Home » eldorado » Recent Articles:

Pondo grad tapped for AF Academy

June 15, 2010 eldorado No Comments

By Rosemary Revell

Democrat staff writer

Jordan Rader, 18, of Shingle Springs has received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition, he has been recruited for the academys water polo team.

Rader, a graduate of Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, became interested in attending college at the Air Force Academy at the end of his freshman year.

My parents really supported the idea, Rader said.

I started the application process at the end of my sophomore year on the Internet. I filled out an application of interest, he said.

Rader indicated that the application of interest was merely the first step in what he called a long process.

After indicating his interest, Rader began receiving materials from the Air Force Academy.

At the end of my junior year, I really got serious. he said.

In the September of his senior year, Rader had an interview with an admission liaison officer.

The interview lasted for three and a half hours because we started discussing all kinds of things, like water polo, not just the interview topics, said Rader who appeared to have found the interview entertaining and fun as opposed to stressful.

When I went through CFA (Candidate Fitness Assessment), they were impressed with my basketball throw, how far I threw the ball. The water polo coach was impressed by my swimming time. I got the call in November that I was recruited for the water polo team, and shortly after that, I got the congressional nomination from Congressman Tom McClintock, Rader said.

Rader said that he will receive his education, room and board and a monthly pay allowance as well as medical and dental care.

While Im at the academy, my days will be completely scheduled. Ill have classes in the morning, three hours of water polo practice in the afternoon while the others are in physical education, and then study in the evenings, Rader said.

Rader is planning on majoring in either military strategic studies or space operation and after four years will earn a Bachelor of Science degree at the academy. He will graduate as a commissioned officer.

After graduation, hopefully I will have qualified for pilot training. I want to fly. Thats my plan, said Rader.

Water polo

connection

Rader started swimming when he was 6 years old and playing water polo in the seventh grade. He became a starter on the Ponderosa water polo team in the ninth grade.

I received two individual records on the high school team, and I was part of three relays that were record breaking, said Rader.

Rader stated that in the four years he attended Ponderosa, the water polo team rewrote the entire mens record board.

There are no records older than 2009, so at least we are leaving a little legacy behind, Rader said and added that seven of the high school records he broke together with his best friend Ryan Pickett were league records.

Had Rader not been committed to college education at a military academy, he had other options. He has been accepted at the University of California, Davis, been offered a scholarship at the University of the Pacific in Stockton and been admitted to Occidental College in Anaheim and offered a place on Occidentals water polo team.

Had I not been accepted at the academy, I would have done ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) somewhere. Im just happy Ill come out the best officer I can possibly be, Rader said.

Rader is the son of Bill and Connie Rader of Shingle Springs.

To contact Rosemary Revell, e-mail rrevell@mtdemocrat.net or phone 530-344-5068.



State water management chief brings rain to Ag Tour

June 15, 2010 eldorado 4 Comments

By Roberta Long

Democrat correspondent

SLY PARK Since the theme of this years Agricultural Tour on Friday, June 4, was Got Water? it was only fitting that the guest speaker at lunch would be from the California Department of Water Resources. It was also fitting that the usual hot weather would be replaced by sprinkles and drizzles throughout the day.

Following a three-stop outdoor educational tour that required umbrellas, Baryohay Davidoff, Ph.D., chief of Ag Water Management & Financial Support, delivered a brief talk at Sly Park Retreat.

Davidoffs talk was cut short due to a bus breakdown that delayed tour members from reaching the lunch site for an hour. He had prepared a PowerPoint program, but since lunch was eaten at picnic tables he had to make do with a printed paper version. Nevertheless, since he had been on the trip from the beginning, he was game and imparted some interesting information from on high in the California water world, where he has spent the last 22 years.

The thrust of water management in the state is conservation and reducing per capita water use.

The tools demonstrated earlier in the day by Kirk Taylor, manager of the El Dorado Irrigation District Irrigation Management System, at Lava Cap Winery to measure moisture in the soil are tools with which Davidoff is familiar. At one time he had managed that program for the state.

