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Volume 171 • Issue 73 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Committee to review county charter Eric Jaramishian Staff writer Supervisors appointed five members to the El Dorado County Charter Review Committee and gave direction on subjects of focus for the committee to consider June 15. Representing the five districts are Richard Ross, District 1; Cherie Raffety, District 2; Jim Mitrisin, District 3; Bill Carey, District 4; and Jeanne Harper, District 5. Mindy Jackson will act as Carey’s alternate and Rachel Michelin will act as Raffety’s alternate. While appointing these individuals, topics of interest were discussed for consideration by the committee: looking into adding a third term for supervisors, going from five to seven supervisors and staggering election cycles for elected county department heads and considering term limits for those department heads. Supervisors also considered looking into grand jury reports for topics, adding direction for Proposition 172 allocations and bringing Civil Service Commission rules into the charter. Board Chair Lori Parlin said the Charter Review Committee should consider the creation of seven supervisorial districts instead of five, an idea she heard consistently during the county’s redistricting n
See Charter review, page A3
County moves to new emergency alerts system News release The El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office, which manages the county Office of Emergency Services, has announced a new system to push out alerts and warnings to residents. The new system provides a number of ways in which the county may contact the community in the event of an emergency such as evacuations due to wildfires, hazardous material spills or urgent law enforcement operations. The county Office of Emergency Services partnered with CalOES to bring the El Dorado County Emergency Alerts notification service to residents and businesses by app, telephone, cell phone, text message, email and social media when there is a threat to the health or safety of residents. Sign up at bit.ly/ PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
EDCAlerts. Residents who previously signed up for notifications through CodeRED (El Dorado County’s former alert system) do not need to sign up again to continue receiving notifications. The information from CodeRED will migrate over to the new system. Authorities do however encourage new registration as a better way to update notification options. Those signed up for both may receive notifications from El Dorado County Emergency Alerts and CodeRED during the transition period. To discontinue emergency alerts, log in at bit.ly/EDCAlerts, click “edit account settings” and select “remove account.” Residents are advised to save contact information for El Dorado County Emergency Alerts to avoid confusing it with a SPAM call or email. Telephone messaging will show a caller ID of (530) 621-7595, emails will come from edcgov@ getrave.com and text messages from a six-digit short code that may vary and cannot be saved. The county Office of Emergency Services encourages everyone who resides, works or controls property in El Dorado County to sign up. It is a free service and could provide early warning for emergency evacuations and other actions.
Mountain Democrat photo by Thomas Frey
Jayla Somera of Southside Topnotch 4-H shows off her Reserve Supreme Champion Market Steer Saturday at the El Dorado County Junior Livestock Auction, part of the county fair. The 1,307-pound steer sold for $26,140.
Show ’em the money Thomas Frey Staff writer
J
ayla Somera stood in the ring in disbelief alongside her Reserve Supreme Champion Market Steer at the El Dorado County Junior Livestock Auction Saturday. Somera just graduated from El Dorado High School and she couldn’t believe her ears as the price for her steer, named Jimmy, skyrocketed all the way up to $17 per pound. The bid would set up Somera — who is in her ninth and final year with Southside Topnotch 4-H — with a possible payday of $22,219 for
the 1,307-pound animal. With the crowd cheering, the auctioneer asked the buyer — Western Sign Company — if the Diamond Springs-based business wanted to round up to $20 per pound. The capacity crowd went silent in anticipation before exploding in excitement as the buyer agreed. “I was crying in the ring because I’ve worked so hard,” Somera said of her $26,140 sale. “The results were awesome. Honestly it was just insane.” Somera was one of 207 entrants from local 4-H, Future Farmers of America and Grange programs who raised
steer, swine, goat, lamb, turkey, chicken or rabbits for the El Dorado County Fair and the Livestock Auction. Austin Ferry, 14, with Union Mine FFA and his 11-yearold brother Lucas of Pleasant Valley Grange each showed and auctioned a pig. Austin said each day they would wake up and feed their animals before going to school. In the afternoon they would finish off their homework before heading back to their animals where Austin would wash and feed his 263-pound Reserve n
See Auction, page A6
Mountain Democrat photo by Thomas Frey
With their eyes on the prize— in this case bags of candy — participants in the kids’ division of the John M. Studebaker Wheelbarrow Races show promise of becoming future champions in the El Dorado County Fair tradition.
Racers push to the limit Thomas Frey Staff writer
C
ompetitors from every age group grabbed a wheelbarrow, filled a bag of ore and took off through a challenging course in the 78th John M. Studebaker Wheelbarrow Races produced by Placerville Kiwanis. Obstacles consisted of fallen trees and uneven logs before the final grueling stretch where racers must push their wheelbarrow up the hill climb, through a mud pit and over one final large log before crossing the finish line, hopefully with a qualifying weight in ore. Zachary Schnetz won the men’s race and said the
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hill was the hardest part. “You’re just so tired by that point that it’s hard to want to keep going,” Schnetz said. “You also know you’re more than halfway through so you just look to the end and get that extra push. The men’s race was the final of eight races on the day and by the time Schnetz got to the 6-foot-deep mud pit called Deep Creek, it was extra slippery from all the competitors trudging through before him. Schnetz was the first one in the water and didn’t have to battle with anyone to get out — just his ore bag, which weighed more than 50 pounds. n
See Racers, page A7
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