Hometown News Since 1889
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VOL. CXXX, NO. XXIII
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
PRJUSD Will Not Make Final Three Audit Firm Items Public
The Himle family volunteers at the Atascadero Warming Center. Contributed photo
Fear it will compromise Eide Bailly investigation
Warming Center Opens for Season
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees settled in closed session Tuesday, Nov. 12, on three items to have an outside audit firm to investigate, but chose not to make t hem public. After meeting behind closed doors for nearly two hours, Superintendent Curt Dubost said it was a tough decision for the board. “I can state unequivocally that it was the preference of the board to reveal these but we thought it was dumb not to follow the advice of the firm that we hired,” Dubost said. He explained the District’s counsel and representatives of Eide Bailly LLP, a highly respected regional certified public accounting firm, advised Trustees to hold the information back for now, fearing it could compromise their efforts. “It is the advice of both the audit firm and the attorneys that we not through open session identify exactly what we are going to direct them to do,” Dubost tactfully said. “That only makes sense if you stop and think about it. … I hope you can understand at this point to say it is going to be this, this and this, would be a mistake.” When voting 5-2 in September to use Eide Bailly, Trustees had said that the process would be done in the open. “In full transparency, we went back and forth on this,” said Board President Joel Peterson. “This was fairly late developing news from the attorneys — this morning actually. We followed their lead.” Although the final three were not made public, the District did make available a list of 18 possible Eide Bailly investigation items: • War Memorial Stadium scoreboard • Culinary Arts Academy • FEMA • Conflicts of interest • Measure M language • Aquatics Complex pool purchase • Hiring practices — cronyism/nepotism CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
By MARK DIAZ mark@pasoroblespress.com
A live mannequin is in the display window of Firefly in downtown Paso Robles on Saturday. They were part of Elegant Evening Downtown. Photos by Brian Williams
Holiday Season Kickoff Elegant Evening Downtown draws people to local shops
Two people look at live mannequin Payton Beasley, a Paso Robles High School senior, in the Ambiance window display on Saturday during the Elegant Evening Downtown. Beasley has been a live mannequin for the past six years.
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com
P
eople were in a festive mood Saturday evening as they streamed in and out of local shops for the annual Elegant Evening Downtown, sipping specialty wines and hot cocoa and eating small bites. One of the many highlights of the night were the costumed live mannequins in the businesses’ display windows. They were CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Warming Center, the only warming shelter in the North County, started its humanitarian operations on Nov. 1 and will run until April 15. This year the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer located at 4500 El Camino Real opened its doors to accommodate AWC’s operations for the full five months. The church has the ability to take in 46 people, almost doubling what the shelter could handle in previous years. AWC is not affiliated with the El Camino Homeless Organization though the two work together to help the displaced. Operating under the umbrella of the Transitional Food and Shelter nonprofit, AWC feeds and houses people on nights that reach 40 degrees or below or if there is a 50 percent chance of rain. “We are the step before ECHO,” AWC Operations Manager Susan Macari said, “to get into ECHO you have to be clean and sober.” Macari said that many of these people battle addiction, PTSD, mental illness and trauma and behind anyone’s challenge there is a story. “It’s so easy to CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
Templeton Celebrates its History, Holds Founder’s Day at Museum
O’Sullivan said. The museum is located at 309 Main St. and Nino’s is at 509 S. Main St. People walked through the museum’s three buildings — train depot, blacksmith shop and an old home — and climbed inside the restored 1933 Ford Templeton school bus. Classic cars were also parked in front of the museum. Max Randolph, of Max Randolph Studios, gave an entertaining blacksmithing demonstration. In addition to O’Sullivan’s presentation, people could go on a walking tour of the historic downtown. Cake and pumpkin pie were also available to everyone. Before 1886, the area was home to Salinan Indians. Spain occupied the area in 1760 and Mexico
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com
TEMPLETON — It was fitting that Greg O’Sullivan talked about Templeton’s history while standing in the train station depot Saturday afternoon. The Templeton Historical Museum Society volunteer explained Templeton was the last stop on the railroad from San Francisco for three years, 18861889, during his nearly 20-minute presentation during the Founder’s Day celebration on Nov. 16. “The reason we call this Founder’s Day is because Nov. 20, which is just a few days from now, 1886, the first passenger train arrived just down the street from where we are behind Nino’s (Grill),”
Max Randolph gives a blacksmithing demonstration on Saturday during Founder’s Day in Templeton.
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PSHH Pleads for Aid for Grandview Apartments Tenants | A2
EAGLES FALL in Quarterfinals | B1
BOY SCOUT TROOP Honors Atascadero Eagle Scouts | A4
EXPLORING THE ENCLAVES The Downtown Paso Wine District | B2
Holiday Gift Guide The 2019 Special Holiday Section & Holiday Shopping Tree specials are coming
FORECAST | A6
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Call Today to Get into our Holiday Spirit! 805-466-2585
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