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mtdemocrat.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024
VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 33 | $1.00
EL DORADO COUNTY WOMEN
making Eric Jaramishian
‘Herstory’
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■ See WOMEN, page A7
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Staff writer
wo El Dorado County women were honored by local legislators this week as 2024 women of the year. In honor of Women’s History Month, which is designated for the month of March, these individuals are praised for being leaders in their communities, be it through philanthropy, volunteerism or sheer dedication to bettering quality of life. Their efforts have now been recognized at the state level as “California women making Herstory.” The first to come to the attention of the Mountain Democrat was the reputable founder of Rainbow Orchards Christa Campbell, who was nominated to be the Woman of the Year for Sen. Marie AlvaradoGil’s District 4. Out of all the women nominated across her 13-county, 21-city jurisdiction, Alvarado-Gil accepted the nomination from El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Chair Wendy Thomas, who praised Campbell for her life’s work and accomplishments during Tuesday’s board meeting. “There are so many (women) and yet when I got a call for a nomination, there was only one woman that immediately came to mind and rose to the top, and that was our beloved Christa Campbell,” Thomas said. It is no secret Campbell is an agriculture guru in the community. At Rainbow Orchards, which she has managed with her husband Tom Heflin since 1977, she is known for growing
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WILDFIRE SAFETY DAY
Hear about hot topics Odin Rasco Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
The “Donut Queen” Christa Campbell shows off her Woman of the Year proclamation at her Camino ranch Rainbow Orchards.
Executive Director of the El Dorado Community Foundation Amy Pooley proudly holds her Woman of the Year proclamation on the Community Foundation’s balcony. Pooley is Assemblyman Joe Patterson’s 2024 Woman of the Year pick for his district.
Placerville’s annual fire safety event is set to bring more than two dozen exhibitors ready to talk wildfire preparedness to Main Street Saturday. For the third year in a row, Placerville Wildfire Safety Day will provide a multifaceted approach to providing wildfire safety tips, from hands-on demonstrations to discussions about how to navigate rough waters of homeowners’ insurance in California. The event will kick off at 9 a.m. March 23 at Midtown Mall — also known as the Wilkinson-Hupcey Building — at 681 Main St. in Placerville. With the Caldor and Mosquito fires still fresh in the minds of county residents, preparedness has become a pressing priority. The event represents a coordinated effort between the Placerville Fire Safe Council and the city government to promote fire-safe practices such as home hardening, evacuation readiness and vegetation management in the hope of protecting lives, homes and resources. The inaugural year for Wildfire Safety Day proved a hit, necessitating a change of venue from Town Hall in 2023, when more visitors and exhibitors were expected to appear. Event organizers hope to see hundreds of visitors this year, with more exhibitors signed up than in 2023. Three key presentations will take place twice Saturday, once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. The presentations will go over the evacuation plan for the greater Placerville area, operations of neighborhood radio watch groups during a potential fire emergency and the state of homeowners’ insurance. Between presentations, a star attraction at previous Wildfire Safety Days will make its return to the event when the El Dorado Hills Fire Department will show guests the Wildfire Simulation Table. The table will present a potential future where a wildfire works its way to ■ See WILDFIRE SAFETY, page A6
Road proposed to alleviate Latrobe traffic Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
A proposal to build a roadway that would connect Latrobe Road to the Sacramento County line south of the El Dorado Hills Business Park is currently in talks at the county level. The topic went into brief discussion during the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting March 12 at the proposal of District 1 Supervisor
John Hidahl, whose district consists most of the El Dorado Hills area, seconded by District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo. Citing the increase in activity in the business park and with developments planned for the area, including a future high school planned for the El Dorado Union High School District, Hidahl called for the county to look into building a new road to alleviate traffic congestion on Latrobe Road. The board voted
unanimously to direct staff to begin the preliminary analysis to identify options on the new roadway, which will consist of working with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the six-county collaboration of local leaders that addresses complex challenges surpassing the capacity of individual jurisdictions to tackle independently. Staff will also work with the El Dorado County Transportation Commission and has been
directed to return to the board within four months to come up with recommendations on how to ensure a functional road network. According to Hidahl, initial studies were conducted over a decade ago regarding a roadway that would parallel the Sacramento/El Dorado County line going south of the business park. Reviews of the proposed roadway project were stopped ■ See NEW ROAD, page A3
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