Section success
Native art
Local runners headed to state championships after blazing through Willow Hills.
The Native American Center for Art and Culture opens its first show this Saturday.
Sports, A11
Prospecting, B2
170
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
th
Volume 170 • Issue 139 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, November 19, 2021
To the rescue
Thomas Frey Staff writer
When Sierra Wildlife Rescue received a call Sept. 6 during the Caldor Fire about a fox in trouble, help was immediately on the way. A local resident who had been ordered to evacuate noticed a pair of gray foxes, one of which appeared to have an eye injury, and decided to call Sierra Wildlife Rescue. A Sierra Wildlife Rescue team responded and caught the fox with the eye issue. One of the wildlife rehabbers on the team assessed whether the animal needed care and found that all four of the fox’s paws were badly burned and the tips of her ears were singed along with her fur and whiskers. The team contacted their veterinarian Dr. Marsha Birdsall and the fox was taken into care. Named Phoenix as it was hoped she would rise out of the ashes of the Caldor Fire, the fox was sedated, given pain meds, fluids, antibiotics and eye ointment. Birdsall took a look at the burns, which were third-and fourth-degree and cleaned, soaked and debrided them before putting
Courtesy photos
See Rescue, page A9
Phoenix the gray fox is on the mend after Sierra Wildlife Rescue rehabbers treated her paws that were burned in the Caldor Fire.
n
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
Mother of two Keeley Link addresses the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Nov. 16, in opposition of student vaccine mandates. Link was one of dozens to speak as supervisors considered action to send a message to state leaders.
Supes vote 4-1 to oppose student vaccine mandate Eric Jaramishian Staff writer There was standing room only in El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ chambers Tuesday as county leaders listened to community members frustrated and concerned with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to add coronavirus vaccine to the list of immunizations required for middle and high school students to attend school in person. Supervisors voted to authorize the county’s chief administrative officer to draft a letter to the governor in support of El Dorado County school superintendents, who last week sent a letter to Newsom asking that medical, religious and personal exemptions remain. The CAO’s letter will come back to supervisors for review Dec. 7. District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo presented a resolution declaring opposition to a vaccine mandate for school children. He started the conversation reading letters from Congressman Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and county Auditor/Controller Joe Harn, who showed support for the resolution. n
The gray fox’s paws had to be bandaged and treated for weeks, left photo. A firefighter holds a young flying squirrel, right photo, that was found in the charred landscape left by Caldor Fire’s flames.
Retiree gets notice to pay back $20,000 in overstated benefits Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer What if you found out it wasn’t your pension plan that owed you, but the other way around and in a sum of nearly $20,000? Retired registered PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
nurse Gail Jackson opened her mail last month to find out she was in this very conundrum. Jackson, who worked for Marshall Medical Center for more than 10 years up to 2005, got a letter Oct. 29 with an alarming header — “Notice of benefit overpayment.” The letter explained that her pension benefit calculation was overstated and that a recent audit revealed the error. The letter does not identify how the overstatement occurred or why the audit was carried out on pension benefits she filed for in 2011. The letter does state that Jackson was not entitled to receive said overpayment and she would be required to “re-pay the pension trust.” Following that second
paragraph of the letter the bombshell was dropped — “Amount of overpayment: $19,238.40.” Repayment options are one lump sum or three to six installments over coming months, with the first payment due Nov. 30. Jackson is doing her best to enjoy her golden years in Odessa, Texas. “I was shocked, mortified and totally overwhelmed,” she said. The letter also informed Jackson that her pension payment would be adjusted from $268.68 to $108.36 per month, to further compensate for the calculation error. When Jackson got over her initial shock she called Marshall Medical’s Human Resources Department to get some answers. “I asked some specific
E OAKS SENIOR CARE VILLAG
questions like when was the last time this fund was audited?” said Jackson. They didn’t have any answers but directed her to representatives at Milliman, Inc., an actuarial and consulting firm that handles recordkeeping and reporting for retirement plans nationwide and now performs this service for Marshall. Marshall Medical, as well as Milliman officials, declined a request for comment when contacted by the Mountain Democrat. Jackson, however, said she did hear back from Milliman in a letter dated Nov. 6. The letter states that Milliman discovered the errors after being engaged to take over administering the plan for Marshall Medical. n
Our There’s No Place Like Home
New tech helps Placerville avoid power shutoffs Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer After three seasons of PG&E public safety power shutoffs late summer into fall, the city of Placerville stayed energized through the driest and windiest conditions this time around. PG&E upgraded its weather forecasting model, implementing a program called TechnoSylva — an industry standard used by Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. Referencing a windy period in October when the power in Placerville was not shut off, city community utility liaison Mark Acuna said the shutoff was avoided due to this new modeling program. “I can absolutely guarantee that using the old tool we would have had three, one- to two-day outages in late September and October,” he said, “at least three.” Working with PG&E while serving as a city councilman Acuna communicated the impacts of public safety power shutoffs on the community and helped to come up with solutions to the many challenges involved in the dangers inherent in PG&E’s aging infrastructure. Placerville has a new PG&E representative working with Acuna and City Manager Cleve Morris. Brandon Sanders, Sierra Division public affairs officer, has taken over for Sarah Rashid and has met with Acuna and Morris to cover the many concerns for the community.
See Benefits, page A9
Brand New!
See Vaccine Mandate, page A7
n
See shutoffs, page A3
Where Seniors Are Family. 24/7 Assisted living that keeps residents engaged and active. • 15 Private rooms with outdoor living space. • Our smaller facility allows for personalized care for each resident. • Our on-site chef can easily accommodate any special diet needs. •
(916) 294-7685 1011 St. Andrews Dr., El Dorado Hills (2.5 miles off Hwy. 50 on El Dorado Hills Blvd.)
