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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. IX
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021
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Could The Atascadero Rock Snake Earn A Guinness World Record? By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
O
ne day in late August, a sort of diamond-shaped rock, painted to look like the head of a snake, appeared at the Atascadero Lake Park with a sign that read, “This is a Rock Snake. Add your painted rocks, and let’s see how long it’ll grow.” For the past seven months, the snake has continued to grow and now stretches over 1,200 feet, but its origin has remained a mystery until now. The sparkling, twisting, curving collection of rocks down by the lake began as a way to spread positivity, beauty, and, really, in a way, relaxation. The Rock Snake was started by local Atascadero resident Wanda Kohl, who had taken up an old hobby she used to do with her kids while looking for something to do during the COVID19 pandemic. The hobby, of course, was finding interesting rocks of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and contours and turning them into fun works of art. “Well, Covid had been happening, and we were all stuck at home. I was going crazy, so I started painting rocks,” Kohl explained. “I mean, I would get up in the morning, and before breakfast, I would sit
down and paint some rocks. It was really comforting to me; it became something I liked to do. I have some painted rocks from my kids when they were little. So, I just thought maybe I will try it and see if people like it. Maybe they will want to get involved.” Kohl made her sign, painted her snakehead, as well as a few other rocks, and went to the lake with no expectations, just a longing to spread positivity to those in her community through her art. The Atascadero artist follows the popular rock snake community Facebook group “SLO Painted Rocks” and a few other fun pages such as “Rocks Behaving Badly,” where people hide rocks around the neighborhood but had never seen one that continued to grow. After placing her first few rocks, Kohl waited a week to return and suddenly found 20 more rocks added to her snake. Today, the Rock Snake is over 1,200 feet long and contains upwards of 3,500 stones, each one representing a small piece of the person who made it. It has grown into a fantastic attraction that brings many people to the lake every day to see what new rocks
CELEBRATION
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135 community members participated in the study sessions By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
As time shows that 15 days changed the world as we knew it forever. After a long summer, Governor Newsom unveiled the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” in August 2020. This was a statewide, stringent, and slow plan for living with COVID-19. According to the documents, the plan-imposed risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 allowable activities and expanded the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affected the disease’s trajectory. This plan introduced the four colored tiers – Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate), and Yellow (Minimal) – based on how prevalent
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council came together Tuesday night for an efficient meeting to approve the Community Development Block Grants’ (CDBG) funding and receive an update on what the public wants to do most with the money raised from Measure D-20. The CDBG award process began in the fall of 2020. When the County published a request for the CDBG proposals, the City of Atascadero received nine applications. According to the agenda packet, the funding total is anticipated to be approximately $144,792. CDBG funds are available to community development activities that meet at least one of three national objectives. The activities must either benefit low and moderate-income persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of blight or address urgent needs that pose a serious and immediate threat to the community’s health or welfare. The Council has already reviewed the CDBG and approved the draft funding at the Dec. 8, 2020 meeting. Tuesday night’s motion sends the plan to the County Board of Supervisors and inclusion into the countywide Consolidated Plan. Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard joined the Zoom next to recap what the City has learned in their nine study session meetings held between Jan. 14 and Feb. 6. In those study sessions, the public watched an informational video about the City’s need and then broke into small groups and asked those in attendance was six questions and recorded their responses. The questions asked included, what is going well in the City? What things big and small would
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Atascadero resident Wanda Kohl took up an old hobby of rock painting during the pandemic and started the “Rock Snake” at the Atascadero Lake. