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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XXIV
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
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NON-PROFIT
El Camino Homeless Organization Awarded 2021 Non-Profit of the Year By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com
NORTH COUNTY — On Saturday, Jun. 19, at the El Camino Homeless Shelter in Atascadero, located at 6370 Atascadero Ave, a few key individuals joined together to witness a special award being presented to the organization. El Camino Homeless Organization’s (ECHO) Executive Director Wendy Lewis, alongside Kandy Noel, ECHO’s Board Chair, and Amy Freeman, board member, was awarded the 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year by Senator John Laird. “We are deeply humbled to be recognized by Senator John Laird as a 2021 Nonprofit of the Year,” Lewis shared as she accepted the award. Laird represents District 17 of the California State Senate, which includes Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Counties, as well as parts of Monterey and Santa Clara Counties. “Out of all the nonprofits, ECHO was
By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@atascaderonews.com
the A-Town Throwdown. Atascadero head coach Vic Cooper brought 11 schools to Memorial Field and the adjoining fields at the AHS campus for one of the most fun tournaments in the area. The A-Town Throwdown is a fun weekend for the athletes competing and battling for their spots and a favorite of local parents. The lineman competition is a combination of brute strength, teamwork, strategy, and communication is an absolute joy to watch. The 12 schools in attendance at the tournament were a collection
ATASCADERO — Atascadero City Council held a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jun. 22, at 6 p.m. for open session. The meeting opened with approval of the consent agenda. The City Manager, Rachelle Rickard, highlighted the. Upcoming Pub Crawl, which will take place on Friday, Jul. 9 at 5 p.m. in downtown Atascadero and will feature a dozen of the town’s beer, cider, and wine businesses. Next, Rickard turned the mic over to Chief Masterson, spoke on the recent events in the town, and addressed citizen concerns. He addressed the homeless population in town, highlighting the different types, needs, and how the police force is handling and monitoring the situations. The Del Rio Ranch General Plan was presented to the council. The proposed Del Rio Ranch project is a master-planned tourist, entertainment, and residential focused development that incorporates RV lodging, a hotel, an outdoor amphitheater, a conference center, and residential uses on a 26-acre site within the Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan. The project includes tiered Master Plan approvals, which will allow additional review of development details for each project phase prior to construction. The concept includes: • 3.6 net acres of residential multi-family zoned property (an increase of 0.6 – 0.8 acres / up to 19 additional units) • A tourist-serving resort including 4.25 acres of RV sites, 1.8 additional acres of glamping areas, and a 100-room hotel (glamping is defined as lodging sites developed with permanently affixed lodging structures that comply with the California Building Code). • An amphitheater designed to accommodate performing arts, community events, and small music venues with seating capacity for 300 • A 15,000 square-foot conference center • A 30,000 square-foot entertainment center • 24,000 square feet of mixeduse buildings • A parking garage The project will be phased in four phases, with estimated beginning date for the final phase as of December 2023. Public comment on the item expressed support and appreciation for the job and housing opportunities that the project creates, which is critical not only for the city to grow but especially in light of the setbacks from COVID19. The council discussed the possibility of affordable housing within the complex, and the majority expressed interest in affordable by design, though acknowledged that
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Pictured from left to right: ECHO Board Member Amy Freeman, ECHO Board, Kandy Noel, ECHO Board Chair, Wendy Lewis, ECHO President/ CEO; Senator John Laird, Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno, Atascadero City Council Member Susan Funk. Photo by Hayley Mattson
an easy choice, and it is wonderful to be here in San Luis Obispo County,” Senator Laird explained. Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno and Councilmember Susan Funk were also present.
“To pick ECHO as the nonprofit of the year from the entire district which encompasses multiple counties says a lot about ECHO,” Mayor Moreno stated. “There are so many good nonprofits from which to choose, and we here, I think, I can be
biased, certainly, and think they do such a wonderful job, but I think we have really seen the growth in ECHO in the last several years, the investment from Must! Charities, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
Logan Castillo, A Brilliant, Super Smart, and Kind Boy Local ten-year-old boy dies after being diagnosed with Stage 3 Burkitt’s Lymphoma By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
A celebration of life for Logan Castillo will be held on Thurs. Jun. 24 at 3 p.m. Contributed Photo
PASO ROBLES — On Saturday, Jun. 19, Logan Castillo passed away at 1:30 a.m. with his parents Leo and Katie by his side. Logan was ten years old. A celebration of life for Logan will be held on Thursday, Jun. 24 at 3 p.m. at the Riverstar Vineyards in San Miguel. The celebration will be casual and cozy, just like Logan. Logan’s father, Leo Castillo, said, “He was a stubborn boy, but he was brilliant. Super smart and super kind.” On Sunday, Jun. 13, Logan was taken to the emergency room at Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton after having flu-like symptoms for a week.
