RIBBON OF HOPE
FALL’S LAST CALL Fall color in the high country has hit its peak.
Downtown Placerville art installation has colorful and powerful message.
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020
mtdemocrat.com
VOLUME 169 • ISSUE 123
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EDC officials warn against big holiday gatherings ■ 19 local schools see
documented COVID-19 cases Dawn Hodson staff writer
Mountain Democrat photo by Kevin Christensen
Kelly Williams from Sierra Monuments installs a plaque honoring slain El Dorado County sheriff’s deputy Brian Ishmael on a boulder near an El Dorado Trail trailhead Wednesday. That portion of the El Dorado Trail, which begins on the corner of Forni Road and Ray Lawyer Drive, will be officially named in remembrance of Brian Ishmael at 11 a.m. Friday.
The Ish Trail
Brian Ishmael to be remembered in trail dedication Kevin Christensen staff writer Friday, Oct. 23, is Brian “Ish” Ishmael Day. It’s the day one of El Dorado County’s finest laid his life on the line — just one year ago — while on duty serving and protecting his community. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors officially proclaimed Oct. 23 Brian “Ish” Ishmael Day and on this day, today, a portion of the El Dorado Trail will be named in his honor. The community is invited to a
special dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday at the trailhead at the corner of Forni Road and Ray Lawyer Drive in Placerville. Attendees are encouraged to park at the nearby park and ride and walk up the stairs or ramp to the intersection All county flags will be flown at half-staff Friday in remembrance of the deputy who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Ishmael was fatally shot while responding to a report of marijuana theft in Somerset. Ishmael is survive by his wife, Katie and three ■
See ISH TRAIL, page A9
Warning against holiday gatherings, at Tuesday’s El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams said while the county remains in the orange tier of the state’s COVID-19 monitoring system it could easily slip back into the red tier if there is an increase in cases or positive tests. But Williams expressed confidence the county can eventually hit the yellow tier. Statistics show that as of Oct. 20, 33,444 people have been tested for the virus in the county. Of those tested, 32,142 tested negative and 1,206 have recovered. As of Tuesday there were a total of 12 active cases; no patients are hospitalized with the disease and there have been no new deaths. A total of four people have died of COVID-19 in the county since the county’s first case was reported March 20. Williams said it’s likely a vaccine won’t be available until 2021. With the holidays coming up Williams urged people to make alternate plans. Rather than traveling to gatherings, she suggested staying home with one’s immediate family. Public Health Nursing Manager Lynnan Svensson reported that 19 schools have documented COVID-19 cases. That includes 38 cases among students, teachers and staff with two cases due to exposure at school. All school districts in the county are open for at least hybrid instruction; one large and one small school district are doing classes in person. In total 30 schools have had 109 students, staff or teachers quarantined.
Brian Ishmael
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See GATHERINGS, page A9
Court rules in favor of county in oak woodlands suit ■ Case holding up permit
approval
Dawn Hodson staff writer In a partial victory for El Dorado County, Bill Abbott, the attorney hired to try the case Rural Communities United v. County of El Dorado, reported at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting a trial court ruled in favor of the county with the exception of two narrow holdings. The court also issued a writ of mandate in the case. On Oct. 24, 2017 the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 127-2017 certifying the Biological Resources Policy Update and Oak Resources Management Plan environmental impact report for the General Plan Biological Resources Policy Update Project, which included revisions to specific biological resource objectives, policies and implementation measures in the conservation and open space element of the county’s 2004 General Plan; adoption of an Oak Resources Management Plan including an in-lieu fee payment option for
E OAKS SENIOR CARE G A L L I V
impacts to oak woodlands and individual oak trees; and adoption of the Oak Resources Conservation Ordinance. In November 2017 Rural Communities United, an unincorporated association, filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the EIR. Later the petition was amended to add Conserve El Dorado Oaks, an unincorporated association, and Ellen Van Dyke and Cheryl Langley as petitioners. The trial court ruled in favor of the county with the exception of two narrow holdings and issued a writ of mandate directing the county to decertify limited aspects of the EIR; augment the administrative record including missing reports and studies authorized by CEQA and described in the court’s rulings; and suspend the county’s authority to grant certain approvals. At Tuesday’s meeting supervisors unanimously voted to decertify the following conclusions in the EIR in accordance with the writ: The county’s determination that focusing on preservation of oak woodlands habitat in the Highway 50 corridor was not the best course of action; and the county’s determination that it was not feasible to focus on preserving oak woodlands within the Highway 50
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corridor. In the discussion that followed supervisors noted the many complaints they have received from contractors and residents as they have waited for permits to build that are currently held up by the court case. It is not known when a hearing will be held where the court is informed that the board decertified conclusions in the EIR in accordance with the writ but staff said it could be a couple of months depending on the court’s schedule, especially in the wake of COVID-19-related restrictions. Supervisor Lori Parlin asked if the board could issue an urgency ordinance allowing permits to be issued to those not moving dirt or projects not affecting oak trees. Abbott responded that the board can’t pass an urgency ordinance that bypasses the court ruling but once they do have a date for a hearing, they can ask the court to reconsider the scope of the writ and perhaps modify it. Staff also noted that permits for work inside homes, such as adding a new water heater, are ■
See RULING, page A6
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