GOOD NEWS. REAL NEWS. HOMETOWN NEWS.
SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XVI
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
FARMING
GOVERNMENT
Templeton Hills Community Farm Celebrates First Anniversary
City Announces Summer Concerts to Return In-Person Mr. Putter’s Putt Putt stewards Mr. Putter’s Paddle Boats at the Atascadero Lake By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com
The human experience is multisensory; we are tied to each other and the natural world by millions of bits of information coming to us through sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, and movement but one by one, we have been cutting our connections and suffering the consequences. Meet Lynette Sonne, who, since founding FARMstead ED in 2014, has been making connections, creating awareness, and providing experiences for “tourists and townies” to learn about the importance of sustainable practices and craft through SLO Counties farms, ranches, purveyors, and partners. From Vicarious Ranch in San Miguel at the north to The Luffa Farm in Nipomo to the south, you will find 27 locations along the SLO County Farm Trail map for workshops, farm tours, tastings, “agriCULTURAL” experiences, pop-up markets, farm stays, “Table-to-Farm” dinners and much more!
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Apr. 27, all in attendance with the exception of Mayor Pro Tem Heather Newsom. After approving the consent calendars 1 and 2 with a request to pull item 3 with a 4-0 vote Mayor Heather Moreno turned the meeting over to the City Manager, Rachelle Rickard. Rickard started with a correction to item number 3 budget adjustment for the Atascadero Mall Sewer Condition Improvement Project. The approved budget for the project was $781,000, however as construction was underway, they ran into an obstruction when drilling for the underground boring. In definition, a “boring” is a trenchless method of installing underground electrical lines along a predetermined path. The obstruction appears to be an old drainage box culvert that was not noted or known by Cal Trans when the city was assessing the project. Rickard went on to say that the item needed to be pulled due to a “typo” in the recommendation from the staff report. The staff reports fiscal impact and discussion is correct; however, the report states that an additional $250,000 needed to be allocated from the Wastewater Enterprise Fund actually needs to be $325,000 instead. Rickard would like that correction to be made. Councilmember Susan Funk stated, “just to clarify this for the public, is it fair to say that…the city engineer and others looked through several different options for this, and all them were costly and deeply unpleasant?” Rickard responded with “absolutely positively, they spent days and hours and hours…. looking at possible solutions, different scenarios…trying to figure out which was the most cost-effective path forward and that was the one that was selected.” The council voted 4-0 to approve the additional funds. Rickard continued with the City Manager update. Starting with the Earth Shine Clean Up Day that
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Community members of all ages attended Templeton Hills first anniversary festivities by enjoying blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit and a tour of the garden. Contributed Photos
By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
TEMPLETON — On Sunday, Apr. 18, the Templeton Hills Community Farm celebrated its one-year anniversary! Anyone within the community was welcome to enjoy the fresh air at the farm. Homemade blueberry pancakes were served along with other refreshments and produce from the farm. Templeton Hills church member Joy Chalker said, “It was a
great day on the farm! We enjoyed harvesting, the tour, and amazing blueberry pancakes! They were so healthy with freshly ground flour, flax, and chia seeds! Thanks so much for everyone’s effort to make it amazing!” Farm manager Matt Giese gave farm tours throughout the day showing new guests around and answering any questions. Zac Page, Pastor of Templeton Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church, said, “We had a great turnout for the farm’s first anni-
FUNDRAISER
versary. Quite a few people came by for the first time, expressed their excitement at discovering the farm, and said they would be back. Others who had not been up to the farm recently were excited to see how much progress has been made over the past year. Everyone who wanted was able to go home with fresh produce. The blueberry pancakes were also a big hit. It was a lot of fun to see people of all ages milling around the farm. We are excited that people are learning how to grow healthy food and are
getting to enjoy healthy outdoor community activity on the farm.” Giese said they plan to have more events like this in the future. On the tours, Giese let people know that they plan to offer gardening classes, and in July, there are plans for their volunteer beekeeper to share with the community about beekeeping. The farm is located on Templeton Hills Road in Templeton, between the Templeton Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church and school.
What started as a way to produce healthy and affordable vegetables for their community has grown into a place where people can learn how to grow and harvest their food while building memories and strong relationships. In 2019, church members wanted a place where people could gather, a community center or maybe a garden, they thought. Matt Giese, the part-time groundskeeper for the school and CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
AgriCULTURAL Fun on the SLO County FarmTrail Slow Down, Reconnect, Enjoy and Learn along the SLO County Farm Trail through FARMstead Ed By SIMONE SMITH For The Atascadero News
Players from the Central Coast Crushers Organization selling lemonade on Rolling Hills Drive. Contributed photo
Central Coast Crushers Raise $2500 with Lemonade Stand By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
PASO ROBLES — A few weeks ago, eightyear-old baseball player Colton Santos had all of his baseball gear stolen out of his car while sleeping in his hotel during a baseball tournament in Fresno. After a long day of playing ball, Santos and his family came out to find their car broken into and all of their expensive equipment missing. Sad and now without the tools to play the CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
Z
oom, virtual, telecommuting, self-driving, robotic, remote, quantum computing, push a button, overnight, maximize, lab-grown, instant, high tech, Google, factory farms, e-commerce, data-driven, corporate, the cloud, buy now, automation, artificial reality, artificial intelligence, Alexa…stop… It seems like humanity is speeding ever faster away from itself, from personal hands-on experiences, and from connections we have with each other and the natural world. To make matters worse, the combination of our immediate lifestyle with the recent isolation caused by the pandemic has further compounded our collective disconnect by creating a strange time-warping effect on our psyche. What can we do? Enter Lynette Sonne, founder and “Herd Boss” of FARMstead Ed and creator of the SLO County Farm Trail map, who just might have the antidote we need. The “COVID time warp” has been spoken about by Psychology Today, Wired, Vox, and other publications and basically refers to a warping of our senses by simultaneously having too much time while being stressed by not having enough time. Spending time without having meaningful, immersive events to mark its passing takes a toll. What’s the difference between celebrating a birthday with friends and family virtually, watching a movie at home, or playing a game on the computer? How engaged are you with each of these experiences, and how memorable are they? Also, with the ability to order just about anything at any time and receive it within hours by the press of a button or a word to Alexa, do we know where it actually comes from, what’s involved, or who even made the product?
FARMERS’ MARKETS
COVID-19 UPDATE
Lynette Sonne also known as the “herd boss” rounded up talented professional in the area to create FARMsted Ed. Contributed photos
AGRICULTURE
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BEARCATS VS. GREYHOUNDS: SLO FARMERS MARKET a rivalry that dates back to 1919, making set to return to Higuera street this the 101st year of the rivalry | A3 beginning on May 6 | A5
SLO COUNTY ADVANCES to Orange Tier as businesses resume indoor operations and activities | A5
THE GREAT CANNABIS DEBATE: Part One of a special in-depth look into this growing industry | A13
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