DOVE HUNT
Fine time for wine
Wildlife officials share tips as dove season opens this week.
Local wineries celebrate all things zinfandel this weekend.
Sports, A8
News, etc., B1
171
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mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
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Volume 171 • Issue 102 | $1.00
Courtesy photo
Restoration of approximately 30 acres of habitat is planned at Calf Pasture Meadow in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area.
‘Degraded’ Calf Pasture Meadow to be restored USDA Forest Service Work on the Calf Pasture Meadow Restoration Project will begin today and continue for four to five weeks to restore approximately 30 acres of degraded meadow habitat, according to a news release from the Eldorado National Forest. Calf Pasture is located in the Van Vleck and Tells Creek area on the Pacific Ranger District and was acquired by the Eldorado National Forest in 1984. The meadow is highly degraded due to the effects of intensive logging and grazing dating back to the 1800s and from trail incision along the Red Peak Trail, states the release. “Partnerships with American Rivers and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, along with help from a number of volunteer organizations are making it possible to get this important restoration work done,” said Forest Supervisor Jeff Marsolais. Project goals include: • Restoring approximately 30 acres of degraded meadow habitat to benefit aquatic- and meadowdependent species. • Increasing water storage capacity and restoring meadow-floodplain connectivity. • Reducing stream water temperature and increasing stream base flows and moderating peak flows. • Reducing conifer encroachment in the meadow. The project is using “Stage Zero” methods designed to restore deeply incised channels to their pre-disturbance condition consisting of shallow multi-threaded channels across the floodplain. Actions will include:
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo, Samantha Sproull, Food Bank of El Dorado County Vice Chairman John Blank, Food Bank founder Mike Sproull and Congressman Tom McClintock representative Kimberly Pruett, from left, break ground on an emergency resource center in Shingle Springs Aug. 25.
Food bank digs in to give disaster support
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
T
he Food Bank of El Dorado County broke ground on its emergency resource center Aug. 25, which will house essential resources to help residents and first responders if another disaster, such as the Caldor Fire, hits close to home. Expected to be completed by fall 2023, the facility will span 15,000 square feet and store emergency food, water tanks, tents, flashlights and more, according to Food Bank of El Dorado County founder Mike Sproull. “It will store all the things we learned we needed from the Caldor Fire,” Sproull told a crowd gathered
See meadow, page A9
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El Dorado County Food Bank founder Mike Sproull, left, and District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo speak to those gathered for the emergency resource center See Resource center, page A8 groundbreaking.
Some celebrity golf workers Molester gets say they remain without pay 30 years to life Ashleigh Goodwin Tahoe Daily Tribune STATELINE, Nev. — More than six weeks PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
have passed since Tony Romo won the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament but several workers have still not been paid. A record 67,000 spectators swarmed Edgewood Tahoe over four days July 6-10. The record-setting attendance was handled by multiple cooperating agencies that put on the event. Spectrum Events, a catering and concession company, contracted to provide hospitality services through MVP Event Staffing and other agencies. “Tuesday, July 5, I was approached at the farmers market in Minden by a Katy Nichols who said she was from MVP Event
Staffing,” local stay-athome father Sean Lyman said. Nichols approached him and his wife, asking if they knew anyone who would be interested in working the ACC. “Being a big golf fan and sports in general, I said that I would,” Lyman said. “The husband of one of my wife’s coworkers also said he would like to work the event. I worked the event away from family because my wife knows I love golf.” Lyman said his wife stayed home from her job to be with their son so he could work. “And now I have nothing to show for it other than the tips I made,” he said. “Not the $20 an hour I was
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promised for the 38 hours I worked.” Another temporary employee of the ACC, Daphne Hillyer, said her husband and daughter were also recruited at the farmers market while with Sean. “We worked three days and 10-12.5 hours per day. We had fun and would love to help again but not if it’s going to take this long to be paid,” Hillyer said. “They took my comment off Facebook, ‘We worked so hard for this company the weekend of the golf tournament and we are still not getting any response about our paychecks. We just want our paychecks.’” n
See unpaid, page A3
Mountain Democrat staff
El Dorado County Superior Judge Mark Ralphs on Aug. 5 sentenced Jim Lorin Westensee, 64, to 30 years to life after he pled guilty to molesting two minors, reports the county District Attorney’s Office. Westensee had been a “dear family friend and grandfather figure” to the minors’ family, according to DA officials. During the sentencing hearing Westensee’s victims and family members of victims shared impact statements with the court. Prosecutors say the victims’ statements
Jim Westensee “were powerful reminders of ongoing psychological trauma that often follows families when someone they trust betrays them in such a horrific way.” n
See Molester page A2
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