There are 9 million acres in irrigated agriculture in California and 80,000 farms, for a total of a $120 billion agricultural economy.

The California Water Plan Update 2005 assumes that by 2040 California will have 54.8 million people, mostly in cities, based on California Department of Finance projections. The Climate Research Division predicts climate change resulting in higher ocean levels and more rain than snow in the high country, creating floods, drought and water shortages. Building more reservoirs is costly, leading to more expensive water, and has environmental consequences.

In 1995 state water use was 46 percent for environmental purposes, 43 percent for agriculture and 11 percent for urban uses. The forecast for 2020 is 46 percent environment, 39 percent agriculture and 15 percent urban.

Davidoff said that if we can improve agricultural water through efficient water management practices, we can save 900,000 acre-feet. Plus, if we can conserve urban water through recycling and other means, we can save another 1.5 million acre-feet of water.

Davidoff is in charge of financial support to encourage efficient use of agricultural water. He runs the grant and loan programs authorized by Proposition 13, a $1.97 billion bond passed in 2000, and Proposition 50, a $3.4 billion bond passed in 2005. One of the grants went to EID to convert an open canal to pipe.

The bond money also applies to urban uses and includes rebates on water efficient appliances and toilets for homes, schools and hospitals.

Other incentives for agricultural users are tiered water pricing and financial inducements for water transfers between farmers.

This year Davidoff will oversee $15 million in Proposition 50 Agricultural Water Use Efficiency grants.

At the end of the day, Davidoff said he enjoyed the tour even though it was a furlough day for him. A lot of people had interesting questions, and I learned more about water management in the forests. After my talk a teen-age girl who was there with her dad and mom came up to thank me and say she had learned a lot. I hope someday she thinks about going into this profession. She really made it all worthwhile for me.

Barbara Alby explains BOE

June 15, 2010 eldorado No Comments

By Chris Daley

Democrat staff writer

On Tuesday, California voters will be asked to elect someone as their districts representative on the state Board of Equalization. The BOE consists of five elected members. The State Controller is one, and each of the others represents one of four large districts statewide. El Dorado County is in the Second District, which extends from the Oregon border south to San Bernardino and represents about 9.5 million Californians.

Barbara Alby has held the post since late March as the acting member and is currently running for the job her former boss, Bill Leonard, resigned to accept a position appointed by the governor. By law, as Leonards chief deputy, she acquired his duties pending the next election.

Alby spoke to the Mountain Democrat Wednesday afternoon and shed some light on the BOE, noting that, contrary to what many people think, It has nothing to do with civil rights.

She described the BOEs multiple functions, the most significant of which is its role as a taxpayer advocate. The five-member board is the final appeals body for residents and businesses who have disputes regarding their taxes. Business taxes, income taxes, more than three dozen other kinds of taxes and fees are monitored and collected by the department. The BOE collects $53 billion a year that is used to operate state government services. As the monitoring agency for all property tax assessments throughout the state, the BOE conducts audits and reviews of county assessors at least every five years, setting and ensuring consistency and performance standards.

As the court of last appeal for disputes with the Franchise Tax Board, and after taxpayers have exhausted all other avenues of resolution, three of the five members can decide their fate. Alby explained that most cases get resolved before they get to the BOE, but the department will provide not only advocacy but also legal assistance to anyone who needs it.

Most people are not aware of the power of this body, Alby said. We set the rules and regulations for the process (of turning legislation into practical application).

The current board has two Republicans and two Democrats, each from districts that were drawn, that is gerrymandered, for partisan purposes, she said.

We are just as partisan as the Legislature. In fact, were as partisan at it gets. But we work well together, she said. Even as a conservative, I can agree on many areas with our most liberal board member… But we can disagree and still do the peoples business.

Alby acknowledged that she has grown tired of some of her Republican colleagues being in the party of No.

The board and its members are, like most public entities, strictly governed by and subject to the Brown Act. And Alby said the board members rarely talk to each other except within scheduled, official meetings.

