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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
Program makes sure seniors have good company. Wednesday, November 18, 2020
News, Etc. B1
Volume 169 • Issue 134 | 75¢
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‘Emergency brake’ puts county in purple Democrat staff El Dorado County will be moved to the most restrictive purple tier this week as Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said he was pulling the “emergency brake” in the state’s efforts to reopen its economy amid a growing number of coronavirus cases. Those restrictions became effective at noon Tuesday, according to El Dorado County officials. In the purple tier businesses must modify operations with wineries and restaurants moving their service to outdoors only and retail stores
“I think our businesses were hanging on at 50% and even at 25%, but in the purple we will lose businesses.” — Laurel Brent-Bumb, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer reducing to 25% capacity. Churches must hold service outside. Hair salons and barbershops, nail salons, tattoo parlors and body waxing businesses may stay open with modifications. Bars, pubs, brewpubs and breweries may operate outdoors if they offer sit-down, outdoor meals. Outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy or other shelter as long
as no more than one side is closed. All but 17 California counties are now in the purple tier. “We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-
19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes. That is why we are pulling an emergency brake …” The move to the purple tier will not impact schools in El Dorado County, according to a statement from El Dorado County Office of Education. “El Dorado County schools are following comprehensive plans for providing in-person instruction that are in alignment with state n
See purple tier, page A3
Mountain Democrat photo by Sel Richard
El Dorado Hills/Rescue Fire Chief Maurice Johnson, right, hands awards to Veronica and Scott Morrison, who saved a neighbor’s life last year while risking their own safety.
Heroic efforts celebrated Sel Richard Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photos by Sel Richard
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hree intrepid souls who saved a motorist from his burning car were honored at the Rescue Fire Department last week. Scott and Veronica Morrison and Jacob Hathaway are the reason Ray Jerrett is alive. In August 2019 Jerrett careened off the road into a rock near the intersection of Deer Valley and Rough Ridge roads. Within minutes flames were licking the crumpled metal, pinning a semiconscious Jerrett into a burning cage. “Somebody just hit a tree,” Scott recalled telling his wife. He and his wife Veronica were watching television that night when he heard the crash. “She jumped in the truck with me and we gassed it up the hill. We came up around the corner at Rough Ridge (and) there it was.” Veronica called 911 as Scott leapt over a barbedwire fence toward a car quickly succumbing to a growing blaze. “I got to the passenger door and I finally get the door open and I find Ray stuck under the dash,” Scott recounted. “I had to leave him in the fire and climb on top of him and get his feet undone. I couldn’t pull him by his arms because I kept pulling the skin off his arms so I had to turn around and pull him by his feet.” As he was pulling Jerrett to safety, Scott not only got stuck in barbed wire, but also suffered thirddegree burns on his left ankle. “Ronnie actually threw me a jacket at one point,” he said. “I’m trying to put out the fire and the jacket caught fire.” Hathaway arrived on the scene and helped Scott drag Jerrett over barbed wire and up to the road as emergency crews arrived. Eleven minutes after the initial call, the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. “There was Rescue, Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Cal Fire, the prison crew, highway patrol, the sheriff — the only thing we didn’t have was a hot dog stand,” Scott said, able to joke about the incident more than a year later. Jerrett remained unconscious for two days and required an almost month-long hospital stay. “I had third-degree burns over 20% of my body and skin grafts on my arms,” he said at the ceremony with his wife Deanna and his son n
Memorials dedicated at site of future veterans park
Sel Richard Staff writer
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he skies were blue and bright as crowds gathered last week to honor veterans at a Promontory Park Veterans Day dedication event. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Robert Leon (ret.) welcomed community members to the unveiling of the new first responders and veterans memorials at the future site of the 1.2-acre Veterans Memorial Park in El Dorado Hills. On the brisk morning Leon expressed gratitude for the numerous contributors to the memorial project, including the Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills, EDH Promise Foundation as well as El Dorado Hills Community Services District board and staff. As the El Dorado Hills Fire Department Honor Guard ceremoniously performed the posting of colors, young and old stood silently in respect for the men and women who have served and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The dual memorials are the culmination of an Eagle Scout project by Boy Scout Troop 645 members Ian Koopman and John Reimer, both freshmen at University of Nevada, Reno, and Oak Ridge High School senior Alex Wolff. Koopman created the First Responders Memorial, a project that originally began as a bronze plaque to be installed at the EDHCSD pavilion. “Thank you everyone for coming to this monumental occasion, pun intended,” Koopman quipped, going on to explain that
See Heroic, page A3
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EDH Fire Chief Maurice Johnson, above, presents Boy Scout Troop 645 Eagle Scouts John Reimer, Ian Koopman and Alex Wolff with official EDH Fire Department patches and fire chief’s coins. EDH Fire Department Honor Guard, below, posts the colors.
See Veterans park, page A7
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Three Years Straight!
Veterans and officials gather for the unveiling of new first responders and veterans memorials installed by Eagle Scouts John Reimer, Ian Koopman and Alex Wolff of Boy Scout Troop 645. A 1.2 acre memorial park is planned for the site at Promontory Park in El Dorado Hills.
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