C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
– E S T. 18 51
– Midweek Edition – VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 89 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
Shooting victim found on Highway 50; suspect arrested Odin Rasco Senior staff writer
A Sacramento man has been arrested in connection to a fatal gunshot victim found by California Highway Patrol officers in a vehicle on the side of Highway 50 near Camino early Saturday, Sept. 7. Just after 6:30 a.m. Saturday, CHP officers investigated a disabled
Chevrolet truck on eastbound Highway 50 east of Snows Road. A woman who had sustained a fatal gunshot wound was discovered in the truck; she was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to a CHP press release. Law enforcement officials took to the highway in force, ultimately apprehending a 38-year-old man from Sacramento believed to be
connected to the homicide. Scott Michael Boyles was taken into custody without incident, the press release states. He is listed in custody at the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville with no bail. CHP officials were supported by the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office, El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, Cal Fire, Caltrans and local fire departments.
CHP officials reported Saturday there was no ongoing threat to the public and the investigation is ongoing. The identity of the deceased woman has not been released to the public at this time. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information connected to the investigation is asked to contact the Placerville CHP at (530) 748-2450.
APPLE OF MY EYE Mountain Democrat file photo
A voter drops off her ballot at the Elections Department’s ballot drop box at the El Dorado County Government Center during a previous election.
Elections staff talk voting integrity, security Eric Jaramishian Senior staff writer
Packing in a meeting room where the Elections Department now resides on Ponderosa Road in Shingle Springs, residents learned about the El Dorado County Elections Department’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of the election processes Aug. 28, including how staff tackles security. Bill O’Neill, the registrar of voters since 2019, shared results of a survey to gauge how the county residents felt about the election process at both the local and national level. Out of 4,568 responses, the highest number of responses the department has seen, election process trust seems to be mixed in the county. While residents claimed to trust the county’s Elections Department, many were more likely to not trust the federal process. “That tells me we must be communicating well with the community, so they appreciate what we do,” O’Neill said. “Anybody that doesn’t trust our voting system, we always invite them in.” Out of 3,572 general comments, many stated all election departments should require voter ID. In the same survey, approximately 68% of those who responded to the survey said they prefer to vote by mail. It also seems residents have no trouble finding a voting center drop box, according to the survey. O’Neill reminds residents that they easily can observe the election process. “People do not know that, but they can come in and they can watch it or they can pull it up on their web browser and watch every step of that process,” O’Neill said. “We have to make sure that we do a better job of advertising that aspect.” Going over election security, O’Neill said more than 18 cameras watch the Election’s Office and warehouse with motion detection that notifies staff of any movement in those areas. The vote centers have the same cameras as well.
Mountain Democrat photos by Odin Rasco
The metal apple sculpture designed by Terrie and Nicki Bennett is lowered onto its supporting pad at the center of the Pondorado Roundabout in Camino by Doug Veerkamp Engineering Monday morning. The sculpture was wholly community-funded, and will serve as a welcoming landmark for visitors to Apple Hill.
Camino roundabout sculpture installed Odin Rasco Senior staff writer
A
pple Hill gained a new landmark courtesy of community members Monday, Sept. 9, after a large metal apple sculpture was installed at the Pondorado
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Roundabout in Camino. Installed by Caltrans as part of the Camino Safety Project which significantly altered some routes in and out of Camino — most notably removing the cross-traffic entrances from Highway 50 — the roundabout was determined to be a necessary safety feature, but its installation left an empty spot of dirt at the center of the intersection. Two years ago, local artist Terrie Bennett approached District 3 El Dorado County Supervisor Wendy Thomas with the idea of kickstarting a beautification project at the roundabout, with the hopes of filling the disk of empty dirt with something prettier to look at. A project team consisting of Terrie
and her daughter Nicki, Thomas, Karen Feathers, Terry LeMoncheck, Christa Campbell, Paul Bush and Charlie Downs was formed in short order. The formative stages of the design process began when the team sent out a survey to local residents to learn what images came to mind when they thought of the region. The survey responses were taken into consideration by Terrie and Nicki, who got to work creating a final design for the public art piece — a metal apple with four panels of cutout images, each one reflecting a different element of Camino’s culture and history . “It’s really an amazing piece, and each panel tells a story,” Thomas told one of the people
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who had gathered at the roundabout Monday morning to watch the sculpture’s installation. Terrie and Nicki explained their design incorporated many of the images identified in the survey, grouping them to different themes. The four themes are harvest, pears and apples, grapes and the mill; the panels are each topped with images of the Sierra vista, providing a cohesive element that ties the four together. The entire project, from conception, creation and funding was a community effort; because the scale of the piece was too large to fit in Terrie’s studio, Crystal Creek Christmas Tree Farm owner Bob Kobervig ■ See SCULPTURE, page A5
■ See VOTING, page A5
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