Each member operates with a staff of 10 to 12, mostly civil service employees, but also two or three who serve at the will of the member. Alby described the BOE as very different from the Legislature where staff often are appointed for their political abilities. By contrast, she said board member staff must have very good technical skills.

Albys eight-year tenure as deputy chief has prepared her well for the role of board member, she said. As a politician, however, her career was forged in a number of unusual ways. Alby represented a Sacramento district in the state Assembly from 1993 until 1998. She said name recognition helped in her first win, because she had been a weekly commentator on Christian radio station KFIA for nine years. Her topics were secular and included conservative social issues, and she is credited with authorship of Megans Law after she joined the Legislature.

She described her adolescent self as a juvenile delinquent, high school dropout and in the late 60s, a mother on welfare. By the late 1970s, early 80s, she said she had married her Vietnam vet husband, eventually had five children, gone back to school and gotten her high school diploma, operated a concrete contracting business and was selling real estate.

Alby related the incident in which a friends daughter was taken by school authorities for family planning services, without informing the parents, as the spark that ignited her crusade to overturn the law under which parental consent could be ignored in such cases.

She said she became a regular thorn in the sides of legislators and government officials over the issue and eventually became familiar with how state politics works. Later, when she pitched the notion of doing a half-hour on the radio station, it was the parental consent law she most wanted to talk about.

Despite her solid, conservative credentials, Alby said she is a maverick who never was the choice of establishment Republicans, because I never shied away from disagreeing with the party when I thought it was the right thing to do.

Alby urges District 2 residents to contact her any time they have problems or concerns regarding taxes or fees on any issue from boats to paint to sales tax on out-of-state purchases. And she advised contact sooner rather than later, so she and her staff can better advocate on behalf of the taxpayer.

E-mail Chris Daley at cdaley@mtdemocrat.net or call (530) 344-5063.

Supes OK ambulance rate hike

June 15, 2010 eldorado No Comments

By Chris Daley

Democrat staff writer

Non-residents who need an ambulance in El Dorado County are going to have to pay a $200 fee for the service. Currently the rate is $25 for non-residents who accounted for just over 10 percent of ambulance users on the Western Slope last year. In South Lake Tahoe, however, non-residents make up more than 40 percent of calls.

The Public Health Division of the countys Health Services Department recommended the fee increase as part of a larger package of ambulance service fee adjustments that took effect June 1. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the request.

Compared to regional fire department-based ambulance services, El Dorado Countys rates were nearly 10 percent lower for Advanced Life Support services. ALS is designated at Level 1 or Level 2. The first applies to an emergency transfer to a hospital or air ambulance. Level 2 includes administration of at least three different medications or at least one procedure such as defibrillation or endotracheal intubation. Since 2008, the cost for Level 1 service had been $1,003. Level 2 was set at $1,085 for residents. As proposed, those rates went up to $1,114 and $1,174, respectively non-residents will pay the added $200.

Medicare and Medi-Cal account for just under 62 percent of all payments for ambulance services in the county, according to the county Health Department. Medicare, at 46.9 percent, represents the single largest payer. Other insurance pays 29 percent, while private payers make up the balance of about 9 percent.

Health Services Director Neda West delivered the ambulance rate review to the board at a special meeting May 24 following a presentation titled Two Year Achievement Report detailing emergency calls for medical aid. Both presentations drew heavily on data gathered by the Citygate Associates consulting group.

Fire Chiefs Brian Veerkamp and Greg Schwab, along with Marty Hackett, executive director of the Joint Powers Authority for the county, compiled and presented information on the number of calls for emergency aid and the time it took from first contact to arrival on-scene. The data represent calendar years 2008 and 2009.

There were 13,405 calls for medical aid throughout the county in 2009, down slightly from 13,472 the previous year, the report noted. The JPA also showed results from a 17-month study of response times within a matrix of four geographic/demographic zones: Urban; Semi-Rural; Rural; and Wilderness.

