Generous donation from local artist
Ann Atkins is creating a one-of-a-kind stained-glass masterpiece for Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento.
DON’T MISS THE
News, Etc., B1
SEE OUR AD County of El
mtdemocrat.com
Monday, December 28, 2020
Volume 169 • Issue 151
| 75¢
County fire’s new plan
Dorado Hea
SIGNS
ON PAGE A8
lt
Adult Protech and Human Services Agency tive Service s
Camino station closing, staff shifting Dawn Hodson Staff writer The El Dorado County Fire Protection District will close a Camino fire station, its Board of Directors decided at a special meeting Dec. 17, during which directors unanimously approved a business model change. Proposed by the Joint Labor Management Committee, the new model will improve services without raising taxes even though it includes closing down Station 21 on Carson Road, directors maintain. The district spends approximately $1.1 million to provide services from that fire station; the majority of the expenses being personnel costs. Fire personnel assigned to Station 21 will be transferred to Stations 17 and 19 and the district will rely more on Cal Fire to protect Camino. Target date for implementation of the business plan, including the station’s closure, is Jan. 16. The district will continue to use Station 21 for administration and fire prevention programs. The new business model is designed to “stop hemorrhaging people,” according to fire officials. EDCFPD Fire Chief Tim Cordero noted in a presentation the district strives to obtain a minimum staffing level of three firefighters per engine company; however, due to financial constraints that goal has not been achieved. The district recently approached voters for additional funding but they rejected that request — the message being that the fire district must live within its means. Cordero said the need for n
See Station 21, page A7
Mountain Democrat photo by Dawn Hodson
Fire Station 21 in Camino is expected to close in mid-January as part of a cost-saving plan approved by the El Dorado County Fire Protection District’s board earlier this month.
Cal Fire ready to transition out of fire season Cal Fire News release
Photo by Bill Rozak / Tahoe Daily Tribune
Vail Resort’s Heavenly Mountain Resort in Tahoe is covered in snow before last season.
Vail Resorts accused of labor law violations Tom Lotshow Vail Daily News A lawsuit filed against Vail Resorts on behalf of three employees is seeking class action status and alleges the company has repeatedly violated federal labor laws as well as state labor laws in Colorado, California, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, Vermont and Michigan. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of Randy Dean Quint, John Linn and Mark Molina. It seeks class action status for eligible current and former employees who worked for Vail Resorts over the past three years. “Vail Resorts has exploited
plaintiffs and thousands of other seasonal employees in violation of federal and state labor laws for years, and these egregious practices continue to the present,” states the lawsuit, filed by California-based attorneys Edward P. Dietrich and Benjamin Galdston. “This action seeks to hold Vail Resorts responsible for its misconduct, fairly compensate plaintiffs and other similarly situated current and former Vail Resorts employees for damages preliminarily estimated to total more than $100 million.” Dietrich and Galdston declined to comment on the lawsuit, however they are looking for more current or former employees to join the class action. Vail Resorts did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit states that while Vail Resorts has repeatedly touted its above-market hourly wages, it “willfully and systematically fails to pay its hourly employees for all hours worked at the hourly wage specified in employment agreements.” It alleges that ski and snowboard instructors and other employees, including ticket scanners and lift operators, are to various degrees not fully paid for their entire shifts, for “off the clock” work Vail Resorts requires or accepts, for some types of training, for travel and dressing time, or for the use, purchase or maintenance of their ski and snowboard equipment or their cellphones. n
See Lawsuit, page A7
CAMINO — Recent rains and cooler temperatures across the region have lowered the threat of wildfires allowing Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit to transition out of peak fire season effective 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28, in Alpine, Amador, El Dorado and Sacramento counties. Statewide Cal Fire and firefighters from many local agencies responded to approximately 8,112 wildfires within the state responsibility areas that burned more than 1,443,152 acres. In the Amador-El Dorado Unit, Cal Fire responded to 290-plus wildfires that charred more than 6,838 acres. During the cooler winter months Cal Fire personnel will continue to actively focus efforts on fire prevention and fuels treatment activities as guided by the state’s Strategic Fire Plan and Unit fire plans. These activities are aimed at reducing the impacts of large, damaging wildfires, public safety and improving overall forest health. “After a historic fire season, I would like to encourage people to take advantage of the cooler and wetter conditions and work on improving their defensible space and removing unwanted vegetation from their properties,” said Unit Chief Mike Blankenheim. Residents are urged to continue to take precautions outdoors to prevent sparking a wildfire. A leading cause of wildfires this time of year is from escaped landscape debris burning. Before you burn, ensure it is a permissive burn day by contacting the local air quality district — El Dorado County Air Quality Management District can be reached at (530) 621-5897 — and make sure you have all required burn permits during burning, make sure piles landscape debris are no larger than 4 feet in diameter, provide 10 foot of clearance down to bare mineral soil around the burn pile and ensure that a responsible adult remains present at all times with a water source and a shovel.
ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE • WELLNESS SERVICES
OPEiNnING December!
(530) 313-0364
Where quality of life is our goal and seniors our passion
Call Now to r u Schedule a To
4210 PRODUCT DRIVE, CAMERON PARK www.blissfulgardenscare.com
Call (530) 344-5000 for convenient home delivery and free online access to www.mtdemocrat.com