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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
– E S T. 18 51
– Midweek Edition – VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 51 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2024
‘Our court has lost a legend’ Judge Eddie Keller remembered Odin Rasco Staff writer
E
Mountain Democrat file photo by Shelly Thorene
Retired Judge Eddie Keller speaks at the downtown Placerville Courthouse on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. The longtime judge and advocate for a new county court complex died last month.
IN CAMERON PARK
Fire service report recommends an EDH/CP partnership Noel Stack & Malachi Parker Mountain Democrat staff
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The long-awaited fire services analysis for the Cameron Park Community Services District recommends annexation with the El Dorado Hills Fire Department. The report prepared
by consultant Don Ashton with Municipal Resources Group and released May 24 suggests the CPCSD Board of Directors direct staff to negotiate a fire services contract extension with Cal Fire through June 30, 2028 — the amount of time it will likely take to complete the annexation process. Such an extension will come with a cost that still leaves the future of Station 88 up in the air. The board has mulled its closure for nearly a year. “Unfortunately, Cameron Park’s fiscal stability is uncertain, as costs and service demand for fire, parks and recreation, garbage services, CC&Rs, ARC, LLAD management and maintenance outpace revenue growth,” the report notes. ■ See REPORT, page A8
ddie Thomas Keller, a former El Dorado County Superior Court judge who left a lasting legal legacy, died May 4 at the age of 82, leading to an outpouring of fond memories See our ad on page A3 from friends, family and colleagues. Born and raised in Sacramento, Eddie discovered a passion for civil service that would serve as a exchanged letters. Eddie stayed fluent in Spanish guiding motivation through his adult life while throughout his life; in 2004 he revisited Chile for attending Sacramento High School. Following the first time since his trip in the 60s, bringing his his high school graduation in 1958, Eddie began sons Dynan and Justin along to see the countryside attending Sacramento City College before following and meet the Alvarados. in his grandfather’s footsteps and studying at Cal Eddie’s fluency in Spanish Berkeley. Graduating with a was an inspiration to his degree in history in 1962, he daughter Cindy Carroll, who “Without a doubt, El Dorado then received an LLB degree part of his family at in law from Hastings College County became a better place became the age of 6, when he married of Law in San Francisco. her mother, Susan Yost White by virtue of his involvement Instead of jumping directly in 1970. He emphasized into a career in law that would in the community.” the importance of a good eventually make it into the — Retired Judge Suzanne Kingsbury upbringing for his children, history books (more on that including education. later), Eddie pursued his “School and family were passion to serve and joined the defi nitely priorities for him,” Carroll said. “He was Peace Corps. For two years he lived in Chile while really a role model. I learned Spanish because I he helped organize credit unions in an effort to aid knew he’d learned it. He went to Berkeley, I went to the county in building a firm financial foundation. Davis and my daughter went to Irvine. He was my During his stay, Eddie lived with the Alvarado mentor and an inspiration.” family, building a bond that would last a lifetime. In 1968 Eddie began working for the Attorney “He stayed connected with them; they are his General’s Office in Sacramento, a career that would Chilean family,” Eddie’s son Justin Keller explained. continue for 21 years. A highlight of his time in the “Just last year he went down to celebrate ‘Mama’s’ AG’s Office, Eddie would be the named attorney 95th birthday.” They would stay in touch using things like Facebook and Zoom, and before that, they
■ See KELLER, page A5
Government center arboretum trashed Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
El Dorado County employees arrived at work Monday morning to an unpleasant surprise; the Building B arboretum in the atrium at the EDC Government Center — often the site of happy couples tying the knot or staff enjoying a quiet lunch as the fountain bubbles — was extensively vandalized. Plants and vegetation that make up a garden on the bottom floor of the building’s atrium were pulled from the dirt, décor was vandalized and randomly rearranged and sprinklers were pulled up, broken or completely destroyed. The destruction of the irrigation system left the floor of the building flooded. Additionally, a fountain that rests in the middle of the arboretum was stuffed full of rocks and mud and the flower beds were littered with trash as a result. The Mountain Democrat spotted a county facilities worker
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Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
County facilities employee Paul Ghadiani cleans the remains of extensive vandalism Monday morning which occurred in the arboretum of Building B at the government center in Placerville over the weekend. cleaning up the mess left behind over the weekend, sweeping ferns and other plants that were pulled from the dirt, and breaking down branches off trees that were broken as a result of the vandalism. “It was like some kind of drug or mental illness-fueled decorating,” said Brandon Ellena with the Auditor-Controller’s Office, who was helping clean up Monday
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later. The destruction likely took a couple of hours. A suspect has been identified but no arrest had been made as of press time. “It seemed like he just took his time, but I remember him … he was sleeping outside on the Veterans Monument and he didn’t seem like a typically violent person ■ See TRASHED, page A4
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morning. “Nothing about this makes any sense, but this person was clearly was not in their right mind.” County employees told the Mountain Democrat security footage caught an individual in the building near a side door sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. Saturday, speculating he somehow rigged the door to stay open or unlocked and returned
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