funded projects for fiscal year 2025-26, eventually adopted by the board, but first Laine said she thought Tahoe area funding had fallen short when compared to other districts. The fiscal year 2025 SB 1 road maintenance projects have an estimated cost of $8.1 million — all funded through
the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. El Dorado County Deputy Director of Maintenance and Operations Brian Mullins listed the following maintenance projects planned for next year: Larsen and Barkley Phase 2, North Canyon Phase 1; Sly Park Road Phase 2 (Mormon Emigrant to Pleasant Valley Road), Leisure Lane, Park Creek and Mormon Emigrant Trail; Highland Village and Lakeridge Oaks in El Dorado Hills; and Green Valley Road (Cameron Park Drive to Lotus Road). “What are the qualifications for the use of SB 1 funds for transportation projects?” Laine asked Mullins. “I believe the guidelines are anything with a PCI (Pavement Condition Index) of
79 or lower,” Mullins answered. Laine said she noticed District 5 is “once again” getting about 12% of SB 1 funds, whereas Districts 1, 3 and 4 are getting 20% and District 2 getting 30%, “and, yet, I’ve gone through the PCI numbers over and over again and in the basin we average, on average, 49%.” She said three or four projects have already been cut in District 5 this year due to budget constraints and redirection of Transient Occupancy Tax revenue to the General Fund. “Do you try to make sure that every district is getting a proportionate amount?” she asked. ■ See ROAD WORK, page A5