VILLAGE CAMERON PARK
life
■ A JOY-FILLED CONCERT The Folsom Lake ™ Symphony will perform holiday favorites and more. ■ INSIDE, B2
SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF EL DORADO HILLS AND CAMERON PARK
VOL. 32 ■ ISSUE NO. 23 ■ DECEMBER 3, 2025
Santa Claus is coming ... back to town Noel Stack Editor
T
he El Dorado Hills Fire Department kicks off its popular Santa Run – Holiday Heroes Food and Toy Drive Saturday, Dec. 6, spreading the magic of the season while also collecting items for those less fortunate. “The El Dorado Hills Fire Department is excited to provide our Santa Run food and toy drive once again for our community this December,” EDH Fire Chief Michael Lilienthal said. “Firefighters will be bringing the Santa sleigh with the elves through the community starting first on Dec. 6 at EDH Town Center, then Dec. 9-12 around the community,” he continued. “We are very excited to support Shriners Children’s burn center with toys and the Food Bank of El Dorado County with food. We hope you will join us. This is a wonderful tradition where the department in the community come together in support of such a great cause.” Santa, Mrs. Claus and their crew of merry elves (keep an eye out for the Grinch!) will collect new, unwrapped toys, nonperishable food and Letters to ■ See SANTA RUN, page A7
Photo courtesy of EDH Fire
Santa Claus and crew, seen here at last year’s event, return to El Dorado Hills this Christmas season for the El Dorado Hills Fire Department’s Santa Run, launching at the EDH Town Center tree lighting on Dec. 6 and then heading into neighborhoods Dec. 9-12.
Community mourns William ‘Bill’ Schultz Noel Stack Editor Former El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk William “Bill” Schultz died Nov. 28 at age 92. “He died very peacefully,” widow Mary Ann Kirk told Village Life Monday morning. They had been married for 30 years. She shared that Schultz suffered a stroke on Nov. 26 and passed mid-morning Friday at a Roseville hospital. Schultz was a mainstay in El Dorado County government, serving as recorder-clerk, head of the Elections Department and head of Veterans Affairs before his ■ See SCHULTZ, page A5
Village Life photo by Shelly Thorene
Bicyclists enjoy the skatepark at Christa McAuliffe Park in Cameron Park on a recent sunny afternoon.
Village Life file photo by Krysten Kellum
Bill Schultz retired from county government in 2018 but continued to stay active in the community. The Navy veteran worked tirelessly to support veterans programs.
Commission OKs new Shingle Springs gas station with conditions; group plans appeal Noel Stack Editor Drivers excited about the possibility of a new AM/PM on Durock Road in Shingle Springs will have to idle a while longer. The Shingle Springs Community Alliance has announced it will appeal the El Dorado County Planning Commission’s project approval. On Nov. 12 commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of granting applicant Strauch and Co. a conditional use permit for the construction and operation of a new ARCO AM/PM that would consist of a 3,349-squarefoot convenience store, a 100-foot-long automatic car wash, a 4,606-squarefoot fuel canopy with six fuel islands and 12 fueling positions and three underground storage tanks — with the condition that the station’s car wash will not operate until specific
Courtesy graphic
The proposed AM/PM station on South Shingle Road at Durock Road has received Planning Commission approval but an appeal is planned. Ponderosa Road interchange improvements are complete or Jan. 1, 2030 (which ever comes first). Four days later the SSCA announced its decision to appeal the project’s approval to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors; a hearing will be scheduled as early
as January 2026, according to the alliance. “It is SSCA’s position that the ARCO station or any other business on that property should not begin construction until after the road improvements are completed to relieve the significant traffic congestion that
we are all dealing with,” the alliance noted in an email. Traffic and circulation were among the top concerns discussed at last month’s commission meeting, which lasted several hours in part due ■ See STATION, page A5
CPCSD skates through rumors Noel Stack Editor In lieu of a regular Cameron Park Community Services District Board of Directors meeting, CPCSD interim General Manager Maurice Johnson went into rumor-control mode after misinformation posted on social media brought more than 60-plus frustrated skatepark users and supporters to the Cameron Park Community Center on Nov. 19. A lack of quorum canceled the regularly scheduled meeting but practically no one in the audience was there to talk about agendized items. They wanted to know if the district planned to close the community’s popular skatepark at Christa McAuliffe Park. The answer is no. Johnson started the informal chat with assurances, over some heckling, that the district had no intentions of filling in the skatepark with dirt. “The skatepark is a great asset,” Johnson said. What did transpire, the GM explained, was a very preliminary, informal conversation this past summer with Faith Episcopal Church leadership about the possibility of the district purchasing some of the church’s property along Highway 50. The church is Christa McAuliffe Park’s neighbor to the west. The CPCSD has been looking for property where it could construct new pickleball courts and a parking lot since it shut down outdoor pickleball at Cameron Park Lake due to noise issues, Johnson told the Mountain Democrat. “The conversation was purely on purchasing the property,” he said, clarifying that the CSD was later asked if it would consider a land swap, whereby the church would be granted a slice of Christa McAuliffe Park in exchange for its parcels along the freeway. The idea was proposed, Johnson said, but no ■ See SKATEPARK, page A5
INSIDE NEWS VOL. 32 ■ ISSUE NO. 23 FOR GUARANTEED WEEKLY DELIVERY, SUBSCRIBE BY CALLING 530 3445000
■ EXCEPTIONAL PRIVACY IN EDH
■ GIFT GIVING THAT REALLY MATTERS
This secluded El Dorado Hills home has gorgeous views, great amenities and room to entertain.
Holiday activities that bring the family together just might be the perfect gift.
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■ INSIDE, B3
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