Lincoln's 2020 in review

Editor's note: The Lincoln News Messenger annually highlights the top stories from the last 12 months. Reading the review's story summaries show Lincoln's changes, strengths and challenges it has faced this year locally as well as statewide and nationally. January Twelve Bridges residents continue to fight against hotel in court The grassroots Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel group is continuing its fight against the now approved La Quinta Hotel as the group filed a lawsuit against the city on Dec. 6, 2019. World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday with friends and family From a childhood during the Great Depression to serving in the Army during World War II and seeing the rise of the modern age, Tony "Stix" Bellacera has seen and accomplished plenty in 100 years. Today, Bellacera is just happy to be alive and stays active in Rotary Club of Lincoln, American Legion Post 264 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post Number 3010. "I never thought I could make it up to this point," Bellacera said about becoming a centenarian. The key to living a long life, according to Bellacera, is taking it one day at a time and not staying idle in life. Sun City Lincoln Hills will elect three members to its Board of Directors on Feb. 20 Terms are for two years. Only Lincoln Hills residents can vote. Lincoln City Council selects a final map for by-district voting Lincoln City Council selected a map during its fourth of five public hearings to change from at-large elections to by-district elections for City Council. The city is undergoing districting as Lincoln was found to be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act by Shenkman and Hughes Law Firm last October because the city had at-large voting. At-large voting is where candidates can receive votes from the entire voting population within the city as opposed to a specific district in the city. According to the California Voting Rights Act, at-large voting marginalizes the votes of protected classes, which in the case of Lincoln are Latino voters. Lincoln Knights of Columbus holds 15th annual Crabfest at McBean Park Pavilion The Crabfest is one of three major fundraisers hosted by the Knights each year. The others are the Luau in July and the Oktoberfest in October. City to finalize licensing agreement termination with theatre company Friday The city of Lincoln will go forward Friday with terminating the licensing agreement with the Lincoln Theatre Company and evicting the organization from the Civic Auditorium, according to Lincoln city attorney Kristine Mollenkopf. The theater company will then have two weeks to move its belongings out of the Lincoln Civic Auditorium, which is at 511 5th St. Placer County child's death linked to flu Placer County Public Health Department announced that a school-aged Placer County child recently died from complications of influenza. The child was previously healthy and died in a Placer County hospital, according to the Placer County Public Health Division statement. The flu-related death is the second reported this flu season in Placer County. The first victim was identified as a 75-year-old adult. 40-year board member to lead WPUSD school board This year, the Western Placer Unified School District board is led by 40-year board member Paul Long. Long said he is not running for reelection at the end of 2020, and to honor that, the board made him president. Long is looking forward to the opening of Leaman Elementary School at 1200 Brentford Circle this year, along with the Glen Edwards Middle School campus remodel being completed. Lincoln mayor looks to improve city's finances this year Lincoln Councilman Dan Karleskint became mayor Dec. 10 during his first term's final year and he said "there is still a lot more work to be done" before his term ends. Karleskint said he joined the council in 2016 with key missions that he wanted to accomplish. One of those missions Karleskint is working on is improving the tax-sharing agreements between the county, city and state education board. Karleskint said that the existing tax-sharing agreements do not help the city as only 7.8 percent of property and sales tax comes to the city. The remaining 92.2 percent goes to the county and the state education board, he said. Still time to register to vote in March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election In the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election, area voters will have races and measures to decide that directly impact them and Placer County. Lincoln voters have one congressional seat, one state senate seat, one state assembly seat and one measure to decide in this election. February City locks out Lincoln Theatre Company On Friday, Lincoln Theatre Company members found that the Civic Auditorium's locks were changed by the city and its theatrical equipment worth thousands of dollars was locked inside. The Lincoln Theatre Company has been at the Civic Auditorium since 2015 through a licensee relationship with the city. The Lincoln Theatre Company has invested more than $200,000 renovating the Civic Auditorium since 2015, according to Lincoln Theatre Company co-founder/executive director Paul Schechter in previous Lincoln News Messenger articles. On Oct. 1, 2019, Lincoln city attorney Kristine Mollenkopf issued a notice of termination of the licensing agreement with the Lincoln Theatre Company, which was created in 2015 and extended in 2018 to 2030. The city's termination letter stated that the theatre company was receiving a gift of public funds by the city paying its utilities, was not providing a detailed use schedule and was not paying prevailing wages for contracted work. The Civic Auditorium is at 511 5th St. in downtown Lincoln. Two Lincoln Hills residents sue association in ADA lawsuit Lincoln Hills residents Joanne Mitchell and Donna Szabados are suing Sun City Lincoln Hills Community Association over five violations related to the Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). WPUSD prepares for budget cuts after proposed state budget The Western Placer Unified School District board, reviewing Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed state budget for 2020-2021, are preparing for some budget cuts. The governor is proposing a 2.29-percent Cost of Living Adjustment for the 2020-2021 school year. A Cost of Living Adjustment is an increase of funding for schools from the state due to inflation, according to EdSource. The district was expecting a three-percent Cost of Living Adjustment for this year. With the lower proposed percentage, the district is expecting a reduction of $430,000 of base funding from the Local Control Funding Formula for the 2020-2021 school year. Are Lincoln students ready for college? Western Placer Unified School District staff recently reported that 47.1 percent of all high school juniors tested college- and career-ready, behind Roseville at 61.1 percent and Rocklin at 69.9-percent. The topic was discussed at the Jan. 21 Western Placer Unified School District board meeting, According to Lincoln High School Principal Mike Maul, the college- and career- readiness level of Lincoln High School alone is at 54.5 percent. "I was pretty surprised that our rate was pretty low," Lincoln High School Student Advisory representative Mattie Ridgway said. "I thought it would be a lot higher, just because we have a really great AVID program." LHS varsity girls' soccer coach fired On Feb. 4, Lincoln High School Principal Mike Maul fired girls' varsity soccer coach Garrett Morgan amidst controversy between the coach, some players and their parents. Morgan had coached the high school team for two years and has coached for 10 years. As the team prepares to return to playoffs, the girls will be led by former Lincoln High School varsity girls' soccer coach and current Lincoln High School junior varsity boys' soccer coach David Zinzun. Lincoln City Council approves creating Placer Conservation Authority After two decades of planning and negotiating between the city of Lincoln, Placer County and several state regulatory agencies, Lincoln City Council approved creating the Placer Conservation Authority. The Placer Conservation Authority will be a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement between the city of Lincoln and the Placer County Board of Supervisors. The conservation authority will oversee implementing the Placer County Conservation Plan that will place 47,300 acres of wildlands for mitigation of future commercial developments. Sparks fly at Twelve Bridges High School Construction is continuing on the 71,000-square-foot student center at the under-construction Twelve Bridges High School at 2360 Fieldstone Drive, which is next to the Lincoln Public Library. According to Flint Construction Project Manager Mark Mennucci, about three-quarters of the steel needed for the two-story student center is up. Carlin C. Copin to see summer road improvements Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School will receive a new frontage road this summer after the Western Placer Unified School District board of trustees gave a temporary construction easement onto the property to JEN California 14 construction company. According to school district Superintendent Scott Leaman, the construction company will improve the road as part of the new housing development being built between 9th and 12th streets. The project will also include a new sidewalk extending from the corner of East Avenue and 12th Street to the end of 12th Street. Leaman said that the development project will also provide a second entry and exit point for the school. A new road will connect between 9th Street and 12th Street along the backside of Gladding, McBean. When completed, the road and sidewalks in front of the school will be handed over to the district from the developer without any cost to the district, except for future road maintenance and sidewalks, according to Leaman. March First cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Placer County Following the first death March 4 in the second confirmed case of COVID-19 in Placer County, it is important for residents to understand as much as possible with regard to this new strain of virus, according to health experts. This is not a cold. This is not the flu. Being a new strain of infection means there is no vaccine and a mode of treatment has yet to be defined, other than supportive care. The deadly coronavirus now spreading internationally is called COVID-19, which is an abbreviation of CO for "corona," VI for "virus," and D for "disease." Symptoms include fever, cough and difficulty breathing as with other mild to severe respiratory illnesses. Baseball season - spring training in Lincoln? Baseball spring training doesn't just occur in Florida and Arizona. Spring training is alive and well right here in Lincoln, thanks to the combined efforts of the Lincoln Potters and the Lincoln Little League officials. The Potters and the Lincoln Little League have neighboring stadiums on the west side of McBean Regional Park. McBean Stadium serves as the home field for both the Lincoln Potters and for William Jessup University. Schools take action against COVID-19 As the number of COVID-19 cases are increasing throughout the region the last two weeks, schools are updating their plans to try to keep students and staff healthy. Some regional school plans are dependent on three scenarios defined by the California Department of Public Health. Some plans have sports games still happening but without the regular fans there or theater productions without the public at large in the audience. The Placer County Office of Education's order March 13 closed all public schools because of COVID-19. Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman said that this is the first time in his 27 years at the district that he remembers the schools being closed for such a long period of time. "I think this experience will teach students how fragile life can be," Leaman said. Tobacco-prevention education coming to Lincoln High Lincoln's current and future high school students could be safer from tobacco use as a full-time school resource officer focused on tobacco-use prevention will be on campus within the next few months. The officer is being funded by a $372,628 grant through the California Department of Justice's Tobacco Grant Program approved by Lincoln City Council. The grant money is scheduled to last for three years, according to the staff report. According to Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee, the Police Department is planning on assigning a current officer to the new position, which might delay the program's start for a few months. Lincoln airport seeking proposals for potential reimaging The city of Lincoln put the Lincoln Regional Airport's future out to bid on Feb. 24 as it looks for fixed-base operator(s) to propose plans to update and reimagine what the Lincoln airport could be. A fixed-base operator is given permission by the airport to provide all services, including refueling, hangering, tie-down, aircraft rental and aircraft maintenance. This is not the first time that the city has released a request for proposals for the airport, according to Lincoln Public Works director Ray Leftwich. "We had a bunch that went out during the recession and we tended to get proposals back that fell into one of two categories, one was basically a maintenance operation contractor to do basically the same thing we are doing now and it invariably cost even more," Leftwich said. "Or we get proposals where they would come in and run the airport and make the profit and the city would invest money." Some local watering holes ignore Newsom's request to close Many area bars, nightclubs, wineries and brew pubs in Placer County are scrambling after California Gov. Gavin Newsom advised March 15 that all these establishments should close to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Newsom was confident that the venues would close for the public's safety. "If you want to establish a framework of martial law, we have the capacity to do that but we are not at this moment feeling that is a necessity," Newsom said. On March 16, Newsom advised that all restaurants in the state close their inside dining rooms and switch to pick-up or delivery operations. Placer County has scores of restaurants and bars, along with nearly 40 breweries and wineries. Lincoln declares local emergency The city of Lincoln entered into a local emergency, due to COVID-19, during an emergency meeting March 17 as Lincoln City Council unanimously approved the proclamation to do so. To be in line with social distancing measures, the council held a teleconference in the Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall at 600 6th St. According to Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson, the local emergency level will be lifted when either the state or the federal government are the last to do so. During the local emergency, Hanson will have increased authority over city operations such as reducing staffing levels, ordering the closure of facilities and waiving utility fees. SPCA dog adoptions temporarily stopped Placer SPCA adoptions are on hold, due to Gov. Gavin Newsom's order for Californians to stay at home to reduce the spread of COVID-19, according to the SPCA's Sarah Johnson. Increased police presence with less people on street As business owners lock up shop and foot and road traffic decreases throughout the state due to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's order March 19 for all Californians to shelter in place, more police officers are on patrol in some areas. The Lincoln Police Department is conducting extra patrols around business and shopping centers that are closed. "We have directed staff to concentrate their efforts on retail businesses where flared tempers may lead to problems during the hours they are open and all businesses that may be closed (day and night) because of the executive order," Lincoln Police Chief Doug Lee said. The Lincoln Police Department also posted a notice on Facebook to be wary of fake websites disguised to provide COVID-19 information that are really stealing your personal information. Sac State expanding to Placer County with major land donation California State University at Sacramento hit a major checkpoint March 24 in the school's quest to expand east and create a new campus in Placer County. Plans nearly two decades in the making took a big step forward after the California State University Board of Trustees approved creation of the new campus and accepted a land gift donation from billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad. The Placer County Board of Supervisors partnered with Broad's company, Placer Ranch, Inc., to provide the infrastructure needed for the new state university site. April Placer County COVID-19 cases rise to 41 The number of COVID-19 cases in Placer County increased from 30, as of March 26, to 41 as of March 27. According to Placer County Health officials March 27, 37 percent of Placer County cases are between ages 18 to 49, 34 percent of cases are between ages 50 to 65 and 29 percent of cases are ages 65 and over. The areas in the county where the virus has been found include Auburn, Carnelian Bay, Granite Bay, Kings Beach, Lincoln, Loomis, Newcastle, Olympic Valley, Rocklin and Roseville, according to the Placer County Health Department. Placer County Health Official Dr. Aimee Sisson said on March 24 that the number of cases in the county would continue to rise as more tests were conducted. The first reported death was a Rocklin man on March 4. On March 28, Placer County Public Health reported Sunday that a second resident died of COVID-19 The person, an elderly adult with several underlying health conditions, was from south Placer County. Rotary Club cancels April blood drive but residents can still donate Rotary Club of Lincoln's April 24 Blood Drive has been canceled, because of the mandatory COVID-19 "Shelter in Place" directive. Vitalant and other blood centers across the country are struggling to maintain stable inventories and avoid a critical blood shortage. The need for blood donors is increased with blood drives being canceled throughout the United States, according to Vitalant, which cosponsors the Rotary blood drives and has 127 donation centers nationwide. Jones secures District 4 County Supervisor seat in final vote Suzanne Jones won the District 4 Placer County Board of Supervisors seat from Kirk Uhler, and the other two incumbent supervisors, Cindy Gustafson and Jim Holmes, kept their seats, as the Placer County Elections Office released the final vote count for the 2020 President Primary Election on April 2. Local sewists take on COVID-19 Throughout Placer County, many kitchen tables and dining rooms have become make-shift workstations as quilters and sewists make masks and gowns for heavily-impacted and undersupplied medical facilities. With the increased demand on the medical field as the number of COVID-19 cases grows throughout the country and the state, many healthcare facilities are low on supplies such as masks and gowns. In Placer County, an army of passionate sewists, quilters and seamstresses has come together over the last week, making masks and gowns to provide relief for medical professionals. WPUSD continues to work out kinks of distance learning It has now been nearly three weeks since the Placer County Office of Education closed all schools in the county and had schools begin to transition to remote teaching and learning options. In