GAME TIME
Thanks, Ed
Trojans’ squad ready for tough competition.
City Council honors community-minded Rotarian.
Sports, A3
Prospecting, B2
171
C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 171 • Issue 96 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
– E s t. 18 51
Sophia Torres
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
Youngsters cool off in the sprinklers at Pioneer Park in Somerset where Caldor Fire survivors gathered Saturday to mark one year since the 220,000-plus acre blaze devastated the community of Grizzly Flat.
Caldor Fire remembrance brings Grizzly Flat together
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
C
aldor Fire survivors of Grizzly Flat were reunited Saturday at Pioneer Park in south county and although many were displaced from their community, they never lost fellowship. The El Dorado West Slope Foundation played host to the event marking one year since the Caldor Fire first sparked — Aug. 14, 2021. Spirits were high at Pioneer Park. Many volunteers from local nonprofits helped make the gathering eventful but not too emotionally bearing, some said. “I didn’t want it to be an emotional event but being able to see our friends and our neighbors that we haven’t seen in a long time is bittersweet,” said Amanda Akins, whose family remains displaced after the fire. “I didn’t feel like we were just here to mourn. It was more about just us getting together n
See survivors, page A3
Dana Ellis, Cindy Yolka and Don Ellis enjoy each others company and free dinner along with other folks impacted by the Caldor Fire.
EDH soccer star suffers fatal injuries Sel Richard Staff writer An El Dorado Hills family suffered an unimaginable loss Aug. 1. Known for being disciplined and competitive, Sophia Torres was described as having a “beat to her own drum” spirit and fiercely loving her friends and family. She succumbed to injuries sustained in an accident just 10 days before her 14th birthday. According to the family, the set-to-be Oak Ridge High School freshman and rising soccer star had recently returned from Virginia after earning the title of fifth in the nation at a soccer tournament. On the afternoon of July 12, Sophia headed out for a run. The tragedy occurred on Serrano Parkway just west of Orsay Way. California Highway Patrol officials report the vehicle involved was traveling westbound on Serrano Parkway at the speed limit. “The pedestrian was crossing through the center median, which has a bunch of trees and bushes,” CHP officer Shawn n
See Torres, page A2
Help to rebuild
Community tool shed opening for Caldor victims West Slope Foundation News release “It takes a village!” That’s the idea behind the Caldor Survivors’ Community Tool Shed PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
in Somerset. The tool shed will be a librarylike lending resource that will celebrate its grand opening Friday, Aug. 19, one year after the Caldor Fire destroyed 406 residences and burned a total of 221,000 acres. The tools and equipment the West Slope Foundation has acquired through donations or direct purchase will be available at no charge to residents rebuilding homes in the wake of the devastating Caldor Fire. The brainchild of Scot Telfer and Jennifer McKim Hibbard, executives at West Slope Foundation, and Valeri Mihanovich of CalOES, the project was made possible with donations
from multiple faithbased sponsors and corporate entities. For the purpose of the tool shed the old Willow School House was lent to West Slope Foundation by the Pioneer Volunteer Firefighters Association. The schoolhouse was established in 1904 and was part of the Pioneer School District until it closed in 1965. General contractor Steve Tyler is giving the old one-room schoolhouse the facelift it deserves. He is restoring the building by installing new windows and doors, removing and replacing the rotted siding and going as far as adding a ramp up to the front porch to ease the transport
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Courtesy photo
General contractor Steve Tyler is restoring the old, one-room Willow School House in Somerset to serve as the Caldor Survivors’ Community Tool Shed. The building is getting new windows, doors and siding, the siding donated by the James Hardie Company. of heavier items. The new siding was donated by the James Hardie Company and will be delivered and installed
by Diamond Pacific. When WSF Advisory Committee members first began this venture more than five months
ago, they never thought the partnerships they formed over the last n
See Tool shed, page A3
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