BIG WINS
Sweet stories
4 drivers take home Fourth of July wins at Placerville Speedway.
New author teaches life lessons in children’s books. Prospecting, B1
Sports, A6 C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
Friday, July 10, 2020
Volume 169 • Issue 80 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
County eyes SLT region after spike in COVID-19 cases the public. “Case counts in South Lake Tahoe El Dorado County Public Health have been disproportionately high Officer Dr. Nancy Williams is closely since we started to track COVID-19 monitoring the in March, having South Lake accounted for about “ ... if we were to treat the Tahoe region 50% of the county’s South Lake Tahoe region as if it cases to date, but after COVID-19 cases there have were a county, it would now be representing only continued to added to the state’s monitoring 17% of the county’s increase at a high list and asked to curtail certain population,” rate. Williams states in a activities.” With the influx press release. of visitors over “What is new is — Dr. Nancy Williams, Independence Day that on June 29 the El Dorado County public health officer weekend, the region case rates over the is in danger of prior 14-day period meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s criteria exceeded a 100 positive case count per for placing counties on a watch list 100,000 population for the first time,” which mandates they resume more n See Covid-19 cases, page A7 restrictive measures for businesses and Tahoe Daily Tribune
3/24/20
4/7/20
4/21/20
5/3/20
5/19/20
6/2/20
6/16/20
6/30/20
Graphic courtesy of El Dorado County Health and Human Services
El Dorado County officials provided this graph showing reported COVID-19 cases in the South Lake Tahoe region since March. The region includes zip codes for Tahoma, South Lake Tahoe, Twin Bridges and part of Kirkwood.
CPCSD budget is approved n
COVID-19 impacts unknown
Jana Rossi Staff writer The Cameron Park Community Services District Board of Directors approved a $6.7 million preliminary 2020-21 budget at its June 17 meeting. The budget calls for $6,700,460 in expenditures with $6,697,417 in anticipated revenue. Cost-cutting measures implemented in the current fiscal year — closure of the swimming lagoon at Cameron Park Lake, using alternative funding and expenditure reductions in the Weed Abatement Ordinance Program and changes to the recreation program’s fee structure — will continue to keep district expenses down. The board last year had also called for changes to make the annual Summer Spectacular event cost neutral. Last year staff nearly achieved that goal; 2019 event revenues totaled $57,413 and expenditures totaled $58,249.76, resulting in a net cost to the district of just $836.76, according to a staff report presented last fall. This year’s spectacular was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salary and benefit expenses are expected to go up next fiscal year in part due to a 3.5% wage/salary increase due to compaction related to minimum wage increases (which was not addressed in the past two years) as well as a negotiated 4% salary increase in the newest labor agreement. In 2019-20 the CSD is expected to end the fiscal year with cost savings in salaries/benefits of more that $47,500, according to the staff report. CPCSD General Manager Jill Ritzman said the 2019-20 savings are in part due to furloughs and layoffs related to the pandemic. In the coming fiscal year the district will eliminate part-time hours and reduce overtime to save money on salaries/benefits, the report states. Other COVID-19 related budget hits are “unknown at this time,” Ritzman said. “We will be discussing that,” she said. The preliminary budget lists the impact of COVID-19 as: loss of revenues from service and program fees and increased costs to respond such as purchasing personal protective equipment, increased cleaning and sanitation and IT costs associated with employees working from home and the district hosting virtual public meetings. “District staff is responding to the potential loss of revenues by reducing payroll expenses, reducing costs to essential supplies only and registering
Democrat photos by Kevin Christensen
The congregation of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Placerville gathers for mass Sunday in smaller numbers in observance of COVID-19 restrictions on religious institutions.
amazing place faithful return to houses of worship
“Preaching to people instead of preaching to a camera is much nicer. You can gauge reactions, observe if people are with you or beginning to zone out and so on.” Kevin Christensen State guidelines allow Staff writer places of worship to reopen as long as they l Dorado County “limit attendance to 25% churches and of a building’s capacity — places of worship or up to 100 attendees, are finding their whichever is lower,” and spiritual foundation follow social distancing again after reopening rules. under COVID-19 Churchgoers sign in prior to mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The “We are holding pandemic restrictions church requires those attending service submit their names and phone services Sunday — even without their numbers as a way to contact trace members in the event there is an mornings with a entire congregations. outbreak of COVID-19. maximum of 60 people The state of California with everyone wearing released guidelines May masks and disinfecting,” 25 allowing reopening of churches and other places of said Sommer. “So far so good, as far as everyone staying worship for in-person services. healthy.” “It has been really nice to see people, although there While El Dorado County officials gave the green are no handshakes or hugs, which many of us miss a lot,” light as soon as state restrictions were lifted most local said Pastor Alan Sommer of Light of the Hills Lutheran Church in Cameron Park. n See Church, page A8
Spiritual community copes with COVID-19 guidelines
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See CPCSD, page A6
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