Lincoln, Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman said the transition went well as teachers were given five days to prepare at home course material to provide distance learning. Lincoln parks' playgrounds closed, parks open Lincoln officials placed many more restrictions and carried out more closures of playgrounds, athletics fields and other parks facilities the first week of April in an effort to slow the COVID-19 spread. These actions coincide with the California Department of Parks and Recreation announcement that all 280 state parks will be closed to vehicular traffic and several parks will be completely closed. The city announced that all playground, basketball courts and other park facilities will close. Sutter nurses voice frustration with lack of COVID-19 protection A group of nurses from Sutter Roseville Medical Center lined a section of East Roseville Parkway for a candlelight vigil April 1 to bring public awareness about the conditions they are facing while treating COVID-19 patients. Between 50 to 60 nurses, family members and friends lined the intersection of East Roseville Parkway near the main entrance of the hospital along Sunrise Avenue. Do's and don'ts of facial coverings With the Placer County Health Department recommending on April 2 for everyone to wear facial coverings when outside, some residents are unsure how to use facial coverings. "The purpose of these face coverings is to protect other people, not necessarily to protect yourself," Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. Sisson said that the virus spreads through respiratory fluids, such as mucus, and covering your nose and mouth reduces the chances of those fluids spreading. Placer County schools closed for 2019-2020 school year The Placer County Office of Education announced April 3 that all schools in Placer County will be closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. Two days before, all the county's superintendents and Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson held a conference call meeting to decide if schools would close for the rest of the year. According to the Placer County Office of Education's Facebook post, this decision was made based on guidance from Sissson. COVID-19 robs seniors of milestone events Senior year is not only the final year of high school but also includes many first and last high school experiences. COVID-19 has taken many of those milestone moments from the Class of 2020. More than 300 Fighting Zebras will not have Sober Grad Night, Senior Prom, Senior Field Day and will not enjoy their final school days in a Lincoln High classroom with classmates they've known since middle and elementary school. Positivity rings through Passover and Easter adjustments The 2020 Passover and Easter celebrations will certainly have a different feel this year. Families and communities that traditionally gather for the annual holidays must now adjust to social distancing and stay-at-home recommendations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the "unique" feel to this year's holidays, several local service leaders say it's not all that bad. Most places of worship have transitioned to online services to connect their members through this distancing period. COVID-19 deaths at seven for Placer County, as of April 15 On April 15, the Placer County Health Division reported a total of seven COVID-19 related deaths in Placer County. This is an increase of two deaths from two day's prior count of five. All seven COVID-19 deaths so far in Placer County have been people who are age 65 or older with underlying health conditions. Local antibody testing now available Dr. Eric Ellis and his Lincoln Urgent Care staff in Lincoln have conducted more than 300 antibody tests for the virus. Ellis began antibody testing on April 17 after finding a pharmaceutical lab in Southern California on the FDA's (Food and Drug Administration) Emergency Use list that had created a test. Golf courses reopen in South Placer as COVID-19 county order revised On April 16, Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson relaxed the COVID-19 stay-at-home order concerning golf courses, sports courts, dog parks and commercial gardening. Golf courses, sports courts and dog parks can reopen, as long as physical distancing guidelines are followed. Gardeners can also work again, as long as they follow physical distancing guidelines. LTC claims City Council conducted Brown Act violations On April 9, Lincoln Theater Company (LTC) Board President Stan Nader gave city staff claims on behalf of the theater company against the city of Lincoln for Brown Act violations, Public Records Act violations and withholding evidence. These claims are in relation to the city's decision on Oct. 1 and executed on Jan. 31 to end the licensing agreement it had with Lincoln Theater Company for use of the Civic Auditorium until 2030. The claim followed the theater company receiving about 500 emails in late February and late March that it had made a Public Records Act request for on Dec. 3, according to Nader. These emails include correspondence between city officials, City Council members, former and current theater company members and the respective parties' attorneys. On April 16, Lincoln City Attorney Kristine Mollenkopf denied all claims against the city in a letter to the theater company's attorney John Knowlton of the Burton Law Firm in Sacramento. May Placer County begins to reopen California Gov. Gavin Newsom at his Monday COVID-19 briefing said that the state will now begin to slowly transition into Phase 2 of the reopening plan. "We are entering into the next phase this week, end of the week," Newsom said Monday. "With modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum." That means many retailers are expected to be permitted to reopen Friday, including but not limited to clothing stores, bookstores, florists, toy stores and sporting goods. The phased reopening is expected to include limitations such as curbside pickup, social distancing and heavy sanitation. Area municipalities are also reopening public facilities while implementing social distancing measures. WPUSD creates distance learning task force Physically distancing, the Western Placer Unified School District board of trustees conducted a teleconference meeting where updates were provided on the state of the district during the shutdown. A distance learning task force is in the process of being created, according to Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services Kerry Callahan. Lincoln High to have virtual graduation It is official: Lincoln High School's Class of 2020 will have a virtual graduation. Lincoln High Principal Mike Maul emailed parents and students Informing them of the decision made by the district. "We know that this is going to be disappointing to many of you - believe us, we are disappointed to not have a full-fledged graduation ceremony as well," Maul wrote in the email. "But, given the pros and cons of the various options, this decision makes the most sense for us." Placer medical industry hurting from COVID-19 California's economy has suffered, along with the rest of the country, due to the COVID-19 shutdown, and the medical industry is not immune from this impact. As surge tents popped up and COVID-19 response teams were formed, it seemed like the medical industry would be busier than ever with the incoming surge of COVID-19 patients. The opposite has occurred in Placer County, according to area medical professionals, as urgent care center and hospital representatives find themselves with hardly any patients and informing residents that it is OK to get care. Stay-at-home order still in effect during Stage Two Scores of area businesses are reopening the third week of May, after the California Department of Public Health's permission to reopen under Stage Two of the California Pandemic Resilience Roadmap. On March 19, Californians were given the never-before-issued order to lower the number of infections and fatalities from COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, so hospitals and other healthcare facilities would not be overwhelmed. The order immediately closed schools, most businesses except those defined as essential, churches and entertainment venues to the public. For counties to safely reopen under the California Roadmap to Modify the Stay-at-Home Order, there are four stages. Placer County is now in the latter part of Stage Two. While Placer County was one of the first four counties in the state given permission May 12 to reopen more types of businesses, the county is far from being able to fully open. And the March 19 stay-at-home orders are still in place for all residents, unless they're working or shopping at allowed businesses or engaging in essential activities. WPUSD faces largest budget cut in 29 years The Western Placer Unified School District board of trustees was faced with a grim reality when it was announced that $6.1 million must be cut from next year's budget due to the COVID-19 impact on state revenues. The majority of the school district's funding is from the state through the Local Control Funding Formula. In January, the Western Placer Unified School District was expecting to receive a cost-of-living adjustment of 2.1 percent from the state. During the May revision, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he proposed to offer that 2.1 percent but he would cut Local Control Funding by 10 percent. WPUSD says no control over senior photo day Not pandemic, nor quarantine nor rain kept Lincoln High School's Class of 2020 from celebrating their senior year together, as nearly 100 Fighting Zebras braved the elements Sunday to get one last group photo together. Lincoln High School parents arranged the informal photo day at the end of Aviation Boulevard so their seniors had a chance to see each other all together for possibly the last time this school year. Lincoln High School's not-sanctioned senior photo day on May 17 went viral, due to the lack of physical distancing performed by both parents and students. About 100 students were in the weekend photo with an equal number of family and friends behind the scenes along Aviation Boulevard to have one last in-person gathering of the Lincoln High Class of 2020. There are about 450 graduating seniors this year. Could the city or the school district have done anything to stop or control the situation? According to Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee, his officers can give citations for violating a health order. "While the Police Department has the ability to issue citations for violation of a health order, we certainly hope that won't be necessary," Lee said. "LHS (Lincoln High School) and WPUSD (Western Placer Unified School District) administrators are better positioned to identify students and parents in order to reach out to request compliance." Both school district Superintendent Scott Leaman and Lincoln High Principal Mike Maul said off-campus gatherings are not in their control. June 400 fighting Zebras walk the stage Lincoln High School conducted the Class of 2020's drop off and stage walk day Friday, providing seniors the opportunity to walk the stage in their caps and gowns while social distancing. According to Lincoln High School Principal Mike Maul, 400 out of 445 seniors were at the event. The event coordinated with the school supply drop-off day for the senior class, allowing the school to control how many seniors were on campus at one time as they came to campus in alphabetical groups. South Placer continues to see rise in COVID-19 cases Entering Stage Three of the California Pandemic Resilience Roadmap after state public health officials gave the OK, Placer County's confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased by 215 additional cases from June 1 to June 18. The number of confirmed cases June 1 was 217. As of June 17, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Placer County is 432. "As various sectors reopen, people are moving more throughout the community, thus increasing their chances of exposure," Placer County Public Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. "Public Health expects to see more cases as additional sectors reopen." Lincoln City Council approves 2020/21 budget Lincoln City Council approved the budget for fiscal year 2020/21 on June 9 and the city expects to see some revenue shortfalls and expenditure cuts, due to COVID-19 impacts on the local and state economies. "We are looking at a total decrease of $1.4 million in actual General Fund revenue from the 2019/20 projections," Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson said. According to Hanson, the city is expecting to receive at least $1.16-million less sales tax revenue for the 2019/20 fiscal year than it did during the 2018/19 fiscal year. The city is also planning to not collect any of the $340,000 in transient occupancy tax from the city's single hotel. The city is preparing to start the next fiscal year on July 1 with a $2.1 million balance in the General Fund with supporting funds coming from the city's reserves of $19.5 million, according to Hanson. Western Placer gives annual awards As the school year is ending, Western Placer Unified School District board of trustees honored those retiring from the district and awarded district employees for being top of the class this year. Typically, the awards would be handed out in person and a party would be thrown at the meeting to celebrate everyone, but as the meeting was virtual because of COVID-19 restrictions, that was not possible. Peaceful June 3 protesters in Lincoln seek change At least 100 peaceful protestors for the Black Lives Matter movement Wednesday lined the intersection of 5th Street and Lincoln Boulevard in downtown Lincoln to honor and seek justice for 46-year-old George Floyd. Floyd, a black man, died May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis after he allegedly paid for cigarettes at a deli with a counterfeit $20 and police were called to the scene by the shopkeeper, according to the New York Times. Placer County supes approve to rescind delegation of authority The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution amendment to rescind the delegation of authority to end the local health emergency by the county health officer in a unanimous vote June 23. The Health and Safety Code, Section 101080, and the governor's emergency proclamation, authorize the legal authority to the Board of Supervisors to make the decision to terminate the local health emergency declared due to COVID-19. The amendment does not remove Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson's authority, as she would still be authorized to make recommendations to the board and to make another proclamation if warranted by the pandemic. July Red card pulled on Lincoln Youth Soccer Club board The Lincoln Youth Soccer Club has friction between past and current board members and club members, according to a handful of club members. The turmoil, according to club members, stems from a lack of fiduciary responsibility and a lack of transparency between the board and club members. Lincoln Youth Soccer Club is a nonprofit club founded in 1978 and has a recreational and competitive league with 1,237 players in 2019. On May 22, 10-year Lincoln Youth Soccer Club member Kurtis Aranson sent a complaint to Cal North District Six, the overseeing organization of youth soccer in the region, about the soccer club's board and its new President, Justin Whitsell. On June 3, Cal North District Six commissioner Max Barteau held a hearing to hear Aranson's complaints and provide Whitsell an opportunity to defend himself from the allegations. School district saved from having to face major cuts The Western Placer Unified School District board of trustees at its final meeting for the 2019/20 school year June 25 approved the 2020/21 budget that avoids a previously-anticipated $2-million cut by the district. During the first week of June, the school district was preparing for crippling budget cuts over the next three years as Gov. Gavin Newsom planned to implement a recurring 10- percent cut to school districts statewide. President Donald Trump implemented the $2.2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27, in which $30.8 billion would go toward education and $1.6 billion would be available for California's education system. Western Placer Unified School District was preparing to cut $18 million from its budget over the next three years. However, on June 3, the California Assembly and State Senate leaders announced that they would reverse Newsom's proposed cuts. Lincoln and Placer County working on property tax-sharing addendum Lincoln Mayor Dan Karleskint announced during the June 23 Lincoln City Council meeting that the city and the county agreed on a property tax-sharing agreement addendum that will now go to the county supervisors. According to Karleskint, this is "exciting news" as it would allow the city to collect an extra $8 million to $11 million over the next decade from property tax to go into the General Fund to pay for more police officers and firefighters. Karleskint, Placer County Board Supervisors Robert Weygandt and Bonnie Gore, and county and city staff have been working on this deal for a year-and-a-half, according to Karleskint. "When I got elected, that was part of my goal but I didn't think I'd ever achieve it," Karleskint said about reaching this deal with the county. "It is nice to come to a consensus between two governing jurisdictions." Placer County plans to keep bars, restaurants open Exercise extra caution this 4th of July weekend While Placer County's number of COVID-19 cases have almost tripled since June and while other California counties reclosed bars Monday in Stage 3 of the California's Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience, Placer County is not closing its bars. That's according to Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. Four stages must be met in California's Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience before the state fully reopens from the COVID-19 stay-at-home order issued March 19. Placer County entered Stage Three on May 26, when state public health officials allowed two Stage Three businesses, hair salons and barbershops, to reopen. Although COVID-19 cases are increasing simultaneously as businesses such as bars and restaurants have reopened under Stage 3, the Placer County Public Health Department will not require businesses to shut down "at this time." "Placer County has not reached any of the triggers put forth in our attestation, nor any of the state thresholds that would land our county on the California Department of Public Health's watchlist for increased monitoring," Sisson said. Lincoln officials prepares for 2021 housing element The Lincoln City Council and the Lincoln Planning Commission held a joint virtual workshop meeting to go over some of the city's housing element changes to be in compliance with new state laws on housing needs. The city brought in Placeworks, a planning and design firm from Sacramento, to break down the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) requirements for Lincoln. "We had the privilege eight years ago of updating your previous housing element," Placeworks Associate principal Jennifer Gastelum said. "So this one is just again an update and we are not looking to do a major overhaul." The city must have a ready-to-adopt housing element approved by the state by May 15, 2021, according to Gastelum. Lincoln, Placer County candidates begin filing for Nov. 3 election The Placer County Elections Office was buzzing Monday morning as candidates arrived to pull papers for a number of local offices due for election on the November ballot. While national (i.e. U.S. president and Congressional seats) and state Legislature seats are on the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election ballot, several local and county seats are also listed. The Nov. 3, 2020 General Election ballot includes three Lincoln City Council seats in the newly-created Divisions 3, 4 and 5 and the Lincoln treasurer seat. The new term begins Dec. 8 for all seats. Western Placer Unified School District has two trustee seats on the ballot. Candidates are qualified by the trustee area ( area 1 and area 3) but elected at large. The new term begins Dec. 11 for both seats. School still in session for WPUSD On July 9, Gov. Gavin Newsom placed Placer County on the state COVID-19 County monitoring list, due to the spike in the county's COVID-19 cases, causing many businesses to reclose but no directive about schools. Although the state closed or limited operations for bars, wineries, pubs, brewpubs, fitness centers, places of worship, malls and hair care services, there was no word of reclosing school campuses or pushing back their opening date. The Los Angeles Unified School District, with 1,000 schools, and San Diego County School District, with 181 schools, announced Monday that their schools will not reopen next month for in-person teaching, due to the increase of COVID-19 cases. In Lincoln, Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman said that the district is still preparing to open schools on Aug. 20 for in-person teaching. City Council works to keep skating in downtown Lincoln The Lincoln City Council continued discussing the McBean Skate Park's future during Tuesday's council meeting. It was brought up during the June 23 meeting that the skate park was in need of repair and might be closed. Lincoln City Public Works director Ray Leftwich presented three bids ranging from $41,000 to $43,640 to conduct skate park repairs. According to Leftwich, the skatepark needs new Skate Lite Pro Slate, skating surface and replacement of three-quarter inch plywood sheathing at two ramp locations. The skate park's concrete is also cracking and will need to be replaced, according to Leftwich, and could cost about $100,000 for all new concrete. Funding for the project is an issue as the city faces a large deficit in Light and Landscaping Assessment District Number One. Placer 211 now available Looking for affordable housing, a ride to a medical appointment or where to sign up for Meals on Wheels? 