Citygate noted in its report that for both the Tahoe Basin and the countys Western Slope the response time performance … comes very close to meeting best practice for the suburban and rural areas covered.

Response in urban areas averaged 11 minutes; in semi-rural areas, 16 minutes; rural areas were calculated at 24 minutes for an average response time. Wilderness or remote regions averaged 90 minutes per response from dispatch to arrival on the scene.

Hackett explained during a phone interview this week that response times can be calculated in different ways, one of which is a census track that sets standards for the different areas based on geography, environmental and road conditions, population density and any other factors affecting access.

The fire-based ambulance service is coordinated through the Cal-Fire Emergency Command Center in Camino. In his report to the board, he noted that in 2009, the Camino center took a total of 104,459 calls and dispatched 27,315 incidents. Serving both El Dorado and Amador counties, the center dispatched an average of 75 calls per day. El Dorado accounted for an average of 37 medical aid calls every day.

Hackett is especially proud of how his teams handled the big snow storm last Dec. 7-8. His presentation noted that the Camino office fielded 1,386 calls resulting in 528 responses for fire, emergency medical services or hazardous materials issues. During that 48-hour period, there were up to 18 Medic units on duty, nine continuously.

He cited the fire-based model as significantly more comprehensive than a traditional ambulance-only service would be.

Fire-based emergency medical services is the hallmark of our system, he said. Our people are trained to work in all conditions and environments, some of which are pretty extreme. During the storm, they had to hike in to houses through snow and downed trees. We bring Advanced Life Support to where the patient is, and we can also help out with fires or whatever other emergency may arise. They really are multi-talented.

E-mail Chris Daley at cdaley@mtdemocrat.net or call (530) 344-5063.

Tahoe aims to get Amgen Tour

June 15, 2010 eldorado No Comments

By Adam Jensen

Tahoe Tribune

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE The eighth, and final, stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California wrapped up in Southern California May 23. But efforts are already under way to bring the first leg of the 2011 edition of the professional bike race to Lake Tahoe.

The Tour of California entered its fifth year in 2010, and typically includes elite athletes of the cycling world like Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and North Lake Tahoe Resort Association are drumming up community support for the race, an initial step in attracting the tour to Tahoe, said LTVA executive director Carol Chaplin on Thursday.

Douglas County commissioners approved a letter of support to bring the race to Lake Tahoes South Shore during a Thursday meeting. Chaplin said she hopes to get a similar item on the South Lake Tahoe City Councils June 8 agenda.

What we need to do is demonstrate to Amgen the level of community support, so thats the process right now, Chaplin said. That does not guarantee the tour selects us, but it lets them understand this is a community that is accepting of this event.

Next years host cities are expected to be announced at the end of June.

A change in the dates of the race from February to May this year was the major factor in making a Tahoe leg of the race a possibility, Chaplin said.

Avoiding rainy months, better positioning the tour on the professional bike racing calendar and showcasing all of California were the reasons the Tour of California switched from a winter to spring event, said Andrew Messick, president of tour owner AEG Sports, at a press conference prior to the start of this years race.

In February you know California is a mountainous state theres just a lot of terrain that is inaccessible due to snow and cold and shifting to May will open up the Sierra Nevada, various mountain tops and areas like Lake Tahoe for the race, Messick said.

Despite a planned closure of Highway 50 over Echo Summit next summer, such a high profile event could help area businesses during a traditionally slow time of year, Chaplin said. Caltrans expects to close the highway to replace its crumbling guard rail for approximately three weeks in April or May next summer, depending on weather conditions.

An estimated 15,000 people attended the opening of this years Tour of California in Nevada City this year, according to race organizers.

Other cities that have hosted Tour of California stages have placed the economic benefit between $1 million and $1.5 million, Chaplin said. National and international coverage of the event would also be pretty priceless for the area, Chaplin added.

But the bike race wont come free.

Host cities are financially responsible for several aspects of the race, including hotel rooms and meals for athletes and their support crews.

An exact cost estimate wasnt available Friday, but Chaplin said it would probably cost several hundred thousand dollars to fund tour requirements.

