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Gallery features three artists
Ponderosa celebrates college-bound studentathletes.
Visitors can see a variety of art forms.
Sports, A6
News, Etc. B1 C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
Friday, November 13, 2020
Volume 169 • Issue 132 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
County fights for orange tier n Officials ask
state to reconsider reassignment to more restrictive COVID-19 guidelines Dawn Hodson Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photos by Kevin Christensen
Veterans and other residents of Gold Country Retirement and Health Center in Placerville wave to the Veterans Day Caravan they were treated to Wednesday. The caravan made its way through the county on Veterans Day honking horns and displaying signs to honor military veterans at several senior communities in El Dorado County.
Caravan brings
message of to EDC thanks veterans Kevin Christensen Staff writer
V
eterans at senior communities in El Dorado County got a big “thank-you” with a Veterans Day Caravan Wednesday. Visiting Angels, a home care independent living organization, organized the military-themed drive-by event that visited El Dorado Estates in El Dorado Hills, Ponte Palmero in Cameron Park, Gold Country Retirement and Health Center in Placerville and both the Cameron Park and Placerville Eskaton campuses. “Today and every day is a great day to thank our veterans, reflect on what they sacrificed for our country and learn from them too,” said Visiting Angels Community Outreach Advisor Kathy Hatten. “Gratitude not only makes you feel good but it brings us
closer together.” The caravan drove by senior communities with drivers and passengers saluting, honking and waving to let veterans know their service is appreciated. “It’s nice to be recognized and for them to honor those who fought and died for this country,” said U.S. Navy
veteran and Gold Country resident Doug Spotteswood. Fred Tillich, manager of El Dorado Hills Estates, has 14 veterans who call his senior community home. “This generation really represents what the United States and patriotism means n
See Caravan, page A7 A World War II U.S. Army jeep with an American flag drives by Gold Country Retirement and Health Center veterans, residents and staff.
El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams reported to the Board of Supervisor’s Tuesday the state had placed the county in the red or “substantial” tier of its COVID-19 monitoring scale after the seven-day-average daily case rate jumped from 4.2 per 100,000 people to 5.8 per 100,000 during the week ending Oct. 31. The county has been operating in the orange/moderate tier since Sept. 21 much to the relief of most residents and businesses. “Today the county will use the state’s adjudication process to make a case to remain in our current tier. We moved through a similar spike in cases over the summer and since we are not seeing a rise in the other areas the state considers when making its tier assignments, I am advocating for El Dorado to stay in the orange tier,” said Williams in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. The county will learn the outcome of its appeal no later than Tuesday, Nov. 17. In the meantime the county will remain in the orange tier. “If our adjudication is denied and we are placed in the red tier, the primary impact will be on restaurants, bars, wineries and churches,” said Williams, noting that those establishments will have to reduce indoor capacity from 50% to 25%. Hair salons, barbershops and personal services can remain open indoors with modification. Businesses will be given a few days to come into compliance if the county is moved back to the red tier. n
See Orange tier, page A3
Third time’s a charm as Cedar Ravine house demolition OK’d Thomas Frey Staff writer A pair of appeals that might have kept a house on Cedar Ravine Road from being demolished were denied just before the clock struck midnight Nov. 10, more than 150 years after the house was built in post-Gold Rush era Placerville. With the house being structurally compromised and the Placerville City Council not finding historical value in it, the two appeals were denied unanimously. Father time has caught up to the house. Its windows are boarded up and the exterior is showing signs of wear after many Placerville winters. The house sits at 3095 Cedar Ravine and was built around 1867. The property is owned by Michael McDermott, who purchased the property in August 2018 when it went into receivership after being red-tagged by the city as
unsafe and uninhabitable. The city Planning Commission gave the OK on demolition in January with McDermott planning to build a duplex in its place. That decision was initially appealed by Placerville resident and local history advocate Jennifer Chapman but McDermott’s application for a demolition permit was withdrawn. “That building is an (eyesore),” said former City Council member John Clerici. “It needs to be torn down or it needs to be replaced.” The house is not occupiable or safe to walk inside, according to Brent Jack of Pro-Built Construction, McDermott’s contractor. Chapman argues the property represents the historical Gold Rush era in Placerville and that it was lived in by Janet Turney and Agnes Blair, who were members of the Blair timber family. n
See demolition, page A3
Mountain Democrat file photo
This house on 3095 Cedar Ravine Road will be demolished and replaced by a duplex after appeals filed by local history advocates were denied.
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