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
Wednesday, july 29, 2020
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INSIDE
Peace out Photo courtesy of Cal Fire
Flames rip through the Bassi Road residence as a helitak bucket releases water over the blaze.
Fire razes home in Coloma Dawn Hodson Staff writer
A home on Bassi Road near Petersen Lane in Coloma was destroyed Sunday when a fire broke out about 1:30 p.m. The fire spread to surrounding vegetation, burning approximately 3 acres. In addition to the home an attached garage and detached garage also took heavy damage. Several vehicles were burned as well. Paul McVay, division chief of the El Dorado County Fire Protection District, said the structure was a n
Democrat photo by Jana Rossi
Ponderosa High School grad and salutatorian Bailey Day walks across the graduation stage at the Shingle Springs campus Friday after receiving her diploma in a coronavirus-adapted commencement ceremony.
Ponderosa class of
See House fire, page A2
More detailed COVID-19 data now available n County nearing
Jana Rossi Staff writer
coronavirus watch list threshold
H
Dylan Svoboda Staff writer Tracking the local coronavirus outbreak just got easier for El Dorado County residents. County public health officials launched a new, more detailed, interactive COVID19 dashboard this weekend. “As we have seen our case numbers rise and the issue becomes more complex on the state level, we felt it was time to provide additional information on our dashboard and make it more interactive and less static,” said county Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams. New dashboard features include: • A chart of cases by day since COVID19 was first discovered in El Dorado n
2020 ‘walks’
See Covid-19 data, page A3
opes for an in-person graduation ceremony at Ponderosa High School were dashed a second time as COVID-19 again took the spotlight Friday on what should have been a stage set for graduates. But smiles on grads’ faces and exuberance in their steps told a different story — it’s not how they ended their journey but that they accomplished a feat graduates before them never had to face. Parents drove their high school seniors — donned in caps, gowns and masks — through the Ponderosa roundabout; sons and daughters exited their vehicles, slipping the masks off to do the “walk” and take pictures on a festooned stage. The event was live-streamed with pre-recorded speeches. For months there were hopes that by July a more traditional ceremony would have been possible but with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in El Dorado County and the threat of another shutdown looming, graduates were given just the drive-by option. “I am looking forward to my next adventure at the University of Utah but I am thankful I had the chance to shut the door on my journey at Ponderosa,” said salutatorian Bailey Day.
“The ceremony, especially in its scaled-down version, was even more important to my parents and my sisters. They wanted to see me walk and not miss the opportunity to record my salutatorian speech. They were right — it felt good to have my final Bruin hoorah and, more importantly, a final shout out to everyone who supported me along the way.” Bailey’s mom Kathy, who worked behind the scenes on the Ponderosa senior send-off held in June, said, “The drive-by graduation was not what we imagined that event would bring us four years ago, but the year 2020 has required us to be overly flexible in order to keep our wits. Watching Bailey walk across the stage and throw out the peace sign made me laugh and realize life is made of memorable moments and right then we got what was so needed — closure. Thank you to Ponderosa for that opportunity.” Evan Callejo, who plans to study computer science at California State University, Sacramento, said he would have preferred a traditional graduation ceremony. “I appreciate the effort but I wish we could have had a normal graduation.” Grad Elisa Becketti said she was “happy to be graduating,” and grad Katie Bloomquist put it quite simply — “Excited to be done.”
Firefighters’ training day turns into real-life rescue Noel Stack Editor Everyone just wanted to go home — fate had another plan. After days of training on the American River at the confluence in the Auburn area, El Dorado Hills firefighters were tired. They talked of skipping lunch on that last day in late June but Sierra Rescue International instructor Tim Warren insisted they take a break before the final lesson. The scenario: A swimmer stuck on the rocks amidst the roaring rapids and swift water. The reality: While getting geared up the firefighters saw Warren rush past them. They looked down toward the water and then heard someone scream. A 3-year-old boy was under the water and his father was struggling to reach him. “The boy’s eyes were wide,” recalled El Dorado Hills Fire Capt. Brian Wilkey. “You could tell he was drowning.” Instinct and all the lessons the team had learned in the previous days kicked in. Firefighters positioned themselves upstream and downstream, Wilkey said. A rope was tossed to the desperate father and with the help of a couple rescuers the two victims were pulled to safety. n
See Firefighters, page A7
1 DENTIST!
We Understand Commitment
#
Three Years Straight!
Democrat photo by Noel Stack
El Dorado Hills Fire Capt. Brian Wilkey, Capt. Ben Cowles, firefighter Ray Phillips, firefighter Mark Netherton, firefighter Greg Hartman and firefighter Brad Willock, left to right, received special recognition for assisting in a river rescue last month. Also honored but not present were firefighter Kris Jower and Sierra Rescue instructor Tim Warren.
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