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Volume 172 • Issue 3 | $1.00
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Monday, January 9, 2023
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In the
NEWS in
2022
The Mountain Democrat looks back on some of the top headlines of the past year. See Wednesday’s edition for more top stories.
Supes make West Slope shelter happen Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
Jeff Leikauf was officially sworn in as El Dorado County’s new sheriff Jan. 3, with his wife Jenny pinning his new badge to his uniform in a ceremony held at Green Valley Church.
Rain can’t dampen new sheriff ’s spirit
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
T
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
he new El Dorado County sheriff ’s first days on the job kept him busy. Torrential rains came hours after Jeff Leikauf and the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office said goodbye to John D’Agostini, who retired after a 12-year run as sheriff. “The rain was coming down in sheets and it didn’t stop,” Leikauf recalled. Suddenly the county saw flooding, particularly in Cameron Park. Leikauf, a Cameron Park resident himself, had his own home flood while he was helping activate county emergency operations, he told the Mountain Democrat.
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer After years of scrapping ideas on addressing homelessness, El Dorado County leaders are implementing a temporary navigation center/ shelter while also making plans to build a permanent site. After declaring a homeless crisis in spring 2022, the county pursued a temporary site on county-owned land at Perks Court just outside Placerville proper. The crisis declaration means regulations consistent with local land use plans and the county General Plan are frozen for a shelter project. See Shelter, page A3
n
PG&E investigated in Mosquito Fire Odin Rasco Staff writer
Sheriff Liekauf delivers a post-pinning speech to Green Valley’s packed auditorium. “It was kind of a crazy beginning that first day the big storm hit,” Leikauf commented. “We have a 200-year storm but I have confidence and faith in our Office of Emergency Services. “We live in a community that is resilient and selfefficient.” And the extreme weather did not dampen his swearing-in ceremony just days later. Hundreds of people including friends, family, co-workers and community members poured into Green Valley Community Church off Missouri Flat Road to support Leikauf Jan. 3. Fitting it was for Leikauf and his wife Jenny, who were married at the church n
D’Agostini signs off Editor’s note: The following is a message from outgoing El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini. It is with bittersweet emotions I write this letter to everyone in our wonderful county.
The 76,788-acre Mosquito Fire, which Cal Fire lists as the largest blaze in California last year, burned 78 structures across El Dorado and Placer counties and is among the latest to prompt an investigation of PG&E infrastructure. U.S. Forest Service investigators tasked with determining the cause of the Mosquito Fire took possession of PG&E equipment as flames marched east in the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests. “The USFS has indicated to Pacific Gas and Electric Company … an initial assessment that the fire started in the area of the utility’s power n
14-year-old killed by DUI driver Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini
We have been through much together these past 12 years. We have experienced tragedies and blessings. We have celebrated successes and mourned losses.
And, while I have accomplished much these past 12 years, I have all of you and all the superb staff at your Sheriff’s Office to thank for making it possible. Without their hard work and
See Leikauf, page A2
your support, we wouldn’t be where we are as an agency and able to serve you at the level we do. It has been my absolute privilege and honor to serve as your sheriff. I thank you all for the opportunity. John D’Agostini El Dorado County Sheriff – Coroner – Public Administrator
Grief overcame the community when a 14-yearold Camino girl was fatally struck in a Feb. 8 DUI hit-and-run. The driver responsible for Julianna Abballo’s death, 23-year-old Pollock Pines resident Anthony B. Smith, had been arrested on drinking and driving charges four days before the teen lost her life. Prosecutors said that when Smith turned himself in four hours after hitting Abballo his blood alcohol level was .14%, almost twice the legal limit. Smith pleaded guilty to charges against him, including vehicular manslaughter while under n
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See Mosquito fire, page A3
See Abballo, page A3
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