CONSIDERING SOLAR? Act Now To Avoid The Change To Net Energy Metering in April! Call Us For Best Rates, Or A 2nd Opinion On An Existing Bid.
WHY GO SOLAR?
Mountain Demo crat
• Reduce Electric Bill • Increase Your Home Value • Protect Rising Energy Costs
• Tax Incentives • Protect Your Roof • Enjoy Solar Reliability
2200 1202
Your #1 Locally Owned Solar Installer CSLB # 1065773
(530) 344-3237 • 3867 Dividend Drive, Suite A, Shingle Springs • info@SolarSavingsDirect.com • solarsavingsdirect.com
172
C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
nd
– E s t. 18 51
Volume 172 • Issue 13 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, February 3, 2023
Homeless shelter to open Monday
Placerville ‘Burns’ with
Scottish revelry
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer Preparations for the county-approved, referralonly temporary navigation center/homeless shelter at 299 Fair Lane in Placerville have an end in sight as the shelter will become operational Feb. 6. The navigation center will act as a safe indoor space for those experiencing homelessness in El Dorado County. The center will be open to individuals by referral only — it will not take walk ups. Referrals to the navigation center will come from the county Health and Human Services Agency, law enforcement or El Dorado Opportunity Knocks, according to county Communications Director Carla Hass. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors in n
See Shelter, page A8
Man guilty of sodomy charges Odin Rasco Staff writer A man arrested in Cameron Park by El Dorado County sheriff ’s deputies pleaded guilty Jan. 31 to multiple charges, including sodomy by use of force. Andrew Scott Holtzen, 31, is facing a sentence of 24 years in state prison for two counts of sodomy and one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant or girlfriend, according to a news release from the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office. Holtzen admitted to a prior strike and made a full confession when initially contacted by law enforcement. “It was my birthday and I wanted to,” Holtzen allegedly told detectives as his reason for sodomizing the
Placerville residents David and Terri Thomas and Gordon Helm and Lisa Howarth, joined by Rescue residents Shannon and Keith Pierce, get festive during the Burns Night Supper at the historical Shakespeare Club in Placerville Jan. 25. Attendees enjoyed a Scottish dinner complete with live Celtic music, Robert Burns poetry, a seven-course meal featuring haggis, El Dorado County wine pairings and a wee dram of Scotch whisky to top off the evening. See more photos on A9.
Gold Country Retirement sold Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer
Andrew Scott Holtzen victim. Prior to his encounter with the victim Holtzen was homeless, DA’s officials told the Mountain Democrat. Holtzen was taken into custody on Sandhurst Drive Sept. 11, 2022, according to inmate records from the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office. The case was presided over by El Dorado County Superior n
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
See Holtzen, page A9
Retirement Housing Foundation, a California nonprofit that through its affiliates sponsors multiple senior care facilities, has announced the sale of four properties in California, including Gold Country Retirement Center in Placerville. The purchaser, Pacifica Companies LLC has agreed to a total cash price of $183.5 million for an asset purchase that actually includes all real and personal n
See sold, page A8
Mountain Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum
Placerville’s Gold Country Retirement Community has been sold to San Diego-based Pacifica Companies LLC at a price of $18 million.
You’ll Love The Positive Way We Do Things Differently!
Folsom Buick GMC LOOK FOR OUR DECEMBER SERVICE SPECIALS ON PAGE B10 WE ARE PROFESSIONAL GRADE
916-355-1414
Folsom Automall 12640 Automall Cir
Northern California’s Premier GM Dealer
www.folsombuickgmc.com