211 Placer can help with that and a lot more. Placer County launched the free resource and referral network on July 1 with a phone helpline, text capability and a website. Grass Valley-based Connecting Point call center administers the service, which it also provides to Nevada County. Cost for the contracted program is $294,186 for the first year through June 30, 2021. Supervisor Weygandt wants COVID-19 herd immunity; some experts disagree On July 8, Placer County Supervisor Robert Weygandt replied to a resident's email about the recent increase in Lincoln's COVID numbers, saying that herd immunity is what should be done to halt COVID-19's spread. The prevalence of immunity to a virus in a population can reach a threshold at which the spread of the virus is contained and that is "herd protection" or "herd immunity." Weygandt emailed the resident: "While I understand your concern around the recent increase in Lincoln's COVID numbers, it is not surprising considering the reopening and more people out and about mingling with each other. My personal perspective is that it is best to allow this virus to spread amongst healthy populations and to protect the vulnerable as much as possible... While I believe we should be keeping track of our hospital and ICU capacity, I also believe we need to be clear that while 18-49 year olds account for 57% of the total cases, only 5% of those have been hospitalized. If the goal is to get to herd immunity with the least damage possible, I believe we should allow for the virus to run its course in the younger, healthier populations and as mentioned above, continue to encourage the vulnerable populations to protect themselves as much as possible." Karen Anderson, the Placer County resident asking Weygandt the question, disagrees with that approach to eliminate COVID-19. "There have got to be people who don't want their families to be part of a grand experiment," Anderson said. "They just want to stay well. The herd protection is very dicey. Plus, medicine is not supposed to be faith-based. It is supposed to be science." Is herd immunity a good solution for getting rid of the virus? Not according to some national health experts and agencies. To reach long-lasting immunity from COVID-19, according to the Mayo Clinic, more than 200 million people in the U.S. would have to recover from COVID-19 to reach the herd immunity threshold. But with that many COVID-19 patients, the healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed and millions of deaths, especially among older people and those who have chronic conditions, would occur. A COVID-19 vaccine is the "ideal approach" to achieve herd immunity without causing illness or resulting complications, according to the Mayo Clinic. Vaccines have successfully controlled deadly contagious diseases such as smallpox, polio, diphtheria and rubella, according to the Mayo Clinic. Weygandt told The News Messenger that he still agrees with his July 8 email about reaching herd immunity. "I don't dispute the science. The impression I have, in the end, with Covid-19, is that the spread rate will diminish dramatically because of something. I believe it will be herd immunity," Weygandt said. "Herd immunity can result from a person's inherent immunity, continued spread resulting in new immunity and a vaccine or vaccines." LTC seeks settlement with city of Lincoln The Lincoln Theatre Company is again asking the city of Lincoln to come to the negotiation table because the city allegedly wrongfully terminated its license with the company Jan. 31, according to the company's July 13 press release. Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson emailed Lincoln Theatre Company treasurer Dawn Maurer following the July 13 press release. "Thanks for reaching out," Hanson wrote in the email. "Staff is currently working on a program to allow use of the Civic Center that will allow for a reduced fee or an opportunity to have the fee waived based on improvements made or contributions to the facility. Obviously as of right now, we are not able to have the facility open at all due to the current crisis. We will keep you posted when the process begins to move forward again." Lincoln Theatre Company is claiming unlawful conversion of its property, unlawful termination of license, due process and hearing violations, bias by Lincoln City Council members, defamation and other statutory violations against the city. On July 8, the theatre company delivered a settlement agreement to Hanson and the City Council. "LTC's settlement offer met all of the objections the city had to the terminated licenses agreement," Maurer stated in the company's July 13 press release. "In addition, it also addresses the principal desire of the city that was expressed in their unsuccessful effort to find a lessee for the Civic Auditorium in February of this year." Lincoln city attorney Kristine Mollenkopf said that the city has "no further comment" on any of the statements made in the July 13 press release. Newsom announces guidelines for schools to reopen During his noon update Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced guidelines for schools to reopen this fall. Schools are allowed to reopen for in-person instruction as long as they are in a county that has not been on the County Monitoring List for 14 days. That's to help slow COVID-19 community transmission. Schools within Placer County currently do not qualify to reopen as the county is on the state's COVID-19 County Monitoring List, along with 31 other counties. Placer County was placed on the list July 9 due to increased hospitalizations, limited hospital capacity and increased disease transmission, according to the California Department of Public Health website. As of July 21, Placer County had 1,442 confirmed cases with 53 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals and 10 patients in Intensive Care Units. Residents push to save McBean Skatepark Concerns over the McBean Park Skatepark future were brought up again during theLincoln City Council meeting. City Council first mentioned the skatepark's future at the June 23 meeting, and at each meeting since then, community members have spoken in favor of saving this beloved community asset. Lincoln resident Randy Carver has talked at each City Council meeting since the June 23 meeting and, during Tuesday's meeting, provided some material pricing for repairs. "I went and looked up the sheeting and it is $500 for 11 sheets and that is roughly about what needs to be bought to replace the damaged areas," Carver said about the surface that needs to be replaced on the ramps. Carver said that he even contacted Home Depot and was told that it would offer discounts for the sheeting and discount pricing for bulk purchases. "It is a total of $11,000 for materials just to fix the park and get it up to the point where kids can start using it again with no problems," Carver said. Lincoln resident Denice Snyder played an audio clip from a video she took of children and young adults who use the skatepark and what they say about the skatepark. "My son has used the skate park and my cousin's relatives have had birthday parties there," Snyder said. "I started a petition to see how many people want to save the skate park and we have just over 1,400 signatures of comments of why it is a value to them." Lincoln Veteran Memorial Coalition receives $50,000 for monument construction The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Department of California Foundation, on behalf of the Sarah A. Bonnifield Trust, donated $50,000 as the Veteran Legacy Sponsor toward the Placer County Veterans Monument's construction in Lincoln. The check presentation was made at the monument's future McBean Park location by Dennis Reynolds, past VFW Post 3010 commander and Lincoln Veteran Memorial Coalition board member, to Don Witt, coalition president, and Larry Yaggi, coalition past treasurer. With the VFW donation, the monument project will go out to bid for construction. The project completion date is scheduled for Nov. 11, 2020 but might be pushed out to May 31, 2021 due to COVID-19 delays. August COVID-19 numbers keep rising Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 5, four more reported COVID-19 fatalities brought the total number of Placer County COVID-19 fatalities to 19. All four fatalities are in the 65-plus age group with pre-existing health conditions. "COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities have increased. Typically, staff are infected in the community and transmit infection to other staff and residents," Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. "Given that residents of long-term care facilities are at high-risk of severe disease when infected with coronavirus, I expect to see more deaths resulting from these outbreaks." On July 28, Placer County had 1,753 cases. On Aug. 4, a week later, Placer County had 1,953 COVID-19 cases. That's an increase of 200 cases in one week. In addition, there were 60 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals and 14 in Intensive Care Units on July 28 and, a week later, 68 patients in area hospitals and 16 in Intensive Care Units. On Aug. 5, Placer County Public Health reported 1,998 confirmed COVID-19 cases. According to California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, there is a statewide underreporting of COVID-19 cases due to technology issues with the electronic laboratory reporting system. On Aug. 4, the California Department of Public Health announced that the seven-day average number of new COVID-19 is 7,554 per day with 519,427 confirmed cases to date. As case numbers continue rising in California, according to the California Department of Public Health, the total number of individuals having serious outcomes will also increase. There have so far been 9,501 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The state's guidance for youth sports establishes a consistent set of rules that apply to all youth sports programs, including school-based, club, and recreational programs. Outdoor and indoor sporting events, assemblies and other activities that require close contact or that would promote congregating, such as tournaments and competitions, are not permitted at this time. Youth sports and physical education are permitted only when physical distancing of at least six feet and a stable cohort of participants, such as a class, can be maintained. Activities should take place outside to the maximum extent possible. Lincoln Hills sees first female Veteran Group president This year, the Sun City Lincoln Hills Veterans Group elected its first female board president, retired U.S. Army Captain Joan MacAdams. MacAdams moved to Sun City Lincoln Hills with her husband, Doug MacAdams, in 2017 after he retired from being a contract worker for the government. "He was always so intent to get back to California and Doug being the good steward of our retirement fund, we were able to do that," MacAdams said about her husband. MacAdams served for a decade in the U.S. Army, joining in 1982 during the later years of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union and being honorably discharged in 1992 shortly after the Soviet Union collapse. Born and raised in Lodi, MacAdams attended Tokay High School and was in the school's first graduating class in 1973. After attending Chico State and working at Kmart, MacAdams wanted to pursue a life in the military and enlisted in the Army in 1982 and entered as a private first class. MacAdams was assigned to Intelligence Analytics, deciphering information gathered by the United States on the Soviet Union and their allies. Due to the nature of that information, MacAdams is still under a nondisclosure agreement with the United States military. WPUSD will start 2020/21 school year with distance learning The Western Placer Unified School District officially announced that the district will start the school year on Aug. 20 with distance learning. District Superintendent Scott Leaman said in a July 23 News Messenger article that the district was waiting to see if the county would be removed from the COVID-19 County Monitoring list. If the county was taken off the list on Monday and stayed off it for 14 days, according to Leaman, then the district could reopen for in-class instruction. "The announcement today I know breaks a lot of people's hearts," Leaman said. "I know it breaks parents' hearts for the impact it is going to have on them. It breaks our teachers' hearts because they really do want to be before kids. There is nothing like being before the class and seeing kids learn." Western Placer Unified School District was the last district in the county to announce that it would start the school year with distance learning, according to Leaman. Welcome back to school It is back to school for Western Placer Unified School District on Aug 20. This new school year will be one for the history books as classrooms will be empty and kitchen tables, countertops and at home offices will become the classroom once again for students. The district's Board of Trustees and Superintendent Scott Leaman announced on Aug. 4 that the district will open the 2020/21 school year with distance learning. Distance learning is having students conduct their school day virtually at home as a precaution to potentially spreading COVID-19 on school campuses. This distance learning is expected by Gov. Gavin Newsom to be more structured and provide a better educational standard than what students and teachers saw last March through June. On March 14, school campuses in Placer County were closed to stop the spread of COVID-19 and students watched their teachers from home on computers. City gets $250,395 from FAA for airport runway The Lincoln City Council had a record-setting 14-minute City Council meeting that had no public comment or reports from the City Council. "I'd like to make a motion that we adjourn the meeting, and with that, turn over my record to you for the shortest meeting," Councilman Peter Gilbert said about handing over his record as a previous mayor for fastest City Council meeting during his time as mayor. Gilbert is currently vice mayor. The City Council did approve a grant agreement for $250,395 between Public Works director Ray Leftwich and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The grant will be used to pay for the environmental assessment for the reconstruction of the runway at the Lincoln Regional Airport. The runway only has two to three years of usable life left, according to the city. The contract made with Wallace Environmental Consulting on March 26, 2019 was for $240,395, according to the staff report. LPD freshens up the fleet with Dodge Chargers The Lincoln Police Department has three new steeds in its stable with an addition of three new Dodge Charger Police Cars. The three Chargers are replacing three Ford Taurus Police Cars purchased by the city of Lincoln in 2015. According to Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee, his officers like the additional interior and trunk space that the Charger offers. "With the increased amount of equipment and technology we have to carry with us now, we just need as much space as we can get," Lee said. Lee said he considered a Chevrolet Tahoe that many surrounding jurisdictions use but the increased price and the reputation of the Charger with California Highway Patrol made it a hard sell to the City Council. The base price of each Charger is $24,924 and the base price for the Tahoe is $41,120 and that does not include the $15,000 or more price tag of outfitting the vehicles for police work. Alleged molester arrested in Lincoln After a several months-long investigation, the Lincoln Police Department arrested Vernon Bailey, 32, of Roseville for child molestation, according to the Lincoln Police Department. Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee said the Police Department can not give specific details, such as when the incidents accrued, in order to protect the victims' identity. Lee could confirm that the crimes were committed in Lincoln. Bailey was charged with two counts "of committing a lewd or lascivious act upon or with a victim who is under the age of 14 and one count of oral copulation with a victim who is 10 years of age or younger," according to the Lincoln Police Department. Other law enforcement agencies helped conduct interviews of the victims, according to Lee, which is common for sex crimes and crimes against children. WPUSD to wait and see about reopening Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman announced during the district board of trustees meeting that the district will not apply for the Placer County waiver to reopen transitional kindergarten to sixth-grade schools. Placer County was placed on the COVID-19 County Data Monitoring watchlist on July 9. Schools can reopen when the county is off the watchlist for 14 consecutive days, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 17. A school district could also apply for a waiver with their county's public health department, while on the watchlist, to reopen transitional kindergarten to sixth-grade schools. Placer County released its waiver to reopen transitional kindergarten to sixth-grade schools on Aug 10. Nine days later, on Wednesday, Placer County was taken off the state's COVID-19 County Data Monitoring watchlist. "As of tomorrow, Placer County will be starting day one of the 14 days," Leaman said. "So essentially welcome to our world because this is how it goes: that yesterday is not the truth of today." Flags fly Aug. 13 for Trump and law enforcement Dozens of American flags, thin blue line flags and Trump 2020 flags flew high over State Route 65 at the Twelve Bridges Drive overpass on Aug. 13 as part of a Union Patriots Facebook group event. According to the group's Facebook page, Union Patriots is a Northern California group designed to join people together for rallies and events. "We believe that America is great and that it is worth getting out to show our support for our local communities from government shutdowns, backing our law enforcement agencies and the war we are facing on our God-given American constitutional rights," the group's description reads. According to Union Patriots group creator Paul Gilbert, this event is for people who support their country, law enforcement and the president to come together in a peaceful and respectful manner. "We roll into communities to put up our flags, have a peaceful and fun time, clean up after ourselves and move onto the next city," Gilbert said. Health safety with smoke polluted air With more than two dozen fires burning across California, the air quality across the state and especially in the Sacramento region has become a major health risk for thousands of residents. The levels of smoke that Placer County has seen this year is not uncommon if compared to smoke from the King Fire in 2014 or the Camp Fire in 2018, according to a Placer County Air Pollution Control District news release. On Aug 24, the Placer County Public Health Office and the Placer County Air Pollution Control District extended the poor air quality advisory to Thursday, due to the fires. The health agencies issued information on the dangers of smoke and how to avoid its harmful effects to the body. "Smoke contains very tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs," the health agencies explained. "While all people may experience varying degrees of symptoms, the more sensitive individuals - such as young, aged and those with respiratory conditions - are at greatest risk of experiencing serious symptoms." Symptoms can include coughing, watery and itchy eyes, headache, scratchy throat and breathing difficulties, according to the health agencies. Lincoln playgrounds remain closed With Placer County being removed Aug. 19 from the state's County Data Monitoring watchlist, Lincoln City Council members discussed why playgrounds are still closed at the city parks. Councilman Paul Joiner said that he received emails from residents asking why the playgrounds are still closed in the city. "I got a bit of a nasty-gram today about our playgrounds continuing to be closed," Joiner said. "Correct me if I'm wrong but that order comes down from the state of California and it is not within our purview to simply open those playgrounds back up." Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson confirmed for Joiner that the closure of park playgrounds and other outdoor recreational facilities is decided at the state level. Councilwoman Alyssa Silhi also informed the council that reopening the playgrounds against the state's direction could open the city up to legal liabilities and cause the city to have to return funding provided to the city through the CARES Act. United Way COVID-19 Local Relief Fund helps 97 Placer County families In a span of three months, United Way California Capital Region's COVID-19 Local Relief Fund dispersed $48,500 to 97 families in need in Placer County through a one-time $500 distribution to each family to help offset costs of rent, bills and other basic needs. United Way worked with Kids First and Lighthouse Community Counseling to identify low-income families in the county whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic and ensure they received the help they needed. United Way raised a total of $572,000 through the fund and worked with 11 nonprofit partners across the region to help 1,145 families in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties. The fund closed at the end of June, but the structure remains in place in case of a second wave. "Stories continue to pour in from families across our region who have received help through our Local Relief Fund," said Stephanie Bray, president and CEO, United Way California Capital Region. "The vast majority of those we served lost income during the stay-at-home order and needed help paying rent and bills. With so many families in our region just one paycheck away from homelessness, gifts to our fund helped avert an immediate crisis for these families and our community." Four more COVID-19 fatalities reported Aug. 9 to Aug. 11 As state officials Aug. 11 reported that a total of 10,468 Californians have so far died from COVID-19, Placer County Health Department reported four fatalities in mid and south Placer County between Aug. 9 and Aug. 11. There were 2,377 confirmed cases in Placer County as of Aug. 11, up from 1,953 cases a week ago Tuesday, according to the Placer County Public Health Department. Many residents, as they follow stay-at-home orders issued to stop the virus from spreading, are concerned about the rising COVID-19 cases and deaths in Placer County and throughout the state. California, as of Aug. 11, had a total of 574,411 confirmed cases. There were 10,189 COVID-19 deaths in California on Aug. 8, according to the California Department of Public Health. By Aug. 11, 279 new cases brought the number to 10,468. Placer County Public Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson urges residents to continue practicing preventative measures. "There is a need to maintain coronavirus-safe behavior, especially as we head into fall. There is a risk that COVID-19 in combination with regular flu season will place an added burden on our local hospital system," Sisson said. "Continuing to practice physical distancing, wearing face coverings in public, maintaining hand hygiene and avoiding gatherings will help reduce disease spread. This in turn will support efforts to reopen businesses and schools." Christie Lynn Wilson's remains found Almost 15 years later, the remains of Christie Lynn Wilson have been recovered. In October 2005, the Placer County Sheriff's Office investigated the murder of 27-year-old Christie Lynn Wilson. The investigation resulted in Mario Garcia's arrest. Wilson was last seen in the Thunder Valley Casino parking lot with him. The Placer County District Attorney's Office prosecuted Garcia and he was convicted of first-degree murder. Despite extensive searches throughout Placer and Nevada counties, according to Placer County Sheriff Devon Bell and District Attorney Morgan Gire, Wilson's remains were not found until this month. Over a period of four days, Placer County Sheriff's Office detectives and Placer County District Attorney's Office investigators conducted additional searches at Garcia's former residence in Auburn. They scanned the four-and-a-half-acre lot using Ground Penetrating Radar technology. Detectives and investigators recovered skeletal remains that were brought to the Placer County Morgue for examination, according to officials. Dental records confirmed the remains found on the property formerly owned by Garcia are those of Christie Wilson. Sun City Lincoln Hills fires executive director Aug. 21 The Sun City Lincoln Hills Community Association Board of Directors voted 4 to 3 in a contentious special closed meeting Aug. 21 to terminate longtime executive director Chris O'Keefe. O'Keefe worked at the association since 2002. The facilities and maintenance senior director was promoted to the executive director position in the latter part of 2014 when former executive director Robert Cook retired after seven years. "In my opinion, the board chose not to follow normal business practices and instead reacted to calls from social media for an immediate termination of the contract," said the association's board secretary Tom Dunipace, who is also a lawyer and a real estate broker. "Complaints from social media drove this decision." For at least the last nine months, O'Keefe has been vehemently criticized by residents opposing him on social media and equally defended by other residents who support him. Dunipace urged the board Aug. 21 to consider the upcoming December expiration of O'Keefe's current contract and to keep it alive, while seeking qualified applicants for the position. The association's President Alice Crawford, in an association email Monday to residents, said that "we are at a crossroad in the history of the community and believe there is need for new direction and leadership in the Executive Director position. As such, effective August 24, Chris O'Keefe will no longer serve as the SCLH Executive Director." She also wrote in her email that the board is interviewing this week "three excellent candidates" to serve as interim executive director. Three interviews were set up for Aug. 26. But the Aug. 21 vote was not done procedurally correct, according to Dunipace. "The executive session agenda only said personnel and legal. The agenda didn't have specificity. It should have instead said 'executive director contract' as the subject," Dunipace said. "I thought there would be personnel discussion, going over O'Keefe's six-month review, which I thought was a really good review, nothing that would indicate there was something to cause a motion for termination." Another serious flaw with the Aug. 21's vote, according to Dunipace, is that four board members allegedly met prior to the meeting, which would be illegal because of the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act. "One of the board members logged into Zoom before the meeting and heard Alice tell someone that this motion (to fire O'Keefe) is coming up. During the meeting Friday, after the director review, I made a motion to adjourn, which was voted down," Dunipace said. "Then the motion to fire O'Keefe was made. Four others knew that there was something more to address that was not stated on the agenda. The problem with this scenario is that if all those facts are true, then the board did not act in a legal matter." The News Messenger called Crawford several times and emailed her to ask about Dunipace's allegations, why O'Keefe was fired without cause and for a timeline on when a new executive director would be hired. She didn't respond to the phone calls but emailed "no comment" without hearing the questions. Directors voting Aug. 21 to keep O'Keefe were Dunipace, Jack Harris and Laura Thiele. Directors voting to fire him were Crawford, Don Negus, Kathy Shaddox and Diana Peters. On Aug. 23, Dunipace said, he sent a letter to the board and the Sun City Lincoln Hills Association attorney, outlining his procedural concerns. "I alleged that the board acted improperly and encouraged them to act properly. There's a right way to do things and there's a wrong way to do things," Dunipace said. "I requested on Sunday not to walk O'Keefe out Monday. They disregarded that. I don't know where this will go. My concern is this wasn't done in a businesslike fashion." During the Aug. 26 board meeting, several residents are planning to ask board members to retract their vote and give O'Keefe his job back. "It seems to me it's more of a personality issue between the director, the board and flamed by social media intent on forcing him out, than it is a performance issue," Dunipace added. Sun City Lincoln Hills was established in 1999 and celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The active adult community broke from Del Webb in 2005 and is run independently by the Sun City Lincoln Hills resident-board members. The 6,783-home community has about 1,100 residents. Sun City Lincoln Hills was established in 1999 and celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The active adult community, no longer a Del Webb community since 2005, is run independently by the Sun City Lincoln Hills resident-board members. The 6,783-home community has about 11,100 residents. County leaders request state to let businesses reopen indoor operations, due to poor air quality Placer County Supervisors and area mayors called on the state Aug. 20 to reopen indoor business operations as soon as possible amid the state's damaging air quality due to wildfires. The county was taken off the state's COVID-19 watch list Aug. 19. Being off the list allows Placer County schools to begin the 14-day countdown to resume in-person instruction if they choose. Last week, the county sent a letter to the state asking that business be allowed the same path toward reopening. September Lincoln has several candidates running for local offices While national candidates are battling for the U.S. presidency that culminates Nov. 3, fellow Placer County residents are also vying for your vote to elected seats in local councils, school boards and other elected positions. To start off our coverage of Lincoln elections, here are the candidates for the Lincoln City Council, Lincoln treasurer and the Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees. Lincoln City Council candidates for the new districts three, four and five are running unopposed. Lincoln City Council: District 3: Lincoln Crossing Paul Joiner: Current council member District 4: Sun City Lincoln Hills William "Bill" Lauritsen: Retired accountant District 5: Twelve Bridges, Verdera and Sun City Lincoln Hills Dan Karleskint: Current mayor Lincoln treasurer There is an opening for treasurer as Gerald Harner is not running for another term. Running are Richard Pearl, a government financial consultant, and Stan Nader, a retired farmer and councilman. Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees There are two seats open for the board of trustees as both Paul Long and Paul Carras are not seeking reelection. Long represents area one of Valley View and Carras is one of the three board members to represent area three, which is within the Lincoln city limits. Paul Long: Incumbent Criste Freymond: Parent/businesswoman Spencer Short: Attorney/businessman Ana Pereira Stevenson: Student support specialist Jason Price: Businessman/parent Steven Brothers: Insurance agent Harold Ashe: Father School district prepares to reopen campuses At a Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, Superintendent Scott Leaman announced that the district is preparing to reopen schools since the county finished its 14-day probation period. Leaman said that the district will most likely announce the first day students can come back to campus during the Sept. 15 board meeting. Before schools can reopen, though, there are a series of protocols the district must put in place. Protocols include providing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), creating a set of rules for students on campus and creating a COVID-19 testing procedure for students and staff. "If you were to walk around our schools, you would see arrows on the sidewalk, PPE almost hoarded to the level of PPE that we have, you will see gallons of sanitizer ready to go, you will see water bottle filling stations and we have handwashing stations ready to go," Leaman said. Crime levels lowest in years due to COVID-19 Crime in Lincoln has seen a drastic decrease in the first half of the year, according to Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee who presented the quarter one and quarter two public safety statistics to Lincoln City Council. According to Lee, the drop in almost all areas of crime can be linked to COVID-19 due to the related statewide shutdown. Although the shutdown took place in the last month of the first quarter, the number of total incidents dropped from 7,506 quarter one in 2019 to 6,788. Quarter two between April and June also saw lowered numbers in total incidents with 8,122 in 2019 and 6,788 this year. With fewer people on the road, traffic stops went from 438 for quarter one in 2019 to 346 for quarter one 2020. These numbers continued to drop in quarter two with 463 in 2019 and 319 in 2020. Meet your Lincoln City Council and treasurer candidates Lincoln City Council will hold its first district-based elections after changing from at-large elections in January, due to potential California Voting Rights Act violations. All candidates are running unopposed. The race for Lincoln City Treasurer is pitted against two men who have long histories serving the city in public office or as private citizens. City Council candidates: District 3: Incumbent Paul Joiner Why do you want to run for City Council? "I believe my knowledge, experience, regional connections and love of our community can continue to benefit Lincoln and I want to continue to help make it a great place to live, work and play." What background do you have that will apply to this position? "I've been a member of the City Council for 12 years and served on the city's Planning Commission prior to that. I've been a board member on the Sacramento Council of Governments for eight years and currently serve as vice chair of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency. I'm a founding member of the Greater Sacramento Economic Development Council Board of Directors and former Board Member of the Western Placer Waste Management Authority, the Placer County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and Placer County Economic Development Board." What are your goals for the City Council and the city? "Public safety, police and fire protection, are the cornerstone of what we do as a city government. I strongly believe we must continue to support our firefighters and police in providing the highest level of service our revenues will allow and that working to improve public safety service level should be our highest priority. I believe that maintaining fiscal solvency through continued balanced budgets, economic growth and job growth is key to our future fiscal stability. I think it's imperative that we make every effort to support our local business community and work with them toward the safe reopening and re-building our local economy." District 4: William Lauritsen What made you want to run for City Council? "I retired here and plan to stay and wanted to use my expertise and experience in accounting and fund management to help the city. I originally became involved with city affairs when I was selected as a member of the city's Economic Development Committee. I also joined the economic vitality committee which mainly deals with downtown issues. I first started going to council meetings when water rate refunds were discussed. After attending several more council meetings, including the ones regarding the city's changeover to district council seats, I became interested in running for office." What background do you have that will apply to this position? "After working for a small CPA firm and later for a not for profit, I joined the Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State as a finance officer. Working in several embassies overseas, I became very familiar with fund accounting and the restrictions involved. Considering the issues surrounding the city's financial situation, I believe this experience is relevant. While working for the CPA firm, I also