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EL DORADO HILLS — In a do-or-die softball game for the final Delta River League playoff spot, St. Francis ran circles around host Oak Ridge in a lopsided, five-inning, 15-0 loss. “Sometimes you catch teams at the wrong time and they were on fire today. I mean, they hit everything. I knew we’d have to [...]
I was so humbled by my latest journalistic experience. Joining a media flight in the B-17 “Memphis Belle” wasn’t just an assignment for me. It was an eye-opener to how lucky my life has been so far. For those of us who never joined the military and have not had to experience war firsthand, we [...]
SHINGLE SPRINGS — Two days after beating Jesuit 9-7 to start a three-game series, Ponderosa fell flat last Wednesday in a one-sided 19-3 loss to the visiting Marauders — the game called after five innings due to the mercy rule. Jesuit sent 18 men to the plate in the top of the third inning and [...]
EL DORADO HILLS — Playing in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game Thursday, the Oak Ridge Lady Trojans led from the start in a 7-1 Delta River League victory over visiting Ponderosa. “That was the best game we’ve played all year. We got our bunts down, we moved runners, we made little fielding mistakes. Even [...]
EDITOR: Citizens of El Dorado County can help prevent military suicides by committing to the well-being of young people before they enlist. As a military chaplain with peace time and war zone experience, I have worked with service members from all backgrounds — soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard members who thrive from supportive [...]
The jury in the Richard Kenneth Petroski case returned a verdict of guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of John Gale Malia on April 9. El Dorado County Superior Court Judge James R. Wagoner announced that a verdict had been reached at 9:06 a.m. He noted that the previous Thursday, the jury had requested a read-back [...]
Suicide and deployment: two words that seem to go hand in hand with too many American soldiers nowadays. What seems like a well-known fact might be misleading, though. According to the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report for 2011, nearly 53 percent of those who died by suicide in the military in 2011 had no [...]
A hearing for a man suspected of killing his stepfather outlined the beginning of the trial and dealt with pretrial motions. Richard Kenneth Petroski sat with a smirk on his face as Judge James R. Wagoner outlined the days meant to select a jury, starting on March 26. Wagoner was hopeful that by March 28, [...]
EDITOR: Chris Daley’s report of March 15, “Sheriff takes his second amendment talk into the lion’s den,” is a good snapshot of D’Agostini’s meeting in front of the Democratic Women Club of El Dorado County. (N.B. They’re lionesses, not ‘lions.’) Unfortunately, Chris does not fully convey the contrast between the two speakers: D’Agostini on one [...]
I was in an audience in Sacramento, listening to Alan D. Wolfelt, a man whose speech topics are not cheerful. Wolfelt is a psychologist, workshop leader, and author whose 57 books are about death, divorce, suicide and other topics that involve loss and grief. It can be difficult to listen to him, but I enjoyed [...]
John D’Agostini, sheriff of El Dorado County, discussed and debated a number of gun-related issues at last week’s meeting of the Democratic Women of El Dorado County. More than 80 attended, nearly filling a large conference room at the county Office of Education. Some were there to challenge the sheriff’s highly public and publicized remarks [...]
A preliminary hearing Wednesday in the case of two attempted murders was found to have enough evidence for the case to begin pretrial proceedings. The hearing for Austin Schwartzler began in Department 7, but Judge Douglas C. Phimister, who had other preliminary hearings, told defense attorney Adam Weiner and deputy district attorney Lisette Suder that [...]
The man accused of killing his stepfather appeared briefly in court Monday morning to set a new readiness and settlement hearing and to confirm the trial start date for later this month. Mark Ralphs, representing defendant Richard Petroski, said, “Everything looks like it’s a go” for a March 26 trial. Ralphs and deputy district attorney [...]
March 1 2:37 a.m. A suspect, Michael Tidwell, 54, who had been excluded from a business on Red Hawk Parkway in Shingle Springs allegedly returned and was cited and released for the county ordinance for trespassing. 8:45 a.m. A crime report was made regarding possible vandalism to the front door window of a residence on [...]
Alison Ehlers’ success in the classroom has earned her one of the highest academic awards at California State University, Sacramento. The Placerville resident is one of four students who earned the Love of Learning scholarship. Ehlers, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in psychology, received the $500 scholarship for her academic achievements. She was in [...]
A man accused of killing his stepfather appeared in court Monday to change one hearing date and confirm a trial date. Defense attorney Mark Ralphs appeared with his client, Richard Kenneth Petroski, and told the court he was waiting on discovery. He noted he should receive it either Feb. 26 or 27. After discussion with [...]
Nearly 150 members of the Women’s Fund El Dorado gathered on Jan. 24 for a dinner meeting at the Cold Springs Country Club in Placerville to learn more about the community needs they had identified as most important. Currently, the Women’s Fund has 275 members, with an endowment of $181,000. The proceeds from memberships are [...]
EDITOR: It was around this time of year that we first lost our first local youth to suicide in 2012. Sadly, it was by no means the last. And nationwide, suicide accounts for 13 percent of all deaths of youths between the ages of 10 and 24. In the wake of such tragedies, people naturally [...]
El Dorado County Undersheriff Rich Williams spoke of the annual report, the department’s budget and more at the El Dorado County Taxpayer’s Association meeting on Feb. 11. Williams, who was to speak along with Sheriff John D’Agostini, first noted that the sheriff was ill and could not attend. He then launched into a short recap [...]
EDITOR: As the debate continues locally and nationally on what can be done to reduce gun violence in the United States, it is important to accept incontrovertible facts as a starting point. Unfortunately, Rod Kerr’s letter in last Friday’s Mountain Democrat republished a false story that the shooter at the Sandy Hook school mass murder did not use [...]