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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2024
March primary ballots due next week
Rare Leap Day birthdays require
EXCEPTIONAL TRADITIONS
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
■ Residents not yet registered can
L
eap year birthdays are rare and require an extra amount of attention for celebration. A few El Dorado County residents spoke to the Mountain Democrat on how they leap for joy every four years when their birthdays come around Feb. 29. Vickie Lampedecchio called it. She was told four years ago her daughter had an expected birth date of Feb. 20, 2020. Doctors, friends and family were not convinced Lampedecchio would be nine days overdue, but it seems fate had other plans for the mother and daughter. “Everybody said you are not going to be nine days overdue and I just said, ‘Nope, I’m having a leap year baby,’” the El Dorado Hills resident recalled. “From the very beginning, I just knew.” It almost didn’t happen. Labor was induced for Lampedecchio on the 27th but what should have been a day-long process turned into 48 hours. She ended up needing a caesarean delivery to bring 8-pound baby Marissa Lampdecchio into the world on the 29th. “I was in labor for 48 hours and pushed for three,” Vickie said. “Everyone thought she would come on the 28th, but I called it.” Born at the height of COVID-19-related shutdowns, family and friends were discouraged from visiting the newborn in person. But this year
submit conditional ballot Mountain Democrat staff
The March 5 primary election is right around the corner. Those voting by mail must have their ballot postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day and the ballot must be received by the El Dorado County Elections Department no later than the Friday after Election Day, according to the Elections Department’s website. Registered voters may also submit ballots at vote centers or drop off ballots at drop boxes. Those who missed the Feb. 20 deadline to register to vote in the primary may complete ■ See BALLOTS, page A8
Photo courtesy of Clean Up The Lake
In almost a half-mile of dive sites Clean Up The Lake dive teams removed 36 pounds of lightweight litter from a stretch along the most heavily populated section of Echo Lake’s shore.
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
PEACE, LOVE, LEAP YEAR — As her shirt suggests, Marissa Lampedecchio, 4, is ready to celebrate her first birthday at Disneyland come Feb. 29, Leap Day. Vickie said. “It is my forever fun fact.” For other El Dorado County residents born on Leap Day, unique birthday celebrations are also in the works. Kim Gustafson of Grizzly Flat, who also happens to be the Grizzly Flat Community Services District general manager, was born 1976 and is celebrating her 12th birthday. Gustafson said she plans to let out some steam at a rage room in the Sacramento area, followed by lunch. Rage rooms provide a venue for people to relieve stress by smashing items and old
Marissa and Vickie are going all out to celebrate Marissa’s “first” birthday. They will be at Disneyland this week and possibly on future leap year birthdays as well; Vickie wants a trip to the happiest place on Earth to be a birthday tradition. Marissa is already in the birthday spirit. Vickie had a shirt made for the preschooler that reads, “peace, love, leap year,” complete with peace sign, heart and frog (think leap) graphics on the front to show off. “I love (her birthday being on leap year),”
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Echo not as litter impacted as other Tahoe area lakes
junk. “I try to make sure and do something I wouldn’t normally do,” Gustafson said. “Often times plans fall through because it snows around this time of year, but it is a strange year with not a lot of snow so I’m not worried about driving up and down the hill.” Amused, Gustafson noted next year she will share the same “birthday years” as her son Christopher Randall. “Not sure what we will do (when he turns 12
Mountain Democrat staff
Environmental nonprofit Clean Up The Lake in October completed its first SCUBA-enabled research project in Echo Lake to evaluate litter accumulations and survey for aquatic invasive species. In a positive turn of events divers found Echo Lake, located just south of Lake Tahoe, doesn’t have the extensive litter problems that exist in neighboring lakes. While litter was found during the project, lower Echo Lake was significantly less littered than other lakes in the region like Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake and Donner Lake. Clean up the Lake divers surveyed areas along
■ See LEAP DAY, page A9
■ See ECHO LAKE, page A9
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