participated in a municipal audit." What are your goals for the City Council and the city? "We need more funding for basic services such as police and fire. I will work with Mayor Karleskint to revive the negotiated agreement with the county and look for other areas to increase funding for our operating budget. In addition, we need to encourage more business development, especially at the airport industrial area, which will bring in needed revenue." District 5: Incumbent Dan Karleskint What made you want to run for City Council? "When I first ran four years ago, I wanted to improve the collegiality of the council, fix the financial problems the city was facing, bring more transparency to the city's processes and committees and build trust with the greater community. I feel we have achieved some good progress on all these goals." What background do you have that will apply to this position? "I have served on significant committees as a volunteer, the city Planning Commission and the City Council. This service has been over a period of 15 years. This has allowed me to analyze the city in times of stress and normality. My 40 years of experience in the high tech industry has provided me with the financial, information systems, and management background to detect, analyze and solve these types of problems." What are your goals for the City Council and the city? "My specific goals for the City Council and the city in the next four years is to complete the recovery tasks we have started. We need to finish the tax-sharing agreements for the new annexations. We need to complete all the actions remaining from the JLAC audit. We need to review and recertify the agreements we have with our regional partners to provide mutual equal benefit. And, if not completed by October 2020, positively insure the signing of the Revenue Sharing Agreement. This last item is imperative to the fiscal sustainability of the city." Treasurer candidates Stan Nader Why made you want to run for city treasurer? "In recent years, my concentration has been on the role of city treasurer and how that individual should create an environment of accountability and transparency for the citizens who elect them to that position. I believe the city treasurer, due to the nature of the position, should maintain a level of independence within the city. That's so the citizens can trust the information they are given is correct and decisions are made in the best interest of the community as a whole." What background do you have that will apply to this position? "During my professional career, I have owned and operated four successful businesses: Nader Agricultural Enterprises, Nader Hay and Feed, Black Earth Compost Company and Providence Properties. Operating these businesses required me to establish a business plan, secure financing, maintain records, manage employees, plan daily work schedules, prepare information for tax filings, manage operational logistics and provide customer service. These are important skills that will allow me to be successful in reaching my goals of creating an atmosphere of accountability and transparency in the city treasurer position." What are your goals for the treasurer's office and the city? "My goals for serving as city treasurer are to provide the citizens of Lincoln assurances that the city's monies are securely invested and that disbursements are correctly allocated. (Also) that financial reporting is transparent and easily understood, and that the office of city treasurer is respected for the independence the office demands." Richard Pearl What made you want to run for treasurer? "I have always been a strong advocate and volunteer for the city of Lincoln, serving as chair of the Economic Development Committee, the Airport Committee and the Fiscal Sustainability Committee. I was a member of the Fiscal and Investment Oversight Committee when the present treasurer decided not to seek another term, so the timing was perfect for me to run. I am pleased to have received his endorsement, as well as the endorsement from the entire City Council." What background do you have that will apply to this position? "I have spent my entire career in finance. By working in graduate education in public administration with a finance emphasis. Working in the budget office of a major eastern city and corporate finance experience with two large public companies. Perhaps most importantly, I worked 35 years as a consultant to local governments specializing in revenue formulation and cost analysis. In this capacity, I worked for nearly every large city and county in California, and scores of smaller ones. I hold an Investment Foundations certificate from the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, a program for financial policy makers." What are your goals for the treasurer's office and the city? "My goals are to ensure that the city's financial assets are safely invested, maximize investment income consistent with safety and cash flow requirements, ensure that the city's financial policies are being carried out efficiently and effectively and act as an advocate for the community in all financial matters." Scott Leaman retires after 28 years with school district Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman will retire on June 30, 2021 after the Board of Trustees approved his retirement letter during Tuesday's school board meeting. The promotion of Deputy Superintendent Kerry Callahan to superintendent was also approved by the board. Leaman was hired in summer 1993 as superintendent and has held the position for 28 years. According to Lincoln High School chemistry teacher Tim Allen, Leaman is one of the longest current-serving superintendents. "It is with great sadness that I announce my retirement at the end of this school year on June 30, 2021," Leaman said to the board. "I have had the pleasure of serving the district since 1993. Our time together has seen some of the largest challenges in education, our community, and our state. Against the backdrop of inheriting a terrible financial situation, the Great Recession and the current COVID situation, we achieved great things. Our district reputation has increased exponentially to one that parents are proud to support and individuals want to work in, based on the amount of applications we receive for our open positions." Four Lincoln residents arrested by Butte County Sheriff's Office Six suspects were arrested in Butte County, including four Lincoln residents, after they were found in the Berry Creek evacuation zone tending to their illegal marijuana grow, according to the Butte County Sheriff's Office. A Bear Fire survivor was looking at live security footage of his home on Dancing Wind Drive in Forbestown when he saw someone on the property and contacted law enforcement. Deputies said that Cristian Ayala, 32, of Lincoln, Burt Floyd, 50, of Lincoln, Guadalupe Garcia, 42, of Lincoln, Guadalupe Garcia Jr., 22, of Lincoln, William Peterson, 61, of Berry Creek, and Anthony Gannett, 61, of Berry Creek were on the property. According to the Sheriff's Office, Petterson, Garcia, Garcia Jr. and Gannett had been on two other evacuated properties in the Berry Creek, which deputies found were being used to grow marijuana. Lincoln City Council approves increased safety at City Hall Lincoln City Hall will have increased security measures as City Council approved a $67,426 project to install bulletproof glass on City Hall's second and third floor counters. The project will be funded using money from the Development Services Fund (Fund 248). In December 2019, the city installed bullet-proof glass on the first floor counters for the City Manager's Office as well as the Utility Billing counter. According to the City Council and city staff, there have been incidences of angered or aggressive individuals threatening to harm individuals at City Hall. "I can personally attest to some of the dangers that staff face on an ongoing basis," Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson said, "whether it be verbal threats over the phone, whether it be threats within the building. I have personally had to deal with several threats within the building just during my short time sitting here." Our Town Community Story Series Peter Gilbert says goodbye to City Council This November, the Lincoln City Council will say goodbye to two-term City Councilman Peter Gilbert, who has served residents since 2003 and is now looking for a new avenue to continue that service. Something that residents might always remember about Gilbert is his way of bringing in his life experience in the private and public sector while making decisions or passing along guidance to his fellow council members. Before moving to Lincoln in 2003, Gilbert was a 31-year resident in San Mateo County where he began his life as a father and working within the world of public office. "I originally got started at a very young age when I was asked to walk precincts as a teenager and put brochures out for local people who were running for local, state or federal office," Gilbert said. South Placer chambers of commerce petition for indoor operations The Open South Placer Safely Coalition, comprised of the Lincoln, Loomis, Rocklin and Roseville chamber of commerces, gave support Aug. 27 to the Placer County Board of Supervisors to bring businesses back inside due to the forecasted poor air quality in the county. The coalition created a petition that received 716 signatures within the first 24 hours, according to the coalition representatives. On Aug 21, the Placer County Board of Supervisors, along with several mayors in the county, sent a letter to acting State Public Health Officer Erica Pan to allow Placer County businesses to resume indoor operation due to the high amount of smoke in the air. Deputy secretary of external affairs Kate Folmar with the California Health and Human Services Agency said that the governor does not intend to give an exception to counties looking to reopen indoor operations due to poor air quality. In an Aug. 24 Auburn Journal article, Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson said, "This isn't about profit over health. It's about all types of health, including mental health." However, the coalition of area chambers of commerce has a different motive of why the businesses should be allowed to open back up. "The Galleria needs to be opened," Roseville Area Chamber of Commerce Wendy Gerig said. "The anchors (stores) are the only ones allowed to open at this point (not all are) due to their exterior entrance. There are 220 inline stores and eating establishments that can't open – shopping online erodes our local sales tax revenue." An inline store is one that only has an entrance from within the mall. When asked if their concerns for public health were brought on by forecasted air quality index numbers or the daily amounts of pollution in the air, Gerig said that there was no proof to force businesses outside in the first place. "Our concerns are based on the fact that stats never proved that indoor dining, gyms, personal care salons, etc. were the source of the spike but we're the ones to be punished," Gerig said. On Aug. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new tier base framework toward reopening counties, which looks at a county's new daily cases per 100,000 residents and the overall testing positivity rate. From worst to best, the framework indicates widespread (purple), substantial (red), moderate (orange) and minimal (yellow) levels of a county's positivity rate and daily cases per 100,000 people. According to the California Health and Human Services Agency, if a county has a metric that places it in a more restrictive tier than the other, the state will place the county in the more restrictive tier. A more restrictive tier means that certain businesses can not resume indoor operations or that the indoor capacity might be lower than a less restrictive tier. As of Aug. 31, Placer County's COVID-19 metrics is considered widespread, which means that the county is essentially back on the county monitoring watchlist, according to California Secretary of Health and Human Services Agency Dr. Mark Ghaly. Within the purple tier, restrictions on business sectors remain the same, although hair salons and barbershops can now reopen to indoor operations with modifications. According to Placer County Public Health Department's, schools are allowed to resume in-person instruction and will not require a waiver from the county. According to the Placer County Health Department, Placer County received a response from the California Department of Public Health indicating that schools will be allowed the option to resume in-person instruction on Sept. 1, as they would have after coming off the previous Monitoring List. The first weekly assessment by the California Department of Health and Human Services will be Sept. 8 to determine if the county will remain in the current tier or progress to the red tier. Lincoln Hills board procedures questioned A few Sun City Lincoln Hills residents wrote critical letters to The Lincoln News Messenger about its Aug. 27 story on the executive director's firing at an executive session on Aug. 21. The readers wrote that O'Keefe was an at-will employee whose contract was not renewed, so he wasn't fired. But O'Keefe's contract was good through December. On Aug. 21, a Friday afternoon, the board voted four to three in the executive session to fire O'Keefe without cause. The following Monday morning (Aug. 24), according to board secretary Tom Dunipace, O'Keefe was walked out the door. Plus O'Keefe wrote a letter Aug. 24 to his supporters, telling them that he was fired and telling them how much he appreciated working for them. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines fired as "dismissed from a job." "When you forcibly remove an employee without notice prior to the expiration of their employment agreement, what else do you call that," asked Dunipace. The readers criticizing the article also said the newspaper had no right to print what happened in an executive session. And Sun City Lincoln Hills Association Board President Alice Crawford sent an email message to Lincoln Hills residents regarding the termination. Under the first question she posed, "Why was Chris O'Keefe relieved of his duties as Executive Director," she answered … "In addition, Board members are strictly prohibited from revealing anything that takes place in Executive Session." But according to the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act, 4935 (e), of which homeowners associations must adhere to, "Any matter discussed in executive session shall be generally noted in the minutes of the immediately following meeting that is open to the entire membership." In Crawford's email message, she wrote that the board "adhered to the letter of the law." In last week's story, board secretary Dunipace said that the Aug. 21 executive session was not procedurally correct. Specifically, the agenda did not mention that the executive director might be terminated; it only said personnel and legal, which applied to O'Keefe's review. Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act 4930 (a), however, states that the board can not discuss or take action on any item at a nonemergency meeting unless the item was placed on the agenda. In addition, according to Dunipace in the Aug. 27 story, the four board members opposing O'Keefe allegedly met immediately prior to the Aug. 21 meeting to talk about making a motion to fire the executive director. That would be illegal because of the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act, under Civil Code Section 4910. Crawford, in her message to residents, said that "the board voted to engage additional counsel specializing in employment law to assist" with firing O'Keefe. Crawford also wrote that the community gave input into firing O'Keefe via the last two board elections: "The community's voice was expressed loud and clear. Most of the members of this Board campaigned on a platform of "CHANGE." In the past TWO elections, the community gave an overwhelming majority of their votes to those who "advocated change." As such, these residents asked us to be the ones to make decisions that would be best for the Homeowners' Association. I don't think anyone who voted for us is surprised that the majority ultimately decided that a change of leadership was one of the moves that would be positive for our community." The board vote was four to three to end O'Keefe's employment with the active-adult community association. This week, the board remains divided by its members over the recent actions. "California Civil Code requires decisions made in executive sessions be announced at the next open meeting. This board has previously been in violation of this legal requirement. The board hired an employment attorney in early July, yet the president refused to announce this fact at the next open meeting on July 23rd despite being reminded to do so by myself," Dunipace said. "As an officer of the association, I am complicit if I fail to undertake that which is legally required when others refuse or fail to act. Therefore it was partial to my obligation, as secretary and keeper of the minutes, to release the decision announcement as others attempted to keep these facts hidden from public view." Besides the Aug. 21 meeting not following the correct procedural process and the incorrect agenda, Dunipace pointed to other alleged improper conduct by board members regarding the executive director position. "Moreover, a majority of the board previously met in 2019 in violation of the open meeting act when they met as a quorum at a local restaurant to be wined and dined by an organization with the intent to oust the executive director and take over the management of our association," Dunipace said. "This same organization provided at least two of the candidates, who suddenly appeared for an interview, a mere two days after the executive director was walked out of his office. A reasonable person doesn't have to agree with my version of events to assess what has happened. Look at the facts. Do they appear consistent with what you would expect to be sound legal reasoning and common business practices? I take issue with those that state otherwise." The alleged quorum violation is similar to a Brown Act violation in which a quorum of City Council members can't together attend other meetings or events. Former Auburn city manager interim Sun City exec director Robert "Bob" Richardson was hired as interim executive director at the Aug. 27 Sun City Lincoln Hill board executive session and his first day on the job was Aug. 31. Richardson replaces executive director Chris O'Keefe, who was fired Aug. 21. O'Keefe was promoted to executive director in 2014 and was employed at the Lincoln active-adult community since 2002. All seven board members unanimously voted to hire Richardson, a former Auburn city manager, according to Sun City Lincoln Hills Community Association Board President Alice Crawford. In an association email Sunday, Crawford said that Richardson was hired under a consulting agreement and not as an employee. Richardson retired on Aug. 7 as Auburn city manager, a position he held twice for a total of 14 years, and also served as Grass Valley city manager from 2014 to 2017. "I retired three weeks ago from that career but I had no desire to stop working; I just wanted a new challenge," Richardson said. "After 30 years, 20 years managing cities, I wanted something different." Richardson began his first day as Sun City Lincoln Hills interim executive director