Bringing Stage 5 of this years Tour of California to Visalia cost about $100,000, according to an article in the Visalia Times-Delta.

Despite the cost, the prestige of the bike race could put it on the same level as the annual celebrity golf event at Edgewood-Tahoe Golf course, which attracted a a record 37,205 spectators over six days last year, Chaplin said.

The effort to bring the Tour of California to Lake Tahoe is in its initial phases and is working on a short timeline, but Chaplin is hopeful about securing the event for the region.

The community, so far, is really enthusiastic about the tour selecting us for one of their cities, but there are a few other hoops we have to jump through, Chaplin said.

New EDHS principal already on the job

June 15, 2010 eldorado 4 Comments

Special to the Democrat



El Dorado Union High School District announced the selection of Matthew Barnes as principal of El Dorado High School, replacing retiring Principal Jerry Smith. Barnes was selected by an extensive interview process with involvement from staff, parents, and students.

Barnes joined the district in 2001 as an English teacher at El Dorado High School for two years and served as a coach of the El Dorado High School Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team for a year.

He began his career in education as a student teacher of Social Studies and English at Clackamus High School, Oregon, and at Jackson Middle School in Portland. At Jackson, he also assumed the responsibilities for the Language, Literature, and Social Studies curricula.

Barnes has shared his time with family between Alaska and Oregon. In 2003, he moved to Alaska with his wife April where he served as an English and Honors English teacher and freshman class advisor at East Anchorage High.

In 2005, Barnes and his wife, an alumna of El Dorado High School, returned to El Dorado County upon his accepting the position of assistant principal at El Dorado High School. He was also appointed as the coordinator of the newly established Natural Resources Program and contributed to the effort to obtain a Secondary School Planning Grant for the planning phase of this new program. The planning grant was awarded in the amount of $35,000 and was extended by a three-year implementation grant. Barnes added responsibilities also included thinking outside the box when he established a Thursday afternoon detention run, providing students detention credit for coming out to run with him. Barnes said, This has turned out to be a great opportunity to connect with students in a different setting and promote some healthy lifestyle decisions.

Barnes holds a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Alaska; an Master of Arts Teaching from Lewis and Clark College in Portland with secondary endorsement in Language Arts and Social Studies; and a BA in History from the University of California at Berkeley. He holds an Administrative Credential and a Teaching License in Language Arts and Social Studies.

Barnes spent several years as a guide in Southeast Alaska, leading short and multi-day kayaking trips and as an instructor of kayak classes in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was an athletic letter winner while at Cal Berkeley, where he competed with the Cal crew rowing team. He has carried this love for the outdoors to El Dorado County, where he enjoys regularly competing in local marathons and cycling events.

Barnes and his wife April reside in Placerville with their three children. His newly appointed position will become effective in July.

Bacteria devastates county crops

June 15, 2010 eldorado 2 Comments

By Rosemary Revell

Democrat staff writer

This springs cold temperatures accompanied by rain, hail and frost have devastated the crops of El Dorado County. The spring that never was has created ideal conditions for two different strains of bacteria to thrive. They have attacked and damaged this years tree fruit crops, wreaking havoc in the lives and livelihoods of El Dorado County growers. The fimbulwinter meaning long-lasting or never-ending winter has meant that many growers could not win. Months of effort and expense have resulted only in blasted fruit.

Lynn Wunderlich, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor, described the crop damage in El Dorado County as very, very bad.

It is heartbreaking, she said. There was nothing any of the growers could do about it. Thats agriculture. We have to deal with the weather.

More bad news is that a further challenge awaits growers at harvest time. Cold weather now will delay the harvest by several weeks, leaving the growers vulnerable to damage by autumn storms.

As if all this is not challenge enough for the growers, theres a new fruit fly from Asia being found in El Dorado County.

Beasties that blast

Wunderlich explained the devastation caused by bacterial blast, the main culprit in the crop damage. The bacteria thrive and attack in the wet and the cold.

