Kudos: Epic Promise

Zephyr Cove Elementary School recently received an Epic Promise Grant from Vail Resorts, giving all 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students the chance to experience skiing and snowboarding—many for the first time.

The grant supports access to snowsports for students of all backgrounds and abilities, covering equipment, lessons, and lift tickets. Adaptive options were also provided, ensuring every student could participate in a way that worked for them.

During the first week of March, 100 students from Zephyr Cove Elementary took part in the program. Beyond learning how to ski or snowboard, students gained confidence, tried something new, and spent the day on the mountain with their classmates.

“We’re so thankful to Vail Resorts for making this possible,” said Emily Mildner, Program Director and Physical Education teacher at Zephyr Cove Elementary. “For many of our students, this was their first time on skis or a snowboard. It’s something they’ll remember—and hopefully build on in the future.

Zephyr Elementary School

Dear Editor:

I have worked for the El Dorado County Transportation Department for just over 25 years now, and what the County has offered us in terms of wages and benefits during this last round of negotiations is just not cutting it. It’s putting our communities at risk, because of the high turnover rate and because we just can’t keep the skilled workforce here, as they move on to work in other counties where they are paid more.

As a highway maintenance supervisor, I have taken my lunch break to address the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors at their meeting about this issue. The wage and salary compensation that our local County employees receive just really isn’t up to par with the cost of living here in El Dorado County. We have a lot of examples of employees not even being able to live in the County. On my crew alone, I’ve lost seven guys since 2024.

They’ve come here, we trained them and they were forced to move on to other places to make more money. County services are not up to what they could be if we had a compensation package that would retain knowledge and skill.

I am grandfathered into some of the old policies regarding retirement, longevities and pay scale, which allowed me to buy a house, have a family and live right here in the County for 25 years. Young people coming onboard now don’t have that, so it is impossible for them to work here and have the same lifestyle that I had. I ask the public to join us and write letters to the Board of Supervisors.

Let them know our communities deserve a skilled and fairly compensated workforce plowing their snow and maintaining their roads. Furthermore, the essential workers who are on-call 24-7, working for and trying to make a life in our communities, also deserve to make a respectable wage.

Dustin Sears
Highway Maintenance Supervisor, El Dorado County Transportation Department