Hometown News Since 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. XXVII
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2020
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
CLASS OF 1948
ADOPTION
AHS Diploma Awarded After 72 Years
Wood Humane Society adjusted its model to keep adoptions going through the COVID-19 pandemic. File photo
Albert Kelley, third from left, stands with his family after receiving his diploma of graduation from Atascadero High School. Photo by Nicholas Mattson
Albert Kelley enlisted in the Navy during his senior year back in 1948 By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
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event y-two years ago, Atascadero High School student Albert Kelley enlisted in the US Navy partway through his senior year and headed to Korea to defend the country, never receiving his high school diploma. Thursday afternoon, at the Atascadero Unified School District Office, Kelley, 90, finally received his diploma in a socially distanced ceremony with his family. During his time at the high school,
Kelley was a student who participated in track and field and was also in the school marching band. However, by his own admission, Kelley was a bit of a “renegade” in his younger years. This eventually pushed him toward the armed forces and serving his country. “The State of California provides for school districts to grant high school diplomas to students who, because of their enlistment in the armed forces, were not able to complete high school and graduate with their class,” AHS Principal Dan Andrus said in the ceremony. “He did the things that qualified him for
GOVERNMENT
graduation and the things that make the high school experience worthwhile. Not just the academics, but the extracurriculars and being a part of the community.” Kelley spent four years aboard the USS Princeton, working as one of the ship’s radiomen starting in 1948, just after the end of World War II, and aided the US all over the Pacific, most notably in Korea. Upon his return, Kelley lived in Long Beach and worked for Douglas Aircraft Company before returning to his hometown and opening Paso Robles Diesel Service. He owned and
operated it for many years. “We could not be more proud, Albert,” AUSD School Board President Donn Clickard said. “To stand before you, those of us representing the school district, to award this diploma to you and the importance that goes with it of being a graduate Greyhound, congratulations.” Kelley’s sister-in-law Evelyn and her daughter Roxanne Guereña were the catalyst behind the ceremony, reaching out to the school district and Clickard to set up the joyous occasion
the animals in a silent-auction style over four days, July 22 through July 25. The auction is set to end at 2 p.m. on July 25, but with a slight twist, a horse-race style finish. What this means is that the sale will not close until every person has finished bidding. If someone were to place a bid at 1:59 p.m., the auction will extend a few more minutes giving all interested parties an opportunity. “Everyone can buy in a silent auction, and there will be a picture of the exhibitor, and they can CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
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Livestock Auction To Be Virtual Bidding begins Wednesday, July 22 By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com PASO ROBLES — When California Mid-State Fair announced it was not happening in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attention turned to the hundreds of young people who raised animals to be shown and sold at the Junior Livestock Auction. Officials worked behind the scenes and are doing what many other fairs did, have the show and auction online. Going virtual keeps everyone safe and allows participants to complete their projects. The auction process will begin on July 18 when exhibitors will have a four-day period to submit videos of them showing their animals. The videos will be sent to the same judges that were going to judge the in-person show, and they will decide champions. “Exhibitors will submit videos that will be between 60 and 90 seconds long and will be in their full uniforms just like they normally would if they were at the fair,” Mid-State Fair Special Programs Coordinator Hailey Rose Switzer told The Paso Robles Press. “Then what will happen is all the exhibitors are going to sell their animals online. Buyers can go to midstatefair.com and click on the livestock tab and will be able to see all the information on the sale.” Once the videos are submitted and judged, the auction will turn into basically eBay. Each buyer will have opportunities to bid on any of
Also approved, $60-75K for downtown street tree renewal program By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council put the finishing touches on its 1-cent sales tax measure to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot. During a lengthy meeting Tuesday night, they have agreed upon the language and approved the costs associated with adding to the ballot. Atascadero’s current sales tax rate sits at 7.75 percent and would jump up to 8.75 on April 1, 2021, should it pass in November, which will require a 50-percent-plus-one vote to pass. The added sales tax is predicted to generate $4.5 million annually for the City. The suggestion to add the measure came at the City staff ’s request a few months ago during a CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
LOCAL NEWS
LOCAL NEWS
COVID UPDATE
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com SAN LUIS OBISPO — It is always a good time to bring a fur baby into your home, but perhaps there is no time better than during a global pandemic that has forced most people inside like a bear in hibernation. The Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo agreed and adjusted its model to keep adoptions running during the pandemic, which led to a record amount of adoptions in the last fiscal year. “We have been holding very steady with adoptions and saw a tremendous outpouring of community support, especially when the outbreak first happened. We have had very successful adoption months,” Woods Donor Engagement Manager Emily L’Heureux said. “We feel this is the perfect time to adopt into your family. We have seen people with unprecedented levels of time at home. You can really dedicate the appropriate time to training with that animal and bonding with that animal and adapting them to your routines and vice versa.” At the start of the pandemic, the Woods Humane Society reconfigured its entire system as many businesses did in recent months, including shutting down all additional services besides animal adoption and surrender. These other services include obedience training, spay and neuter clinics, youth educational courses, and even vaccines until they figured out a safe, responsible way to do so. Now with a few months of experience under their belts, the shelter has adapted and moved forward to an appointment-only model to reduce the number of people in the facility at once. “We immediately changed to a by appointment only system and are sticking with that. We needed to maintain our social distance and maintain the health of our staff,” L’Heureux said. “People call into the shelter when they are interested in an animal that they saw from our website or social media. We set up an appointment and set up a meet and greet and treat the whole process as normal, and
CALIFORNIA MID-STATE FAIR
City Council Finalizes Sales Tax Measure for Nov. Ballot
A Perfect Time to Adopt From Woods Humane Society
With the Mid-State Fair canceled, organizers moved the Junior Livestock Auction online, July 22-25. File photo
ART & CULTURE
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