The main damage is from bacterial blast. This disease only comes in cold, wet conditions. We had one storm at the end of April and another May 10 that created the perfect conditions.

This kind of bacteria is all over, but it does not do any damage. It is normally present but not infectious. It is always associated with very cold temperatures and wet conditions.

I went and looked at 20 years of temperature data for the month of May. The last time it was this cold it was 1998.

This has really hurt the tree fruit peaches, plums and cherries, Wunderlich said.

Blast bacteria infections first appear as black lesions on the leaves that eventually wither, curl and drop. Even entire twigs may die back. Diseased areas are covered with a reddish brown scab. Blast infections result in small black spots on the fruit.

Wunderlich said she did not know why the bacteria have the name blast, but she grimly quipped that a blast infection makes the tree and its fruit look like they were hit by an atomic blast.

At this time, there is no spray or treatment to prevent or combat bacterial blast. Only warm weather alleviates the infection.

What the blast did not destroy, the hail damaged, and theres frost damage in the vineyards, Wunderlich said.

Tree fruit growers

David Fausel of Fausel Ranch in Placerville has 15 acres planted in cherry and peach trees.

Fausel said, Theres been bacterial canker in the trees for years. Thats common, but Ive never seen it like this. What were cherries are gone. Its a wipe-out. It came right in the middle of the bloom. We had a beautiful bloom. The fruit was set, and then it rained, and it didnt quit.

Fausel said he has lost about two-thirds of his crop.

Chris Hoover of Hooverville Orchards in Placerville said the only thing that has saved him has been diversification.

Some things are OK because there was a window of good weather, but other crops are hammered. The cherries sustained hail damage, Hoover said.

His main damage is fire blight in the Asian pear trees.

The bacteria keep thriving, so we keep cutting off the pear tree limbs. There was fruit on the trees, and we had already started thinning it. Now were cutting off the limbs. It was a lot of effort for nothing. When it really gets hot, the heat kills off the bacteria. It will be three to five years before these trees show some fruit. Ive lost half the crop. It has happened before, 15 years ago. We save as much as we can. At least we knew what to do. Im blessed with diversification. I have a large bag of tricks. In 31 years, this is the ugliest fruit Ive ever seen, Hoover said.

Shirley and Reginald Rice of American River Cherry Co. in Placerville described much blossom damage to the cherries due to the several freezes during the blossoming time. Theres snow and hail damage to even the small amount of fruit there was, and water damage to the cherries.

The good news is that the Rice berry crop is perfect though very delayed.

We always open on Memorial Day, but this year were opening on June 15. Weve never opened on June 15 before, Shirley said.

Wine grape growers

Although some wine grape growers escaped the worst of the devastation, Sid Davis of Georgetown reported losing 75 percent of his crop. He grows at 2,700 feet.

Tom Jones, winemaker at Lava Cap Winery in Placerville, reported damage to 1 percent of his merlot crop.

They were planted where the cool air pools, Jones said.

Liz Ryan, business manager of Oakstone Winery in Fair Play, said, We havent had any damage. We fared well. Were in a little banana belt. We were really sweating it, but during the last rainy spell, there were not enough buds to be hurt. Were very relieved.

Greg Boeger of Boeger Winery in Placerville said, All of mine survived. I did frost protection by running sprinklers all night long at the higher elevations, 3,000 feet. I had a little hail damage; the leaves were shredded, but it didnt hurt the forming grapes though I did have some grape damage. What this really means is that were two to three weeks behind. With a late harvest, we could get rain on the other end.

New bug on the block

Deanna and David Fausel of Fausel Ranch said that in addition to the weather and bacteria, the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program is telling growers to be alert for the spotted wing drosophila or spotted wing fruit fly. Unlike other fruit flies, this one burrows into healthy fruit instead of damaged fruit. Once there, the female lays eggs that hatch into maggots. The damaged fruit is now vulnerable to other fruit flies as well as bacterial infections. This fly comes from Asia, the Fausels said. It is very prolific and can destroy a crop. The Fausels have been trapping the spotted fruit fly in jars of water.