According to Leo, his son looked drastically different within that one week of being sick and lost 10 pounds in seven days. A tumor was found while at Twin Cities, and because Logan’s stomach was swelling, he and his father Leo were driven by ambulance to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. There, doctors identified Logan had Stage 3 Burkitt’s Lymphoma in his abdomen. Quickly, Logan began chemotherapy, but his body was not responding to the treatment. Logan was then flown to a hospital in Los Angeles for dialysis treatment. Unfortunately, that night Logan did not make it. “I want to reiterate to people how sacred human life is, and it’s so nice to see kindness in a world that we’re living in. [We are] complete strangers to the Santa Barbara area but yet Santa Barbara went completely above and beyond,” said Leo. A GoFundMe page was set up on Jun. 17 to help
GOVERNMENT
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EVENT
Supervisors Will Hold A Special Meeting on Cannabis Tax Rate
By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@atascaderonews.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors held a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jun. 22 at 9 a.m. This was the first in-person meeting since COVID-19 restrictions began, and remote participation will no longer be conducted. Cheryl Vines of the NAACP received the resolution recognizing Saturday, Jun. 19 as Juneteenth in the County of San Luis Obispo in person from Supervisor Bruce Gibson. Items 10 and 22 were pulled from the consent agenda for a separate vote. Item 10 was Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg moved approval of item 10 with the amendment to the verbiage to
SPORTS
Atascadero City Council Discusses Del Rio Project Chief Masterson addressed citizen concerns regarding homeless
IN MEMORIAM
County of SLO recognizes June 19 as Juneteenth
CITY
include the Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. The motion passed 4-0, with Supervisor Arnold abstaining from the vote. Item 22; Request to approve a contract with Rincon Consultants, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $244,668 to prepare an Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Paso Basin Land Use Planting Ordinance, contingent on adoption of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Recommended Budget. Supervisor Gibson pulled this item to state that he is of the opinion that the item is a mistake. Supervisor Debbie Arnold made a motion to approve the item. She referenced the emergency ordinance from 2014, which stopped certain agricultural businesses, which she feels is unfair, and that this item will create a more fair distribution for Paso Robles. The item passed 4-1, with Supervisor Gibson in opposition. The remaining consent agenda passed 5-0. Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Public Health Officer, spoke on the 68 new cases over the last few weeks and that COVID is not gone but that no deaths have
HOLIDAY
occurred in over a month. She highlighted the changes that have occurred since Jun. 15 and California no longer having occupancy restrictions on indoor dining. Businesses should still refer to Cal/OSHA for guidance. At this time, there is no requirement in the State of California for anyone to have a vaccination record as proof of vaccination aside from indoor events over 5000 attendees. During the public comment period Supervisor, John Peschong brought up the resignation of County Clerk-Recorder and making the hiring of the position an open and transparent process. County Staff indicated the intention in the meantime to recognize Deputy Helen Nolan for the position. The matter was decided that it should be brought up at the next meeting to begin the application process. Peschong went on to request the addition of items to future agendas, including the redistricting of California in which at one time the division of SLO county was discussed, to require an economic study to identify fiscal CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SMART CASE UPDATE
Atascadero High School Football Team hosts annual Tournament. Photo by Connor Allen
Atascadero Hosts Annual A-Town Throwdown
Atascadero head coach brought 11 schools to Memorial Field for loads of fun By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — Even though the spring football season ended only a few weeks ago, high school sports are entirely into their summer programs which meant one thing this past weekend; it was time for The Atascadero Greyhounds to hold their annual passing league tournament and lineman competition,
SENIOR LIVING
WEATHER
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GREYHOUNDS FALL IN Division 5-AA Regional Semifinal despite a First Round victory | A3
TEMPLETON 4TH OF JULY “Hometown Hospitality” Parade will happen | A4
SMART CASE PRELIMINARY hearing will not be live-streamed | A5
THE THINKING WORKOUT – activity can help slow age-related mental decline | A13
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