El Dorado County Cares, and the outpouring of support is quite literally overwhelming.
Many people would say that there is a divide between the Tahoe Basin and the western slope of El Dorado County, but when it comes to pain and suffering caused by disasters, all county residents are brothers, sisters, and neighbors. Within hours of the fire's start, people lined up asking, "How can I help." Calls for blankets, clothing, food, and pet supplies were answered with such magnitude that most charities were simply overwhelmed with the response.
Business owner Ron Thompson placed an ad in the Mountain Democrat calling for pet food & dishes for displaced pets. Now the trucks are overfilled! Most charities are no longer accepting donation of clothing & blankets because there are so many more donated than are being requested by victims. All charities know that there are still many unmet needs, but processing those needs has been the delay. Community leaders have formed other charities specifically to aid the Angora Fire victims. One such expression of sympathy is "El Dorado County Cares."
Businessman Gordon Vicini (Joe Vicini Construction) wanted to help. Working closely with county Supervisor Norma Santiago, the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce and others, he conceived of the charity, "El Dorado County Cares" and the Chamber then formed the charity. This charity has a single cause, to raise over $100,000 to help the victims of the fire by hosting a “spaghetti Feed” fund-raiser.
Never heard of Gordon? This is not surprising because he does not seek nor enjoy the spotlight. If you work behind the scenes of many of the Counties most prominent charities like the Boys & Girls Club, you know that there are few people that care more, or give back to the community more, then Gordon Vicini.
The "El Dorado County Cares" charity includes a who's who of El Dorado County business leaders, humanitarians, and local charities. Business leaders including Gordon Vicini (General Engineering Contractor), Jim Carter (General Contractor), Bob Daniels (Custom Homes), Mike Kobus (Koby Kicks Ants), and Kevin Brown (Breaker Glass) are just some of those to help. Community service organizations including the Kiwanis and Placerville Rotary Club donated money and members to staff the event. Other notable humanitarian groups that were represented including the Executive Directors of the Food Bank, M.O.R.E., and the Boys & Girls Club of EDC Western Slope. This is just a small sampling of those that helped.
The Friday Night Spaghetti feed was close to their goal before the event was even over with hundreds of the county's populace showing up to help people that they will never know. The monies will be distributed according to the recommendation of a special committee composed of Norma Santiago (County Supervisor representing Lake Tahoe), The El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, and a local Tahoe charity called “Locals for Locals” with the goal of seeing that the money gets to the local fire victims who’s needs are not being met by other services.
At the event was a large number of local politicians, and for good reason. The private outreach to help the victims of the fire is only one facet of the response. Local and State agencies went beyond the call of duty to help. The outstanding efforts of the fire fighters and police have been well documented, but many other groups stepped-up efforts to meet the crisis.
In just one example, the Assessor’s office has been exceeding active in aiding the fire victims. No property tax agency is commonly thought of as a place with a sincere and humane heart that goes the extra mile to aid those in need but the Assessor's Office quickly responded. Even before the fire was contained, County Assessor Tim Holcomb instructed his staff to make immediate adjustments to the appraised values of homes damaged or destroyed by the fire.
This may not seem unusual, but the focus and determination to get this done before the Assessor’s office was required to turn those numbers into the State by July 1st was unusual. If these corrections were not made by the State deadline then property owners would have received a bill this fall for the value of the property before the fire. They could pay this bill then petition the Assessor to modify the amount and then ask for a refund.
When asked if he was required to get these changed done before the bills went out Tim Holcomb responded, “No, but I personally thought that it was imperative to insure that those victims were not further disturbed or distressed by Tax bills that were not correct. I know that they have places to put their money this fall.” Additionally, he has exercised a provision in the Tax & Revenue Code allowing the Assessor to make these adjustments without the need of the victims to first ask for the adjustment before the Assessor’s office could act.
This response by our governmental agencies is the rule rather then the exceptions. Supervisor Jack Sweeney said, “Every department in this county has stepped-up to help these victims and this Board (of Supervisors) appreciates this greatly.” Supervisor Norma Santiago followed with, “El Dorado County is setting the standard for other jurisdictions in the State”.
Who cares? El Dorado County Cares!
Cris Alarcon.