Especially disheartening is that berries have come through this springs crop devastation safely, but they are vulnerable to the spotted fruit fly.

Although the spotted fruit fly is potentially devastating to a crop, there is one ray of hope.

At least its easy to spray for, David said.

To contact Rosemary Revell, e-mail rrevell@mtdemocrat.net or phone 530-344-5068.

Donate a pint of blood Wednesday

June 15, 2010 eldorado 10 Comments





Elder Options invites the community to join us for the second annual blood drive and resource fair on June 9. Drop by to see local resources for seniors and the disabled, and maybe even donate a pint of blood to the Marshall Community Blood Bank.

There will be many useful resources for seniors and those with disabilities, great information and give-aways. Last year the event collected much needed blood for the community while raising funds for the elder fund at the El Dorado Community Foundation.

The next 20 people who sign up to give blood receive a free raffle ticket for some great gifts. Call Elder Options to schedule an appointment.

Take advantage of a good time, exciting raffle prizes, helpful resources, live music and good causes. Come down to 82 Main St., Placerville, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Briggs buries 3 challengers

June 15, 2010 eldorado 14 Comments

By Noel Stack

Mother Lode News

Supervisor Ron Briggs will keep his seat for another four years.

District 4 voters didnt embrace the incumbent backlash gripping some parts of the country. More than 55 percent of them chose Briggs, 52, to continue representing them on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, according to county Elections semi-official report. Briggs closest competitor, Todd Schwenk, received less than 20 percent.

Thats a relief, said Briggs, who began his election night at the Republican headquarters in Placerville.

Nearly 43 percent of registered District 4 voters voted in the June primary; Briggs earned 4,780 votes.

Briggs first won the District 4 seat in 2006 against five other candidates. This time he had three opponents Schwenk, Wendell Smith and Shawn Gulling. Briggs credited his record, positive campaign and growing support.

I kept all my base supporters and I added the chambers (of commerce), developers, builders and Realtors, he said.

Schwenk, who has his own core Team Schwenk supporters, spent election night at home with family and friends. This is the second time Schwenk has run for the District 4 seat and, he said, it wont be the last.

Its an up and coming family industry of ours, Schwenk said of running for office.

The 48-year-old said he was surprised by early results and had hoped that more working voters would support him.

Work is the No. 1 word weve been talking about, Schwenk said. Our campaign was the only one talking about job creation.

In April El Dorado Countys unemployment rate stood at nearly 13 percent, according to the state Employment Development Department.

Recognizing the continuing challenges, Briggs said he sees his reelection as the voters way of saying hes on the right track and accurately representing District 4 constituents.

The item foremost on his mind this week is the county budget. The board began budget hearings Monday and will face many tough decisions. Briggs seemed confident, saying, Were putting the government to its right size. I think were doing things right.

75% of voters pick Judge Brooks

June 15, 2010 eldorado 5 Comments

By Jim Ratajczak

Democrat staff writer

El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Nelson K. Brooks won election Tuesday night, trouncing candidate Robert Huckabay in the polls.

The incumbent Brooks received 76 percent of the vote and will continue to serve as the countys District 9 judge on the Cameron Park bench.

I see my role as a judge to be the tireless and unswerving dedication to upholding the law and applying it fairly, without prejudice or preference, to everyone who appears before me, he said on his Website. I believe firmly that judges should interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.

Brooks was appointed to his position in 2009 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill the vacancy left by retiring Judge Eddie T. Keller.

Since taking office in Department 9 in Cameron Park I have worked hard to identify areas where costs could be cut and the courts service to our community improved by eliminating unnecessary, duplicative and expensive court appearances, said Brooks on his site.

Prior to serving as a Superior Court judge, Brooks spent 27 years as a trial attorney. He received his law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1982.

Huckabay, Brooks opponent, could not be reached for comment.

E-mail Jim Ratajczak at jratajczak@mtdemocrat.edu or call 530-344-5066.

Tags