LOVING THE LINKS
On duty
Young El Dorado Hills golfer has his sights set on more tournament success.
Placerville native uses skills during Navy training. Prospecting, page 7
Sports, page 6
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Volume 170 • Issue 96 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Monday, August 16, 2021
Mountain Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum
Visitors to the American River Confluence at the Auburn State Recreation Area park parallel along Highway 49.
Parallel parking for Confluence Mountain Democrat Staff In response to safety concerns in the community, a parking area along Highway 49 near the heavily visited American River Confluence in the Auburn State Recreation Area was marked with parallel spaces July 30, according to Caltrans spokesman Steve Nelson. Previously there were no markings designating spaces, with most visitors choosing to back their vehicles in or out and in the process sometimes blocking an already congested Highway 49. That stretch of Highway 49 between Cool and Auburn n
See Parking, page 3
Tahoe Summit to look ahead Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Celebrating 25 Years and Looking Ahead is the theme for the Lake Tahoe Summit that will be held online for a second consecutive year. The 25th annual event will be hosted by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and the keynote speaker will Secretary Deb Haaland of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The event will be held online from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Aug. 19. Tahoe Fund CEO Amy Berry said the historic event is a big deal for the basin. “It’s really a look back on 25 years of work on the Tahoe environment and also what comes next,” Berry said. “The next generation of stewards of Lake Tahoe.” The event will bring together California and Nevada legislators, policy makers, federal agencies and private sectors to address many of the environmental issues in the basin. The theme, Celebrating 25 Years and Looking Ahead to the Next Generation of Lake Tahoe, allows panel guests to touch on n
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
See Summit, page 10
Mountain Democrat photo by Andrew Vonderschmitt
A managed homeless camp is proposed to be located just west of the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville. It could include tents for up to 100 individuals, restrooms, showers, laundry facilities and other amenities. Other services that would be provided by El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, Marshall Hospital and The Upper Room Dining Hall were discussed to be provided on site.
Lot next to county jail eyed for managed homeless camp Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer Following the June 29 special Placerville City Council meeting on the homeless crisis, where council members agreed to request El Dorado County step in to build managed camps, a conceptual agreement has been met. A meeting consisting of county Supervisors Wendy Thomas and John Hidahl, City Council members Kara Taylor and Dennis Thomas, Police Chief Joseph Wren, Sheriff John D’Agostini and other city and county staff was set to discuss the idea of managed camps. Out of that meeting, came a concept for a managed camp on a vacant lot to the west of the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville with the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office possibly assuming management. At the Aug. 10 Board of Supervisors meeting the concept was approved unanimously, albeit with some questions and concerns on how to move forward. The
“This is a program with merit and we’re willing to give it a try … this is going to take commitment, cooperation and participation from everybody,” — John D’Agostini, El Dorado County sheriff concept was heard at the City Council meeting that same night. D’Agostini attended both meetings to deliver his report and answer any questions about the proposal. “A few weeks ago I had a lady come into my office, her name is Liz Drummond. She had a plan and she laid it out to myself and some of my staff, including our HOT team,” D’Agostini told City Council. The plan is called HOSTESS — Homeless One Stop Temporary Emergency Social Services. “We’re not talking about a nice place,” he said. “We’re not talking about bringing in mobile apartments or mobile housing.” He explained that the camp would be a tent city with bathrooms, laundry and shower facilities, classrooms and other services. “It
is not designed to be a permanent thing,” he said. Drummond, an El Dorado County resident who authored the HOSTESS plan, told the Mountain Democrat she had her assumptions on homelessness challenged a few years ago so she set out to learn all she could about the issue. “There’s no shortage of people’s opinions and organizations (when) it comes to homelessness,” she said. “I decided that I needed to share the (HOSTESS) concept I learned that works with somebody who would be willing to do the heavy lifting. When I brought this concept to the sheriff I told him and his team they were not my first choice, they were the only n
See Managed camp, page 12
Injured bear cub being treated in Tahoe escapes Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — An injured bear that was rescued from the Tamarack Fire near Markleeville escaped from Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care earlier this month and as of Aug. 11 was still missing. Aptly named Tamarack, the 6-month-old male black bear tunneled under an electric fence and escaped an enclosure. The bear, which had suffered burned paws, did have bandages but he was known to repeatedly remove them, according to LTWC staff.
LTWC has enlisted experienced wildlife search teams with infrared drones and has placed remote cameras that might capture the bear’s activity. LTWC officials said the bear is not in immediate danger and is not a threat but that they would like to locate him as soon as possible. The young bear is too small to survive long term in the wild. Hikers in the South Lake Tahoe Area reportedly spotted Tamarack Aug. 5 climbing up a tree.
E OAKS SENIOR CARE VILLAG
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Photo courtesy of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
See Tamarack page 3
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A bear cub taken in by Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe for treatment after suffering burns in the Tamarack Fire escaped Aug. 3 and remains on the lam.
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