at 8 a.m. Monday and was introduced to residents through a 40-minute Zoom presentation six hours later. Invasive species and beavers busy challenging Lincoln Hills waterways "Ah, those beautiful, tall reeds!" you might have said as you walk on a path by a pond in Sun City Lincoln Hills or in another community. To the waterways, the reeds have become unwelcome and dangerous interlopers. The reeds multiply and try to claim the water for themselves as do other invasive species listed in an annual report by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit landhold trust. The foundation has regularly worked with landowners so that they follow through on responsibly managing their property. When Sun City Lincoln Hills was developed in 1999, the largest active 55-plus community in California, developers needed permits from the local, state, and federal governments. "The process requires applicants to set aside an amount of land that has natural resources, which cannot be negatively impacted by development," said Dr. Darla Guenzler, the foundation's executive director. The goal is to provide natural ecosystems and conserve natural habitats and food supply for wildlife as well as for habitat restoration. Each year, Sun City Lincoln Hills receives a monitoring report from the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, prepared by its biologist, Gaylene Tupen, after a site visit has been conducted. The 2019 version has been delayed due to COVID-19, but the 2018 report contained several recommendations including: "Monitor for new occurrences of invasive plant species and manage existing infestations of invasive species as needed; Thin the Himalayan blackberry along drainages to prevent problems; Remove Pampas grass (including within Ingram Slough;) Remove trash from open space and drainage areas, with emphasis on the north and south branches of Orchard Creek; Repair broken or downed wood fencing along the Orchard Creek and Seep preserves; Protect the boundaries of all waterways; and Continue using sheep and goats to control invasive species and to reduce the fire hazard posed by dry vegetation." Placer County moves to COVID-19 red tier With the state's first weekly assessment under the new Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier structure, Placer County was placed in the red tier Sept. 8. The county was initially placed in the purple tier, which replaces the state's County Monitoring List and indicates widespread coronavirus within a county, due to the state using COVID-19 data from early August. According to the weekly Placer County COVID-19 update, the seven-day testing positivity rate was 3.8 percent for the week ending Aug. 18 and 4.5 percent as of Sept. 3, each falling within the orange tier. The seven-day daily case rate was 5.3 for the week ending Aug. 18 and 4.96 as of Sept. 3, both falling within the red tier. Based on the data for that two-week period, the county anticipated moving to the red tier, which indicates substantial COVID-19 spread. According to the state's blueprint, more businesses will be allowed to reopen and expand operations: Shopping centers will be able to open with 50-percent maximum capacity and reduced food court capacityPersonal-care services, museums, zoos and aquariums can operate indoors with modificationsPlaces of worship and movie theaters can operate indoors with 25-percent maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewerGyms and fitness centers, including fitness centers within hotels, can operate indoors with 10-percent maximum capacityRestaurants can operate indoors with 25-percent maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer.Based on the state's metrics, counties must remain in a tier for a minimum of three weeks and meet the criteria for two consecutive weeks to progress to the next tier. To move to the orange tier, a daily case rate between 1 and 3.9 per 100,000 residents, an average of 4 to 15.6 cases per day, would need to be reached. The county's testing positivity would also need to remain within 2 to 4.9 percent for the remainder of the month. On the other hand, if a spike in cases occurs and the daily case rate rises to greater than 7 or the testing positivity rises to greater than 8 percent for two consecutive weeks, Placer County could regress to the purple tier. Dr. Sisson did her job well This is not an easy time to be a doctor, let alone a county public health officer. With the worst pandemic that we've experienced in our lifetimes, COVID-19, and now hazardous bad air during our extended fire season, we rely more than ever on our health officers. California law requires each county to appoint a health officer, who must be a physician. The Board of Supervisors is required to ensure that the health officer has sufficient authority and resources, and that the organizational structure does not impede the health officer from carrying out their duties, according to California Government Code 3002. Since March, health officers have given us news we don't want to hear, such as to stay indoors and away from others who are not in our household to keep from catching and spreading COVID-19. The county health officials try to make us understand why state orders tell us to stay indoors because of the dangerous virus with long-lasting effects, and more recently, because of the smoky bad air. The Placer County Board of Supervisors this summer stripped Placer County public health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson of her responsibilities related to COVID-19. On June 23, the county supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution to return the authority to terminate the local COVID-19 emergency to them, which was previously delegated to the health officer under the supervisors' March 9 resolution. And on Sept. 8, Placer County's supervisors unanimously voted to end the declaration of the local health emergency regarding COVID-19. The Placer County public information office sent out a press release Sept. 9 saying that Sisson resigned as the Placer County health officer and public health director. The release said that Sisson was highly credited as being a leader in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the community from the virus during the last seven months. Yet Sisson said that the Sept. 8 action by the Placer County Board of Supervisors "made it clear that I can no longer effectively serve in my role as Placer County Health Officer and Public Health Director." Unfortunately, supervisors the last seven months questioned many of Sisson's COVID-19 decisions that were based on facts and dictated by the state Public Health Department. Some of the supervisors tried to micromanage her, although her job required her to follow state policies at all times. Sisson was always a proponent of reopening Placer schools and businesses; she was doing it safely and under state mandates, even when county supervisors and many residents denied that. As for the Placer supervisors who said the local emergency was over on Sept. 8, there were 3,220 confirmed cases in Placer County with 33 patients in the hospital and 12 patients in the ICU that day. As of Sept. 13, the county's number of cases increased to 3,316 with 31 patients in the hospital and nine patients in ICU. Health experts say that COVID-19 will not be under control until a vaccine is available and that cases are expected to surge this winter. In addition, the Mayo Clinic recently said that COVID-19 symptoms can sometimes persist for months and the virus can damage the lungs, heart and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems. So to say that the local emergency is over seems premature. Supervisor Kirk Uhler, who lost his seat in the March 3 election, was quoted on KCRA 3 as hinting that Placer County will not enforce violations, including those referring to social distancing guidelines and wearing facial coverings. "All I'm saying is the county is not enforcing any of this," Uhler told the reporter outside a Placer County restaurant. "If they are not selling alcohol or subject to a state license, they are free to make whatever decision they think is responsible." That Placer County restaurant, by the way, showed customers at the bar within six feet of each other and not wearing facial coverings. Placer ag value increases 17 percent in 2019 Strong prices and an increase in planted acreage of rice and walnut crops in Placer County helped drive a 17-percent increase of total crop value in 2019. That's according to the 2019 Placer County Agricultural Crop Report, presented to the county Board of Supervisors as an informational item at its meeting in early September. Placer County's total gross value of agricultural crops and products for 2019 was $86,707,959; representing an increase of $14,005,069 or 17 percent above 2018's value of $72,702,890. The annual totals reflect the gross value of agricultural crops and products, not the net incomes producers receive. Rice retained its spot as Placer County's top-grossing crop with a value of $25,766,652, which represented a $5-million increase due to strong prices and an increase in planted acreage. Although down significantly from 2018, beef cattle and calves remained second in overall value, with a total value of $12,925,000. Walnuts took over the third position at $11,777,842 with a significant increase in value of more than $6 million due to much of the recently planted new acreage coming into production. Placer County's fourth- and fifth- top crops for 2019 respectively were nursery stock at $7,048,500 and timber at $6,026,000. Lincoln Hills neighbors celebrate Virgil Richardson's 102th birthday Forty family, friends and neighbors attended Virgil Richardson's surprise 102nd birthday party (outside, socially distanced, of course) last Saturday in Sun City Lincoln Hills. Richardson is a living legend to everyone he meets, frequently taking long walks, often with his wife, Mary, a spry 94-year old. While he maybe is slowing down just a tad, Richardson is still mentally sharp and loves chatting with everyone. Richardson was born in Columbus, Kansas in 1918, the year that World War I ended. A World War II veteran, Richardson served in the U.S. Army, Pacific Theater in a railroad construction battalion. He continued in railroad construction, and after retiring, moved to Sun City Lincoln Hills in 2006 to be near family. Asked about his key to longevity, Richardson replied "having good doctors and living a clean life." Residents get intimidating letters for their political signs Current national politics has created divisiveness among residents in neighborhoods throughout the country and Lincoln Hills is no exception. Some residents in Lincoln's active-adult community who have put up signs supporting the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates are receiving anonymous, intimidating letters. On one Lincoln Hills street, five neighbors with Joe Biden/Kamala Harris Democratic election signs received the letters delivered through the mail, in person and under doormats, starting two weeks ago, according to residents Connie Burdick and Pat Stokes. "This has never happened before," said Burdick, who moved to Lincoln Hills nine years ago and has often put up political signs. "I think it's the environment." Burdick considered the letter an invasion. "What concerned me the most is that these people must have driven around and wrote our addresses down," Stokes said. "I found that very disconcerting, that they got the address and then looked it up in Lincoln Hill's reverse phone directory." The two neighbors said they received their letters two days after putting their Democratic signs up. The typed form-like letters were anti-Biden and against anyone who votes for Biden. October Our Town Community Story Series Leaman says goodbye after 28 years with WPUSD Since joining Western Placer Unified School District as the Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School principal in 1993, Scott Leaman has been a leader in the district. On June 30, he will close out a nearly three-decade-long career with the district. Leaman began his educational career in his hometown of San Diego, where he received his bachelor's degree and teaching credential from San Diego State University in the 1980s. In 1993, Leaman and his wife decided that they wanted to relocate to Northern California and found themselves in the farming town of Lincoln. "When I first joined the district, we had five schools and it was very informal," Leaman said. "The district was very small and there was a lot of communication between each school all of the time." One of Leaman's early memories as Coppin Elementary principal was having to clear the playground of cows that had wandered there from surrounding grazing fields. "I was calling my friend who was a principal in south Orange County and I said, 'Oh my God, some cows have gotten onto the playground. I have to go get them off of the playground, Jeff' and he was like, 'What are you talking about,' but that is the way it was," Leaman said. Downtown Lincoln business surviving COVID-19 For seven months, small businesses throughout the country have been battling COVID-19 restrictions to stay alive. In downtown Lincoln, many businesses have remained open by augmenting operational practices and finding support from their community. According to Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Tom Indrieri, there have been no permanent closures of businesses in the downtown area. Indreri said that businesses "were hurt badly" when the state was closed again in July when COVID-19 numbers began to rise again. "Yeah, the second shut down, that was a pretty big hit to everybody," Indrieri said. "You ramp back up for the first go-around and then literally get shut down again. So a lot of businesses between employee costs and inventory costs were pretty devastating." With help from the city with Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, continued support from the community and organizations such as the Downtown Lincoln Association and the chamber, businesses were able to stay open. School board reports successful campus return Tuesday's Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting was its first meeting in eight months with students back on campus since COVID-19 caused statewide school closures. Board members held a rather short meeting, about 30 minutes, where they discussed the reopening of school campuses and how impressed they were with the students and staff. "What a great day it really was," school district Superintendent Scott Leaman said. The district opened the new Leaman Elementary School and unveiled the completion of the updated Glen Edwards Middle School campus. "I got a chance to talk to a lot of the seventh- and eighth-graders (at Glen Edwards) and they are just amazed at how different Glen Edwards looks," Western Placer Classified Employee Association representative Gus Nevarez said. "Everybody that was involved in that sure did a nice job." Back to school for WPUSD students Scott M. Leaman Elementary School officially opened its doors for the first time to an unfamiliar sight for a school opening, as students wore masks, socially distanced and media crews covered the school grounds. The school is at 1200 Brentford Circle in Lincoln Crossings. This is what a school opening looks like during a pandemic. As reopenings occur across Western Placer Unified School District, parents, students and teachers hope that these openings mark a return to a time before COVID-19. While the morning was still new and the sun's golden light illuminated the shining new hallways of the school, district Superintendent Scott Leaman, whose name the school bears, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to properly open the school. Teachers, school board trustees, district employees and school Principal Reno Penders listened while socially distancing themselves and wearing masks in the campus' common area. Lincoln City Council approves conservation program Lincoln City Council approved the Placer County Conservation Program, putting a conclusion to the two decades of planning that went into this program's formation. The Placer County Conservation Program is a partnership between Placer County, the city of Lincoln, the South Placer Regional Transportation Agency and the Placer County Water Agency Board. The program's mission is to set aside 47,000 acres for contiguous preservation of unique farmland and natural habitats within a larger designated area of 260,000 acres. Much of the area will be located within western Placer County and include both unincorporated county land and city of Lincoln land. WPUSD completes first week back On Oct. 13, Western Placer Unified School District concluded its first week back to in-person learning after being closed down in March due to COVID-19 and Gov. Gavin Newsom's State of Emergency order. Western Placer was the first kindergarten through 12th-grade district in the county to return to school five days a week and also continue to provide a distance learning option for students. Students returned to the classroom on Oct. 6 for a shortened day as teachers focus on their in-person students in the morning and in the afternoon pivot to their distance learners. According to district Superintendent Scott Leaman, at least 70 percent of the district's 9,712 students returned to the classroom with the remaining 30 percent deciding to stay at home. "Knock on wood, it appears to be going pretty smoothly and I think we hopefully pull off this phase," Leaman said. 13 positive COVID cases, 250 students quarantined third week back to school After two days of the third week back to school, Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman said during a school board meeting that the district has 13 positive cases of COVID-19 and 250 students in quarantine. The Lincoln News Messenger reported that the district reported eight positive COVID-19 cases and 111 students in quarantine within the first two weeks of school. Within two days, the case number increased by five and students in quarantine for 14 days has gone up by 139 students. "That number is a little concerning because when you look at about 5,000 students that are in-person, 250 students in about two weeks is five percent of students who want to attend our schools," Leaman said. 8 COVID-19 cases reported since campuses opened two weeks ago Two weeks after school campuses reopened Oct. 6, after being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Western Placer Unified School District reported eight cases of the virus throughout the district. According to Leaman, the first case was reported late last week at Glen Edwards Middle School when a classified employee who had no contact with students or teachers tested positive. After this week, Leaman said, the district will no longer share with the public which school sites have positive cases, except for those parents who have a student at the school. Not sharing that information with the public, Leaman said, will reduce the possibility of the public wanting to know the specifics of what grade and classroom a person tested positive in. County approves tax-sharing agreement with Lincoln More funding for public safety in near future After a year-and-a-half of work between the city of Lincoln and Placer County, Lincoln Mayor Dan Karleskint announced that the county approved the new tax-sharing agreement with the city. "From the city's side, we had a great team that wouldn't take no for an answer and tried to circumvent whatever objections we had," Karleskint said. The agreement has the potential to generate an additional $8 million to $11 million that will go toward the General Fund and ultimately increase the city's public safety levels. The agreement, effective once Lincoln City Council approves it, will last for a minimum of eight years. It can be extended two years if public safety levels are not met after the first eight years. Our Town Community Story Series Paul Apfel keeping community arts alive Although having no formal background in visual arts until moving to Lincoln in 2001, Paul Apfel has played a major role in keeping the local arts community alive in Lincoln for the last 14 years. