KICKOFF’S HERE
Artists’ interpretations
Local squads ready to return to the gridiron.
Gold Country Artists Gallery artists are inspired by the natural world.
Sports, A6
News, etc., B1
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Volume 171 • Issue 97 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, August 19, 2022
County HHSA director named Noel Stack Managing Editor
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
Tim Cramer and Josette Lee-Yetter, previously homeless, celebrate after tying the knot at the Upper Room Dining Hall in Placerville Aug. 15.
Couple comes ‘full circle’ in dining hall wedding Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
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omeless and battling alcohol addiction, two individuals met at a crucial time in their lives about five years ago at Green Valley Chruch. They still frequent the Upper Room Dining Hall in Placerville now as regular volunteers, sobered, employed and, most recently, married. It was only fitting for Tim Cramer and Josette Lee-Yetter (soon to be Cramer) to seal the deal
Man last seen near Bassi Falls Mountain Democrat staff
Perry Justus PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
El Dorado County sheriff ’s personnel are looking for a man who got separated from his group while hiking from Bassi Falls back to a parking area Saturday afternoon. Perry Justus, 52, is described as caucasian with brown hair and eyes, weighing about 175 pounds and standing about 5 feet, 11 inches tall. A missing person flyer put out by the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office notes Justus was wearing a gray T-shirt, blue swim shorts and hiking boots at the time of his disappearance. He also has tattoos — an angel on his right shoulder and a pheonix on the left shoulder. Justus was last seen around 2:30 p.m. Aug. 13. Bassi Falls, a popular destination in summer, is located east of Union Valley Reservoir in the n
See Justus, page A7
“Ours is a story of never giving up on each other.”
— Tim Cramer, newlywed
at the dining hall Aug. 15, the first wedding ceremony to be conducted at the nonprofit’s upper Broadway location. “Everything has really come full circle,” Josette n
See wedding, page A7
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to hire Evelyn Schaeffer as Health and Human Services director effective Sept. 24. Schaeffer comes to El Dorado County with more than a decade of experience in governmental health services, some of those years served in California. Her appointment at step 4 of the salary range ($216,236 per year plus benefits) was supported by a 4-0 vote. District 5 Supervisor Sue Novasel was absent from Tuesday’s meeting. Schaeffer thanked the board and everyone involved in the recruitment and hiring process. “I promise — with diligence and dedication, respect and professionalism, empathy and compassion and with a spirit of collaboration — to serve all residents of the great county of El Dorado and even those passing through,” she said.
Evelyn Schaeffer Supervisors present at the Aug. 16 meeting had a chance to chat with the new director earlier in the morning and expressed optimism with Schaeffer coming on board. “I felt that the engagement and energy that Evelyn will be bringing to the county is just what we need right now,” said District 4 Supervisor/Chair Lori Parlin. District 3 Supervisor Wendy Thomas said she has full confidence Schaeffer will be a wonderful fit, serving in what she called a “critical role.” “We were all just very n
See Schaeffer, page A5
EDSO adding tactical tool Noel Stack Managing Editor The El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office will have to make more room in its garage after getting the go-ahead to purchase a $520,000 Rook Armored Critical Incident Vehicle. The modified Caterpillar with a cab has ballistic resistant glass and NIJ certified level IV armor. It can be operated by a driver or remotely and accessories include a hydraulic breaching ram fitted with low-light cameras that provide a 360-degree field of vision, a grapple claw with 4,500 pounds of lift capacity, a vehicle extraction tool designed to move or immobilize vehicles/ obstructions and an armored personnel platform with eight shooting ports, ballistic glass and the ability to extend to upper levels of a two- or threestory building. The vehicle also comes with a custom transport trailer plus a 24-month total machine warranty in the vehicle and a 12-month warranty on the attachments and accessories. The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians will fund 96% of the cost with the other 4% coming from an EDSO special revenue fund. “They agreed to pay for it because they saw a need for public safety reasons,” county Chief Administrative Officer
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Image courtesy of Ring Power Corporation
EDSO has been authorized to purchase a Rook Armored Critical Incident Vehicle, seen here with the armored personnel platform attachment. Funding for most of the $520,000 purchase comes from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
Don Ashton told the Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 16 meeting. The supervisors approved the purchase 4-0 as part of its consent calendar but not before some residents questioned the need for the military-style piece of equipment. “The first thing that I thought of is the Sears wish book,” said Joe Connolly of Diamond Springs, who noted El Dorado
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County’s low crime rate. “It seems kind of frivolous and unnecessary.” Online commenter Ruth Michelson said she’d like to see “thorough justification for needing that (vehicle) in a rural county.” Speaking on the phone, Sheriff John D’Agostini explained the vehicle’s versatility gives it the n
See EDSO, page A7
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