THE VOTES ARE IN
MORE BEAUTIFIES PLACERVILLE DRIVE
See the winners of the 29th annual Readers’ Choice awards.
Mural and new garden are attractive additions in the city.
Readers’ Choice, inside
News, etc., B1
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C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
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VOLUME 171 • ISSUE 127 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2022
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Extra Mile Heroes bring ‘vibrancy’ Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
Somerset resident David Harde, who farmed hemp when it was permitted in El Dorado County, used his crop to create wellness products such as CBD tinctures and oils for his business Heart Hemp.
HEMP FARMS closer to resprouting in county
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
I
ndustrial hemp growers are one more step closer to cultivating again in El Dorado County. Now that the El Dorado County Planning Commission approved unanimously to amend its county zoning ordinance to make way for an industrial hemp pilot program, the ordinance will go through a second reading for approval at a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors Nov. 1. The board adopted a resolution of intent to amend Title 130 of the county’s Zoning Ordinance
” … you do not get a big profit from industrial hemp, so if you put too many regulations and requirements, you are probably going to price the program to the point where it is not profitable.” — Charlene Carveth, El Dorado County Agriculture Commissioner to enact regulations for farming of industrial hemp Sept. 20, after putting a series of moratoriums on its cultivation. The county Planning Commission made a few edits to the original draft of the ordinance. Those included a change in setbacks in residential areas, from 200 to 600 feet, and removing
references to the El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office in the section about inspections, a source of disagreement between law enforcement and county industrial hemp stakeholders. The El Dorado County Sheriff ’s Office requested a regulation that would allow its officers to ■ See HEMP, page A3
Placerville Mayor Kara Taylor proclaimed Nov. 1 Extra Mile Day and recognized four local residents as Extra Mile Heroes for all the good they do for the community. At last week’s City Council meeting Taylor read the proclamation from the dias, acknowledging the national movement of Extra Mile America and pointing out “that a special vibrancy exists within the entire community when its individual citizens collectively ‘go the extra mile.’” Along with the declaration, the mayor also has the opportunity to name a handful of individuals in Placerville who do, in fact, go that extra mile in all they do. Well-known local heroes John Sanders, Frank Porter, Maureen Dion Perry and David Zalinski were honored by the council and inducted into the exclusive Extra Mile Hero club. John Sanders, of Old Town Grill, was selected by Taylor for “supporting so many local causes by generously feeding nonprofit organizations and their supporters that do such great work for the community.” Taylor noted that Sanders was unable to attend the council meeting as he was otherwise occupied serving food at a Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises event that evening. Being a hospitality industry veteran, Taylor pointed out how difficult it can be to maintain a restaurant’s bottom line without giving so much to charitable causes. “It’s just that much more appreciated,” she said. “He is everywhere that nonprofits are holding their fundraisers.” Local veterans and family members of veterans will no doubt recognize David Zelinsky’s name. Taylor recognized Zelinsky for his decades of work advocating for the local veteran population, assisting in the navigation of veteran services. Not only that, but in recent years Zelinsky has taken on an added mantle of fire-safe advocate. “David Zelinski was among a small handful of citizens that banded together to establish the ■
See HEROES, page A2
6th graders plant trees in Caldor Fire burn scar News release
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Members of the South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition on Oct. 21 hosted their “most popular” field trip for South Lake Tahoe sixth graders at
Echo Lakes Sno-Park. STEEC, a collaborative network of more than 25 local agencies and nonprofits that work together to bring environmental programs to South Lake Tahoe schools, runs at least one field trip per grade per year. The sixthgrade program features tree planting with the Sugar Pine Foundation and has become a hit amongst the youth. While the focus was on planting seedlings in the Caldor Fire burn scar with the Sugar Pine Foundation, educators from STEEC’s member groups led four other interactive learning stations to impart valuable placebased lessons about fire and water. Adilene Negrete and Reanna Suela from the U.S. Forest Service and Victoria Ortiz with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency taught students about defensible
space. Abi Lloyd from the South Tahoe Public Utility District and Mo Loden of the Lahontan Water Board had students build a “wetland in a bottle” by layering native materials like sand, soil, sticks, pine needles and other plant debris to demonstrate the filtering action of meadows. Julia Kaseta from the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and Ileah Kirchoff from the Desert Research Institute partnered to teach about how fires affect soils. Kelci Brown and Courtney Thomson from the League to Save Lake Tahoe taught a lesson on water quality. The students thrived in these classrooms without walls and soaked up the lessons about their local environment like sponges as ■
See LESSONS, page A2
Courtesy photo
South Lake Tahoe students plant trees across the street from Echo Lakes SnoPark.
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