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Volume 172 • Issue 56 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Courtesy photo
El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Camino Elementary School janitor May 12 for multiple counts of sexual acts with a minor.
Janitor suspected of sexual acts with children Odin Rasco Staff writer El Dorado County sheriff ’s deputies arrested a Camino Union Elementary School janitor Friday morning on suspicion of multiple counts of sexual acts with children younger than 10. Pollock Pines resident Christopher Slager, 61, was booked into El Dorado County Jail Friday on two charges of oral copulation with a minor; he is in custody with bail set at $2 million, according to inmate records. The investigation is ongoing and detectives have identified two victims at this time. Sheriff ’s officials note that neither of the identified victims were enrolled in the Camino n See Slager, page A7
Mountain Democrat photo by Noel Stack
Doug Veerkamp Engineering crews work on the French drain at the Mother Teresa Maternity Home in Placerville, which flooded during the big New Year’s Eve storm.
Community steps up to reopen
a house of hope Noel Stack Managing editor
knocked down trees and power lines, Director Elizabeth FreyThomas said staff and the home’s two residents were going about their business when one of the residents stepped into the hallway. The carpet squished under her feet and she could see water puddles pooled everywhere. “We realized it was coming from outside,” Frey-Thomas told the Mountain Democrat. “The
T
he New Year’s Eve storm that pummeled Northern California forced Placerville’s Mother Teresa Maternity Home to close its doors for the first time in nearly 25 years. The morning after rain inundated the region and wind
ground was so saturated (the water) came through.” The damage extended beyond the soggy hallway and into the home’s bathroom, forcing the home for pregnant women in crisis to temporarily close so the building could dry out and repairs could be made. “We were kind of scrambling,” n See House of Hope, page A7
Cannabis tax pre-rolling into city projects Odin Rasco Staff writer
Tax. The projects selected cover a range of benefits, including $15,000 for grants to nonprofits and $25,000 to go toward remodel of public restrooms on Main Street — 50% of the total estimated cost. With summer heat on the horizon, $15,000 was directed to aid in speedy repair and maintenance of the steps and deck of the slide at the soon-to-reopen city pool. The list of projects was provided by the Cannabis Community Benefit
Placerville community projects will soon see an influx of nearly $100,000, courtesy of the coin contributed to the city’s coffers by cannabis companies. During its regular meeting last week Placerville City Council approved a list of community projects selected to receive funds from the Cannabis Community Benefit
Committee, a group that includes City Manager Cleve Morris, Community Services Director Terry Zeller, a representative from each cannabis store in Placerville and two members of the public. The committee meets regularly to discuss how best to distribute funds raised by the city tax on marijuana sales, with a focus on actionable aid to the community. “We think we went through some pretty good analysis on
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“Of all the times we try to ‘destroy’ this town, this one actually worked out OK.” — John Clerici, Placerville City Council what was there, in terms of projects, and we hope to be able to fund more of those next year,” Morris explained. As part of the ordinance initially approved by the council in 2018 that allowed cannabis stores to open in the city, a community benefit element was identified as a
necessary inclusion on any business applying to open. In 2020 it was decided that a 1% tax on such businesses’ revenues would be set into a community benefit fund that would be overseen by a committee. n See Tax, page A7
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