SHOP,EATLOCAL: Farmers markets still going MORE IN FOOD L DRINK:FoodbyJude: Johnny Appleseed had it right - make pancakes, B1 INSIDE: Snapshots,BS
THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
lucero trial
A special thank you to Union Democrat subscriber Jenny Morrison,of Sonora
Iiry ei eration i eyto eiinmi -wee Instead, she found Lucero in the shower with her husWhen Yvonne Yniguez band and then opened up her home to Cheryl later saw him Lucero in November 2012, i mplicated i n she thought she was taking a murder she in a woman who wanted to knew he did not Luc ero escape her past. commit. By TORI THOMAS
TODAY 'S REABiRBOA RB
The Union Democrat
BRIEFING
That was the testimony Yniguez offered Monday in Lucero's trial for the Feb. 16, 2014, murder of Sonora Police Department volunteer Rick Roberts. Lucero and Roberts, who was married, were involved in an aff 'airbefore Lucero went to live with
Joe and Yvonne Yniguez. Throughout Monday's testimony, Lucero, pen in hand, jotted down notes on a yellow legal pad. She looked down most of the day, occasionally glancing up at the jury of four men and eight women. Yvonne Yniguez, called
BlgfOOt — The Dadgum Button Show was held on Saturday at Columbia State Historic Park.A2
Accord reached
Pic of the WeekTo submit your original photos, email a highresolution jpg file to editor I uniondemocrat. corn. Include a caption with information about the photo. Please, no more than one submission per month per photographer. This weekly feature typically runs Tuesdays.A2
Weight loss enabled man to help others
Flood damage-
By LACEY PETERSON
Authorities have no sus pects in a Friday night flooding on two floors of the old Tuolumne General Hospital in Sonora.A3
The Union Democrat
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in quarry By ALEX MacLEAN The Union Democrat
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OPlnlOn — Hugeoil company gains a sign of gas price gouging; When child sex abuse gets ignored.A4
BOdy fOund -An adult man's body was found Saturday afternoon in a rural area off Winton Road in West Point.AS
Both sides in a d ebate over the proposed expansion of a limestone quarry near Columbia appear to have reached a compromise that will allow the project to move forward. The Tuolumne County Planning Commission on Monday approved a conditional use permit for Blue Mountain Minerals to expand the area where the mining company can dump processed rock and soil at its mine off Marble Quarry Road. A condition was added prior to the meeting that outlines how the company plans
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Some years ago, Geoffrey Tillman was told he had 0negative blood — a double negative that means he is a universal donor. The staff' at the blood bank called his "pure blood" or "baby blood," he said. He could donate for infants. When he presented his donor card at a more recent blooddrive,the nurses "just about went crazy," with happiness, he said. But he was turned away because his blood pressure was too high. Tillman at the time was 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed 296 pounds.
Upcoming events in the Mother Lode.A3
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to maximize the use of its ex-
isting48-acre fillzone before moving ontothe new area, which opponentshave argued would destroy 27 acres of oak woodland. John Buckley, of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, said he vowed to withdraw opposition, after settling on the condition with the county and mining company over the weekend. "I often hear emotional criticism about those who won't try to find compromise and solutions," he said. This
'The nurse was about to
cry," he said. "They had multiple orders in for intensive care blood packs for babies." That was early 2013.
ATM theft —An ATM was stolen from inside the Loggers Club in Tuolumne.AS
It was the final straw that
made Tillman take charge of his health and life. Tillman knew he wasn' t healthy. He'd struggled with his weight since junior high
SPORTS • CATS READY TO GO:TheSonora Wildcats volleyball team played a foundation game Mondaynight. C1 • SWIMMING:TCAM strong in two open water events.C1 • MLB: Canha bomb lifts A' s.C1 • NFL: Seattle still favorite in NFC West; Amari Cooper gets Raiders fans' attention. C13
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See QUARRY / Back Page
'Hometown hero' returns to Tioga High School as teacher Cce
while he completes the last semesterof his credential at California State University, The new Tioga High School Stanislaus. scienceteacher isno stranger The 2009 graduate and forto the Groveland campus. mer Mountain Valley League In fact, the once-celebrated MVP for basketball, baseball high school athlete — turned and soccer was still adjusting scientist — will teach &om to campus last week. "It's strange," said Hilton. the same room where he sat "The principal was my high as a student six years ago. Billy Hilton, 24, will teach school coach, and my colscience and drama part-time leagues are my old teachers." By SEAN CARSON The Union Democrat
A DUI checkpoint is scheduled for Sept. 5 in Angels Camp. An incorrect date appeared in the weekend edition of The Union Democrat.
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Maggie Beck1 Union Democrat
Geoffrey Tillman has donated more than three gallons of blood to the infant program at Delta Blood Bank.
CORRECTION
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debate
News Notes-
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See TRIAL / Back Page
Plannini Commission
THREE-GALLON BLOOD DONOR
Buttons and
by the prosecution, testified Monday inTuolumne County Superior Court that she met Lucero through her husband, Joe, 64. The couple has been married for 25 years. Lucero moved into the Yni-
Maggie Beck /Union Democrat
Tioga High School science teacher Billy Hilton (right) does a science experiment with his freshman students (from left) Mark Grasso, 14, Merana Haven, 15, Audrey Simmons, 14, Sierra Miller, 15.
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The Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District hired Hilton for one year after he obtained a special permit designedto get professionals working toward a credential into the classroom early, known as a short-term staff permit, said Superintendent Dave Urquhart. Hilton earned a Bachelor of
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