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MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023
Shooting victim identified Mountain Democrat staff El Dorado County sheriff ’s officials have identified the man shot by deputies Wednesday afternoon as 32-year-old Thomas Michael Signor of Placerville. The Sheriff ’s Office narcotics team was serving a narcotics-related search warrant at a residence on Baco Drive around noon when Signor reportedly answered the door with a firearm in his hand. Information regarding what actions led to at least one deputy shooting the man or how many deputies served the search warrant has not yet been released. “During the investigation, the team collected the firearm that Signor was holding when he confronted the deputies at the front door. In
addition, other weapons were found in accessible locations throughout the residence,” notes an EDSO social media post posted Thursday evening. Friends of the victim also took to social media, expressing disbelief, sadness and outrage after Signor’s death. Signor’s last post before he died was a repost of a William Faulkner quote: “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world … would do this, it would change the earth.” No officers were injured during the incident, according to EDSO Sgt. Anthony Prencipe, n See ID’D, page A6
THOMAS MICHAEL SIGNOR
comes out Arguments get heated in Public in numbers to federal fire retardant case talk market move Odin Rasco Staff writer
The U.S. Federal District Court of Montana heard oral arguments April 17 for the Forest Service Employees For Environmental Ethics’ lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service for the service’s discharging of fire retardant into national waters. Of those making arguments, a coalition of firefighting experts and stakeholders gave their opinions through an amicus brief defending the use of fire retardants as needed to fight increasing and more frequent wildfires. Among them was former Cal Fire director and Mount Aukum resident Ken Pimlott, who chairs the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council and works part time for the county Office of Wildfire Preparedness. Pimlott was asked to give a
Placerville’s City Council meeting Tuesday evening saw a significant turnout of farmers, merchants and locals looking to speak about the decision to move the Wednesday night farmers market away from the Bell Tower. Public comment and the following discussion by the “The more I’ve dug council took the into it, the more greater part of two hours, with both people I’ve talked sides of the issue to and the more speaking to concerns, information that frustrations and hopes for an amicable I have received resolution. Parking, about that safety, finances and communication were situation, the more the main themes comfortable I am of the night, with suggested solutions with the decision I and counterpoints made.” coming from both — Council member John sides. The market Clerici relocation discussion has had a Terminator-like tenacity, coming back again and again to the council agenda since it was first discussed in February. “I think this is the third meeting at least this year so far on this issue and I do want to apologize for that,” Placerville Mayor Michael Saragosa said at the start of the meeting. “Because we really strive to get things right the first time when we do things and this hasn’t been the smoothest of processes. No matter what your position is on any of this, one meeting probably would’ve been the way to go on this. We always want to err on the side of caution as we go forward, make sure we get the input that we need. Hopefully tonight we’ll have some finality on this.” Following a litany of complaints from Main Street merchants, many of whom council members said were unwilling to publicly voice their concerns due to fear of retribution or public pushback, the council discussed moving the market and identified the Fox Lot near Mel’s as a potential new location. The council decided during its Feb. 14 meeting to have city staff evaluate options prior to a decision that would be made the following meeting.
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
File photo courtesy of 10 Tanker
The DC-10-30s are currently the biggest fire bombardment tool in the firefighting arsenal, dropping 85,000 pounds (9,400 gallons) of retardant (or water) in one pass of a mile long and hundreds of yards wide — all in about 20 seconds. declaration based on his experiences as a subject matter expert. “Over the course of my 40-year career fighting fires, I have witnessed countless examples where the aerial deployment of fire retardant made a significant difference in our ability to protect public safety, communities, property and natural resources,” Pimlott states in the brief. “If the Forest Service were enjoined from the aerial deployment of fire retardant, it would dramatically disrupt the close coordination between federal and state governments in deploying aerial
resources to respond to wildfires. This would result in significantly increased response times and would place an additional burden on state and local government aircraft, risking additional large fires that threaten lives and natural resources.” In its lawsuit against the Forest Service, the FSEEE claims USFS dropped about three-fourths of a million gallons of fire retardant into U.S. waters from 2012 to 2019 without a National Pollutant Discharge System permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, a violation of the Clean Water Act which
regulates discharging of pollutants into U.S. waters. The FSEEE maintains the use of these retardants is doing more harm to the environment than good as a fire-fighting tool. “Over the decades, they have kept trying to come up with a better chemical mousetrap, but they have never departed from the notion that somehow they can make water better for fighting fire and improve upon Mother Nature’s water, except there’s no evidence that it does,” said Andy Stahl, FSEEE executive director, to the n See RETARDANT, page A6
n See MARKET, page A2
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