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Apfel joined the United States Army in 1960 as an officer after completing his college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. His life as an Army officer lasted 20 years. During that time, Apfel was stationed in California where he fell in love with the state. "When I decided to retire from the Army in 1980, I elected to come back to California and went to Monterey where I had a real estate business," Apfel said. "I stayed there until 1986 when I moved up to Fair Oaks and went to work for the state where I was for 16 years." Toward the conclusion of his time working in the information technology field for the state, Apfel and his wife began looking at places to move to and found Sun City Lincoln Hills in 2001. "In early 2001, when we visited again, we found a lot that we liked and we decided to move and that is when I decided to leave the various state agencies I had been working for," Apfel said. Deidre Trudeau new art center executive manager The Art League of Lincoln has a new art center executive manager, Deidre Trudeau. Trudeau "will focus on making the Art League of Lincoln the cultural center of the city, aiming to enrich our community with opportunities to participate in art, art education, art development, music and other creative endeavors," according to an Art League press release. One of her initial goals will be providing a variety of diverse, trending and active cultural activities accessible to the entire community, as well as to the nonprofit league's membership. Another goal is to nurture deeper and more substantive ties to Lincoln's business community. With the addition of Trudeau's creative networking, the league will enhance collaboration with other regional efforts. Disabled Parking Placards misuse common Did you know that it's illegal to drive with Disabled Person Parking Placards dangling from your rearview mirrors? How about it being against the law to use someone else's placard for your own benefit? According to California state law, a parking placard for a disabled person can only be used by the person to whom it is assigned. If caught, these misdemeanor offenders might find themselves before a judge, paying fines and possibly having the offense on their driving records. Depending on the jurisdiction, fines range from $250 to $1,000. Disabled Parking Placards misuse has become so common that one in every 12 Californians has been guilty of it, according to Nicholas Filipas, a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) public information officer for the state. In Placer County, Filipas said, about one out of 30 individuals has been guilty of the offense. Vandalism crimes reported in Lincoln Two crimes reported the morning of Sept. 29, one that involves a swastika and the other rhetoric against blue lives, are probably unrelated and being treated as vandalism, according to Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee. The incidents occurred about three miles apart, different colored paint was used and the ideological beliefs of someone who would paint a swastika are not typically aligned with someone who supports Black Lives Matter efforts, Lee said. The Lincoln Police Department received a call that a swastika was painted on a home on Yosemite Lane in Sun City Lincoln Hills and undecipherable letters were painted on the resident's driveway. A swastika is a symbol of hate toward Jews and is the official emblem of the Nazi party and the Third Reich. Police also received a report of spray-painted words including Black Lives Matter, Love Is Love, and ACAB, which stands for the "All Cops Are Bastards" mantra at a house on Ashwood Way in Lincoln. Lincoln Hills neighbors get creative Sun City Lincoln Hills residents have found a creative way to send best wishes to neighbors celebrating special occasions. Since June, residents in Lincoln Hills' Village 41A have designed sidewalk chalk art messages when their neighbors have birthdays and anniversaries. Dolores and Norm Cherubino celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary last week. And while COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions prevent social gatherings at this time, neighbors could still honor the Cherubinos with a decorated sidewalk recognizing the couple's 61st anniversary. In this neighborhood, what goes around comes around. Joyce Herrerias on Orchid Lane received birthday greetings from the neighborhood artists. Herrerias is the Cherubinos' next door neighbor. "Birthday gal Joyce was not aware of the 'goings on.' She and husband, Dick, were inside and were surprised when they opened their garage door," said Dolores Cherubino. Placer County progresses to orange COVID-19 tier Placer County was placed in the orange COVID-19 tier Oct. 13. The county remained in the red tier following the Sept. 28 assessment, due to the metrics data from the period of Sept. 13 to 19, which the county's Oct. 2 update noted included "an increase in the proportion of cases who had participated in large gatherings …, which could be connected to Labor Day gatherings and activities." Placer County was initially placed in the red tier Sept. 8. According to the state's assessment for the period of Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, Placer County's testing positivity rate was 2 percent, which falls within the orange tier, and the adjusted case rate was 3.9, which also falls within the orange tier. Since the Oct. 5 assessment, the county's testing positivity rate increased 0.1 percent and the case rate increased by 1.4. With the new tier standing, some businesses will be allowed to expand operations further, whereas others will now be allowed to reopen. Placer County will remain in the orange tier for three weeks and have its next placement assessment Nov. 3. To remain in the orange tier at that time, the adjusted case rate would need to remain between 1 and 3.9, and the testing positivity rate would need to remain between 2 and 4.9 percent for the two-week period before the assessment date. If either metric exceeds these thresholds, Placer County could regress to the red tier. As of Oct. 14, there were 3,838 total confirmed COVID-19 cases and 51 COVID-19 deaths in Placer County. Don't put off getting your mammogram because of COVID-19 While the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting our daily routines as we physically distance and stay away from others as much as possible, the pandemic is also causing residents to postpone their annual mammograms. Many residents are putting off annual medical visits this year, waiting until the COVID-19 threat is reduced. Since the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer today is about 13 percent or one out of every eight women, that postponement could become a matter of life and death. Statistics estimate 42,690 deaths (42,170 women and 520 men) from breast cancer this year. Breast cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in women in the United States, after lung cancer. Today, more than 3.8 million American women have been diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 2,620 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In 2016, about 3.5 million women throughout the country had breast cancer, according to federal figures. So breast cancer is not diminishing. A statistic shared for several years by breast cancer experts is that a woman every two minutes on the average is diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. This year, that number is lower, not because the disease has gone away but because fewer women are going for their regular mammograms during the pandemic. "We know that many people are not getting their recommended cancer screenings now due to COVID concerns (i.e. staying home instead of doing routine screenings) so that number isn't accurate in 2020 but would likely be in a typical year," said Gretchen Groves, American Cancer Society's West Region communications director. "It's important to also share that delaying screenings can lead to finding cancer later when it's more difficult to treat. It's recommended that if someone is experiencing symptoms they are concerned about, they contact their health care provider about the best course of action for them at this time." There is currently no cure for breast cancer and its early diagnosis is critical to survival. This year in California, according to Groves, there will be an estimated 30,650 new cases of breast cancer. A breast cancer diagnosis a few decades ago could have had grim results. Fortunately, that's not the case anymore as new medical treatments within the last decade have resulted in positive outcomes with survivors living a healthy life. November WPUSD reports 22 positive COVID-19 cases The Western Placer Unified School District held an exceptionally short board meeting Tuesday just under 25 minutes during the night of the General Election. Although the meeting was short, district Superintendent Scott Leaman gave a detailed report of the events going on in the district related to COVID-19. According to Leaman, 22 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported district-wide since school campuses reopened on Oct. 6 and 300 students are currently in quarantine. So far this week, no positive COVID-19 cases have been reported. For Leaman, the "erratic" nature of the amount of cases each week "has been found to be strange" by the district. "The first week, we had one case; the next week, we had seven or eight cases; the week after that, we had five; and last week, we had five cases on Monday and one case on Tuesday and nothing Wednesday through Friday," Leaman said. Pearl takes early lead for Lincoln treasurer The first semi-official results of the Nov. 3 General Election were posted. These are not the final numbers of these elections and a winner has not been called. The Placer County Elections Office has 28 days after an election to finalize all races and results as the office counts and verifies votes. The Lincoln News Messenger will update results as the Placer County Elections Office releases them the next few Tuesdays and Fridays. During this General Election, all Lincoln City Council candidates, Paul Joiner, Dan Karleskint and William Lauritsen, are running unopposed for their districts. There are two Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees seats up for election for school board with current board President Paul Long defending his seat and five candidates battling for the open seat left by board member Paul Carrass. Currently with all 15 precincts reporting in with 18,724, Long holds 42.15 percent of the vote while his opponent, Cristie Freymond, controls 57.84 percent of the vote. For the open seat, it is a close race with Jason Price at 26.71 percent of the vote, Spencer Short at 22.15 percent, Ana Stevenson at 21.15 percent and Harold Ashe at 20.26 percent. The fifth candidate for the open seat is Steven Brothers at 9.73 percent. Lincoln treasurer The seat for Lincoln treasurer is between Lincoln Finance Committee member Richard Pearl and former Lincoln Mayor Stan Nader. All five precincts have reported a current total of 17,882 votes. Pearl took an early lead with 62.99 percent of the vote to Nader's 37.0 percent. Races undecided with thousands of votes to count Semi-official results of the Nov. 3 General Election are being updated the next few weeks by the Placer County Elections Office. Lincoln closer to increase public safety staffing The city of Lincoln is closer than ever before in recent years to having public-safety staffing levels increase as Lincoln City Council approved a new property tax-sharing agreement with Placer County at the council meeting. On Oct. 27, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved this same agreement to enter into this eight to 10 year tax-sharing agreement with the city of Lincoln that could generate as much as $11 million. The agreement will be implemented on new housing construction and increased property values for Twelve Bridges, Sun City Lincoln Hills, Lincoln Crossing and Foskett Ranch. The base profit will be split by the city collecting 36 percent of property tax income and the county taking the remaining 64 percent. As development occurs on these properties and the base property value increases, the city of Lincoln will collect 98 percent of profits over the base property value along with its 36-percent cut and the county will tax the remaining two percent. New salary schedule for high school principals The Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a salary schedule adjustment for the high school principal position Tuesday, in order to entice more applicants to apply for the Twelve Bridges High School position. Before the adjustment, Western Placer Unified School District had the lowest starting salary in south Placer County for a high school principal at $112,623, which is $9,853 below Placer Union High School Disitrct's $122,476 starting salary. The adjustment will move the starting salary up to $119,528, which still places Western Placer Unified School District in last for starting salary. However, with the high compensation that Western Placer Unified School District offers, total compensation pay for those entering the position will be at $133,952, which is $3,556 above Placer Union. Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman said that this adjustment was much needed as they received 12 applicants for the principal position at Twelve Bridges High School and the pool of applicants was not what he had expected. "We are a district that people want to work in and we typically have many applicants for our positions, except in the area of administration," Leaman said, "It is easy to see from the comparison why we do not attract people with experience." County appeals to stay in orange instead of red tier During a Placer County Board of Supervisors meeting, Interim Placer County Health Officer Dr. Rob Oldham warned that the county could be back in red Tuesday if COVID-19 data continues the way it has in the county. The tiers are part of California's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy." Currently, Placer County is in the orange tier. The red tier indicates "substantial" spread of the virus, while the orange tier indicates "moderate" spread. If Placer County does return to the red tier, it would mean that restaurants and movie theaters would go back to 25-percent indoor capacity, malls would go to 50-percent capacity, wineries can only operate outside and breweries that don't sell food are closed. The two other tiers, Oldham said, are purple, the most restrictive tier for counties with widespread transmission, and yellow as the least restrictive tier for counties with minimal transmission. According to Oldham, the area of the county seeing the greatest spike in recent weeks has been the city of Lincoln and the remaining western Placer County area. "There were upticks in Lincoln and mid-Placer noted last week," Oldham said. "Our epidemiologists have referenced weddings, bachelor parties and similar activities being among the histories of recent cases." Oldham said that there is no exact data to identity specific events causing a rise in cases at this time. "The case rate has been trending up in recent days and I predict that if we eventually have to move back to the red tier, it will probably be because of this metric in particular," Oldham said. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints donates diapers to Lighthouse Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Center, in partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had a successful diaper drive from September through mid-October. President Scott Stewart, church ecclesiastical leader of the Lincoln and Loomis congregations, and Jeff Eller, another church ecclesiastical leader, delivered 30,192 diapers to the nonprofit Lighthouse with an estimated value of $9,658.56. The purpose was to collect diapers for area families who are struggling to make ends meet. Diapers are such a large expense for most families and there is currently a great need for diapers in Placer County, according to diaper drive organizers. Local group donates $14,000 of exercise equipment to LPD It is common for the Lincoln community to show great support for its law enforcement and the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Group showed theirs by donating $14,000 in new exercise equipment to the Lincoln Police Department. "This was an extremely generous donation," Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee said. "We spend most of our budget on items that help us protect and serve the public and very little on improving conditions for our staff. Chuck Schmidt and the rest of the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Group heard that we needed new equipment and took the initiative to make it happen. To say that I am grateful for this generous donation would be an understatement." According to group President Schmidt, the equipment previously being used by the Police Department was bought in 1990 and has had little updates. The Retired Law Enforcement Officers Group purchased a large multi-use exercise machine, leg press machines, folding benches and leg extension machine from Hoist Fitness. During a time when gyms are open with limited capacity or not even open at all because of COVID-19, Lee said that this equipment will serve his officers very well. "I've often joked that a gym membership tag on your keyring does not equate to fitness; you have to actually go to the gym (which requires some effort)," Lee said. "Having this equipment on site eliminates one step in that process." Coppin Elementary in Lincoln donating Thanksgiving baskets With limitations on traditional school activities this holiday season, Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School in Lincoln is still finding a way to celebrate Thanksgiving. Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School is partnering with the Lincoln Salt Mine food closet and the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln Foothills to donate Thanksgiving food baskets for families in need. The Lincoln Salt Mine is donating turkeys, the Kiwanis Club is donating canned foods and non-perishable items and the school's Kiwanis K-Kids program is helping put together the baskets. The food will be donated during a drive-through pickup in front of the school. "All the goodies, everything needed for Thanksgiving dinner," said Teresa Avelar, Carlin C. Coppin Elementary School's bilingual clerk and a Kiwanis Club member. Tennis a favorite among Lincoln Hills residents Since reopening in May, the Lincoln Hills tennis courts have seen plenty of action from Sun City Lincoln Hills residents. With several social-distancing guidelines implemented to combat the spread of COVID-19, residents in the active-adult community have been able to continue their daily exercise and camaraderie on the tennis courts in the sports plaza. Nine active tennis courts, with a rotating schedule, can be found fully in use every day. Two more tennis courts are under construction with hopes of being open to use by the end of the year. Placer County one of 41 counties back in purple tier On Nov. 16, California Governor Gavin Newsom pulled the proverbial emergency break on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy system across the state as COVID-19 data increased statewide and nationwide. That caused Placer County to go back into the purple (widespread) tier from the red (substantial) tier. "We are sounding the alarm," Newsom said. "California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet, faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our healthcare system and lead to catastrophic outcomes." Placer County is one of 41 counties now back in the most restrictive of all the tiers. On Nov. 10, Placer County was placed back into the substantial or red tier as its metrics continued to show a trend upward out of the moderate or orange tier and into the red and purple tiers. Currently, Placer County's data shows that the seven-day case positivity rate is at 5.7 percent and the daily case rate is at 13 per 100,000 residents. The positivity rate places Placer in red where the daily case rate places Placer in purple. During the Nov. 17 Placer County Board of Supervisors meeting, Interim Placer County Public Health Officer Dr. Rob Oldham spoke about the impact that the rise in cases has had on hospitals and their preparedness going forward. "While they have seen the number of patients hospitalized due to COVID more than double, as I mentioned, COVID cases still represent less than 10 percent of their total bed capacity," Oldham said." Our hospitals and medical offices have become really experienced experts at treating COVID and also at keeping patients with other conditions safe from COVID." Food banks especially needed during pandemic Visits to area food pantries are rising because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused layoffs and business closures. "We've seen pretty much an average of a 25-percent increase in food assistance and in some cases up to 40 percent," said Placer Food Bank director of development Lisa Heinrich. The food bank offers a free monthly drive-through farmers' market distribution program in Lincoln and Rocklin, as well as Pollock Pines, Placerville, Sheridan, Cameron Park and Georgetown. The Salvation Army in Roseville is part of the food assistance network. Its food pantry is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. A hot meal is available from 11 a.m. to noon on Fridays. The number of residents seeking food assistance has doubled this year, receptionist Sarah Pettit said. First United Methodist Church of Loomis' food pantry is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (closed holidays). The church has seen a big increase in those seeking assistance. The Salt Mine is the primary food closet distribution site in Lincoln, serving Sheridan as well. COVID-19 has not only increased need in the community but it has changed the way Salt Mine is distributing food. The food pantry is open 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 1 pm. Saturdays. It's now a drive-up service, with volunteers placing the food box directly in each vehicle, Salt Mine President Eric Long said. "This year, we are experiencing about five times the amount of our normal output," Long said. The greatest need is monetary donations. Lincoln turkey drive an instant classic The seventh annual city of Lincoln Turkey Drive, hosted by Lincoln Fire Station 34, brought out the best of the Lincoln community on Nov. 19. With a goal of 1,000 turkey donations, the drive tallied more than 1,200 drive-through drop-offs throughout the day. "We had a really good turnout from the very beginning," said Lincoln Fire Department engineer Ron Olson. In the first hour alone, Olson estimated nearly 400 cars drove through the fire station to drop off donated frozen birds as volunteers plucked them from donors' trunks. Classic cars from Rods & Relics of Lincoln Hills and newer rides from the Lincoln Hills Sports Cars Club rolled through in packs to make for a flashy drop-off scene. "We always try to participate in community things," said Ron Goleno of the Lincoln Hills Sports Cars Club. "That's why we're here. This is one of the community things that we like to support. As far as today, we're so happy to do this for the Salt Mine and everything else… It isn't just turkeys; we love giving." The turkeys were sent to the Lincoln Salt Mine food closet for full meal distributions. Kaiser begins COVID-19 vaccine trials on teens Kaiser Permanente Sacramento and Santa Clara are beginning testing the Pfizer, Inc., and BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 on those under age 18 for the first time, according to Kaiser's Vaccine Study Center director Dr. Nicola Klein. Klein said that any Kaiser Roseville members are welcome to participate in the trials as long as they are willing to travel to Sacramento or Santa Clara to be part of the trials. Klein said that this is the same trial that has been reported nationally of the major pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, Inc., and its vaccine that has shown 90-percent effectiveness against COVID-19. Kaiser will be a part of the next step of testing, which involves teens between the ages of 16 and 17. Pfizer wants to have 600 teens participate within this test group, with Kaiser ideally having at most 100 of those participants, according to Klein. The trial process will be similar to that of the older age group where half of the participants get the vaccine and the other half receives a placebo. December All 235,084 votes from 127 precincts have been counted The Placer County Elections Office has finalized the election results for the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election. The following results were released: The Lincoln treasurer race was between Lincoln Finance Committee member Richard Pearl and former Lincoln Mayor Stan Nader. Pearl won after securing 58.29 percent of the vote to Nader's 41.71 percent. For this General Election, all Lincoln City Council candidates, incumbent Paul Joiner, Dan Karleskint and William Lauritsen, ran unopposed in their districts. Two Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees seats were up for election with current board President Paul Long defending his seat and five candidates battling for the open seat left by board member Paul Carrass. After 40 years on the board, Long lost to opponent Cristie Freymond, who secured 60.65 percent of votes to Long's 39.95 percent. For the open seat, Jason Price pulled away with the win after securing 27.69 percent of the vote Remaining candidates are Ana Stevenson at 20.64 , Spencer Short at 20.47 percent, Harold Ashe at 20.13 percent and Steven Brothers at 11.08 percent. Courtside Basketball Center visitors might have been exposed to COVID-19 Placer County Public Health identified cases of COVID-19 associated with Courtside Basketball Center in Rocklin, according to a Nov. 25 Placer County Public Health alert. More than two dozen individuals from two other counties participating in indoor youth basketball tournaments at the Rocklin facility on Nov. 7 and Nov 8 have confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses, according to the public health alert. The Courtside Basketball Center is at 1104 Tinker Road. "The public is advised to avoid all participation in indoor activities at Courtside Basketball Center," the county health alert stated. According to the Placer County alert, numerous participants in the tournament from Nov. 7 to Nov. 8 also participated in subsequent tournaments at Courtside Basketball Center. WPUSD School Board says goodbye to exiting board members The Western Placer Unified School District said goodbye to two of its board members, Paul Long and Paul Carras, who combined have served in the field of education for more than 80 years. Long began his time with Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees in 1978 and has served for a total of 42 years with 40 consecutive years. "He is the person who lets us know the history of when we are going array and when we are going on a straight path," Western Placer Unified School Superintendent Scott Leaman said. "There is just no way I can appreciate all the time you have spent with us." Long recounted when he first moved to Lincoln and what the school district was like then to what it has now become. "I bought my ranch in 1968 and the population of Lincoln was about 3,200. It had only one stop sign at Highway 193 and State Route 65," Long said. "When I first became a member of the school board, we had four elementary schools, Valley View, Sheridan, Carlin C. Coppin and Glen Edwards; one middle school, Glen Edwards; and Lincoln High School." Car bursts into flames at Lincoln High School Three cars went up in flames in the Lincoln High School student parking area, according to the Lincoln Fire Department. No injuries were reported and no buildings were damaged, according to Lincoln High School Principal Mike Maul. Engines from Fire Stations 33 and 34 sent to the high school extinguished the cars, according to the Fire Department, but the cars are a total loss due to the severe damage caused by the fire. "We are very grateful to our Lincoln Police and Fire departments, who by their rapid response helped to minimize the damage from the fire, as many other vehicles could have been damaged," Maul said in a letter to parents and students. From images taken by the Lincoln Fire Department, it appears that two BMW sedans and one Nissan SUV were damaged by the fire. Placerville and El Dorado County to join Pioneer Energy Lincoln City Council saw a changing of the guard during Tuesday's City Council meeting as councilman Peter Gilbert gave his seat to new councilman Bill Lauritsen and Mayor Dan Karleskint passed the gavel onto Councilwoman Alyssa Silhi. "It is a little daunting to take the mayor seat after you so I will do my best to not mess up and will probably never rise to the legend that you have become," Silhi said. Gilbert also gave his final remarks after 43 years serving in public office in the Bay Area and in Lincoln. "I would like to give my congratulations to Bill, Paul (Joiner) and Dan for your elections to the council and I wish all of you continued good fortune for our community," Gilbert said. Principal Maul to leave Lincoln High to open Twelve Bridges High Lincoln High School staff were surprised Dec. 9 with the announcement that Principal Mike Maul will soon cross town to become principal at the new Twelve Bridges High School. The high school is planned to open on Aug.19, 2021. After going through dozens of applications and adjusting the position's pay schedule to make the job more enticing for out-of-town prospective employees, school district staff decided to go with someone who knew Lincoln "inside and out." "I think what his selection brings to the table is that he is an experienced high school principal that has just done such a great job. So he has all of the foundational skills that I think will make him successful," said Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Scott Leaman. Planning begins on CTE course layout for new high school With the upcoming opening of Twelve Bridges High School in August 2021, the Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees began discussions of what Career Technical Education (CTE) courses will be hosted at the two high schools. Lincoln High School will keep the following Career Technical Education courses: agriculture and natural resources; arts, media and entertainment, ceramics, building and construction trades, and engineering and architecture. Twelve Bridges High School will take over the following Career Technical Education courses: commercial art, video production and graphic design; health science and medical technology; information and computer sciences. Lincoln High juniors and seniors now taking Career Technical Education courses that are being moved to Twelve Bridges will still be able to take those courses at Lincoln High, according to Assistant Superintendent Kerry Callahan. Lincoln brings Christmas cheer 2020-style With restrictions placed on many traditional Christmas celebrations due to COVID-19, the city of Lincoln and the Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce created the inaugural Christmas Tree Grove in Beermann's Plaza in downtown Lincoln. Beerman's Plaza is at 5th and F streets. Lincoln businesses, organizations, restaurants, athletic groups, schools and more decorated 26 trees displayed in the plaza. "For the first year doing this, it is a great showing and the decorations look great," Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Indrieri said. "This was thrown together to have some Christmas cheer, but next year, it could be even bigger, because I already have businesses calling me and telling me they want to participate." The small grove of pines complement the adjacent Lincoln Christmas Tree counterpart, which is in the plaza's center. Placer County sees rise in COVID hospitalizations Placer County has seen a rise in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 with 116 patients in the hospital and 17 in the Intensive Care Unit because of COVID-19 during the past two weeks, according to county data. As of Dec. 1, there are 6,664 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Placer County. Placer County has reported a total of 71 deaths from COVID-19 between the ages of 18 and 80-plus, also as of Dec. 1. According to Placer County Health Officer Dr. Rob Oldham, there are 732 licensed beds, with 122 for the ICU, between all Placer County hospitals. However, Oldham said, it is not the amount of beds the county is concerned with but the availability of staffing to provide care for patients in those beds. "Beyond bed capacity, one piece that is often overlooked is that beds are often easier to find than staff, which could be a concern if trends continue to worsen," Oldham said. "Our hospitals have plans in place, and our hope is that they don't have to use them. We'll continue to meet with them and support resource requests, such as PPE, on a frequent basis." Meth and heroin possession arrests on the rise in county Drug arrests in California have increased in half of its 58 counties, according to the Public Policy Institute of California while overall arrest rates in most Californian counties have decreased. In Placer County, law enforcement statistics show that methamphetamine and heroin possession arrests are increasing at a higher rate than other illegal drugs and that more men than women are charged. Additionally, those aged 30 to 39 have been arrested the most often and the majority of those charged have not been homeless. The Lincoln Police Department said that in Lincoln, the number of individuals charged with drug-related offenses grew by more than 100 between the same time periods over the past two years. From Jan. 1 to Oct. 27, 2019, 192 individuals were charged, compared to 306 during the same time period in 2020. While most of those charged have been in possession of drugs, Lincoln Police said, officers have seen an increase of individuals facing sales charges. Lincoln Police report that most individuals arrested have not been Lincoln residents. Placer falls into newest stay-at-home order At the end of the first week of the new regional stay-at-home order that went into effect Dec. 3, the Greater Sacramento Region, including Placer County, has fallen below 15 percent of ICU bed capacity. As of Dec. 9, the Greater Sacramento Region is at 14.3 percent of available ICU capacity. The stay-at-home order went into effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 10. In Placer County, as of Dec. 9, there are 8,544 confirmed COVID-19 cases since March, 146 people in Placer County hospitals because of COVID-19 and 85 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. The regional stay-at-home order focuses on the ICU bed capacity that a specific California region has available. If the whole region's capacity percentage falls below 15 percent, the region is placed on a three week stay-at-home order. Placer County with three major hospitals in the region has 122 ICU beds total with 23 percent of those beds available, as of Tuesday, according to Placer County Health data. The California Department of Health predicted on Dec. 3 that the Greater Sacramento Region would fall below the 15 percentile of available beds early this month. With the region falling below the 15-percent ICU available capacity mark, the stay-at-home order now in effect will be similar to what was seen during the March stay-at-home order: Stop the Surge in California: Save lives this holiday season California is facing the most challenging stage of the pandemic with a rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, combined with a sharp drop in ICU capacity statewide. According to state public health officials, a spike in travel, indoor gatherings and holiday festivities will further fuel this surge and overwhelm hospitals. "We are at a critical tipping point and must do everything we can to keep our loved ones safe and alive so we can enjoy many more holidays together in the future," said Dr. Erica Pan, Interim State Public Health Officer for the California Department of Public Health. "This isn't the year to encourage all your loved ones to come together for the holidays. As a mom, a sister and a daughter, I know how challenging it is but we must limit celebrations to people in our households and set up video calls with other family and friends. Do it for your health and the safety of the people you love." Public health officials urge Californians to stay home except for essential activities and to avoid mixing with other households. Everyone should also continue to wear masks when they leave home, stay six feet apart and wash hands. Impact drivers: Carrick brothers climb national sprint car rankings Navigating what became an unorthodox schedule paved the way toward national recognition for racing brothers Tanner and Blake Carrick. The Carricks, who reside in Lincoln and compete for family-owned Carrick Motorsports, just completed their most successful season to date. While COVID-19 made it challenging to find races locally in the first half of the year, Tanner and Blake looked elsewhere. "We committed that we were gonna travel and go where these races are," said the boys' father, David Carrick. "Wherever the races were, we went." Wherever the races were, the brothers were usually in the thick of the action. Tanner Carrick, 18, drives for Toyota in winged 360 sprint cars, midgets and outlaw karts. He started racing when he was 6 years old. The brothers each picked up three wins through a season of myriad cancellations and rainouts. Blake Carrick earned local series wins at Watsonville on June 20 and Marysville on Aug. 12 and at the Forni Classic in Placerville on July 25. Tanner Carrick, meanwhile, won twice at Marysville on July 8 and 22, and at Placerville on Sept. 19. On six occasions, the brothers placed in the top-five of the same race, including Sept. 19 at Marysville, when Tanner Carrick took first and Blake Carrick took second. "We've got something pretty good going for next year," Tanner Carrick said. "We made some really big gains from last year to this year. We've been on the podium quite a few times this year." In the Dec. 17 Sprint Car Mania power rankings, Blake Carrick ranked sixth nationally while Tanner Carrick was not far behind in ninth, the highest that either had ever ranked by far.