C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
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– Weekend Edition – VOLUME 175 • ISSUE 25 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2026
Mountain Democrat photo by Shelly Thorene
Teachers from El Dorado High School form a picket line in front of the school at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday to protest for higher wages and better health benefits.
Teachers, EDUHSD reach an impasse Mountain Democrat photos by Shelly Thorene
Dan Milton, center, shows Pioneer Fire Safe Council members the structure containing two pumps that move water from D’Agostini Reservoir to a hydrant near Mt. Aukum Road.
WATER ON DEMAND Remote hydrant prototype installed at D’Agostini Reservoir
Shelly Thorene Staff writer
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al Fire personnel, Pioneer Fire Chief David Whitt and members of the Pioneer Fire District Fire Safe Council recently gathered at D’Agostini Reservoir on Mt. Aukum Road to view a demonstration of a newly developed and patented Remote Hydrant System developed by Latrobe entrepreneur Dan Milton. Milton is the owner of Sierra Fire Services, which supplies support services such as laundry and lighting to fire base camps, including the base
camp for the Caldor Fire at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in 2021. During the Caldor Fire, Milton said he had the opportunity to observe water tender operations and the logistics of moving water for a large fire. After speaking with water tender operators, he said, “It became clear that accessing water sources in rural terrain can be one of the biggest challenges.” Milton and his brother Mike, a partner in the business, set a goal to develop a solution. “We found there were no pumps on the market that met operational requirements,” Dan explained. “We researched available equipment and tested different configurations to determine what would reliably meet the performance goals.” They selected a pump platform that had many of the core characteristics needed and customized it for the system. The portable remote hydrant system Dan originally developed supports suppression operations on large fires already well established that require significant water supply logistics. The system moves water from natural resources to locations water tenders can tap into and fills tanks quickly. The new system installed near D’Agostini Reservoir on Mt. Aukum Road is a different application of the same concept. “The goal here is to create a permanent water access point that is available 24/7 if firefighters ever need it,” Dan told the Mountain Democrat. “El Dorado County has abundant water resources but much of that water is difficult to access during an emergency. The Somerset site was installed primarily as a proof of concept to demonstrate what might be possible.”
How it works
The Sierra Fire Services Remote Hydrant System setup allows fire crews fighting fires easier access to natural water sources in rural areas.
A small covered structure with a solar panel mounted on top houses two gasoline-powered pumps near the pond. The pumps deliver filtered pond water to a hydrant located away from the structure up near the driveway for JR Logging and ■ See HYDRANT, page A8
Shelly Thorene Staff writer
Teachers from high schools in the El Dorado Union High School District picketed Wednesday after negotiations for a cost of living increase and an offset for increased healthcare costs hit an impasse with the district. According to Erin Doubek, lead negotiator for the Faculty Association, on April 15 a state mediator will work with the district and the association to try to reach a compromise. “If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the next step is fact-finding and a representative from the state will do a deep dive into the district’s financial records and make another recommendation for a compromise,” said Doubek. “Only after impasse and fact finding will a strike be possible. Both sides hope to avoid this outcome because we know that students belong in the classroom.” El Dorado High School science teacher Tobias Gantschi, who stood out front of the high school with a small group of teachers, told the Mountain Democrat, “Some of us have been here for many years. I’ve been here 20 years and have been told ■ See IMPASSE, page A8
City boosts parking violation fees Andrew Vonderschmitt Features editor
The Placerville City Council approved a new schedule of parking citation fees at its March 10 meeting. The revised master fee schedule will take effect May 11. Interim Finance Director Natalie Tornincasa told the council the city’s parking citation fees have not been updated since 2010 and no longer reflect the true cost of enforcement adding that the update will modernize penalties and better align them with regional standards. “The purpose is to approve the revenue generation used to partially offset the cost of the police department’s patrol division and the downtown parking program,” Tornincasa said, adding the current structure “is not keeping up with the overall cost for the city to issue citations.” Those expenses include personnel, supplies and state-mandated court fees. City staff surveyed fines in neighboring communities to guide the update. Tornincasa said ■ See FEES, page A9
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
AT THE CPCSD
For Mo, it’s time to go Noel Stack Editor
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aughs and a few tears were part of the Cameron Park Community Services District Board of Directors’ agenda on March 18 as board members, staff and the public thanked interim General Manager Maurice Johnson for his 13 months of leadership. Johnson joined the CPCSD on Feb. 5, 2025, after the board exercised the 30-day terminationwithout-cause clause in then-General Manager Alan Gardner’s contract. Mark Hornstra is now the district’s general manager. Hornstra, the former El Dorado Hills Community Services District general manager, was recruited by Johnson last year to serve as the Cameron Park district’s parks and facilities supervisor. “Of all the bosses I’ve had, Mo is at the top,” Hornstra said. Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Deputy Chief of Operations Dusty Martin presented Johnson with the Partnership Award, noting that because of Johnson’s leadership, “We are in an amazing place with collaboration and communication at all levels.” Martin gifted Johnson a “Dyna-Mo” nameplate ■ See JOHNSON, page A8
Mountain Democrat photo by Noel Stack
Maurice Jonson, center, holds a copy of the resolution adopted by the Cameron Park Community Services District Board of Directors on March 18. From left are Directors Katie Gilchrest, J.R. Hichborn, Sidney Bazett and Tim Israel.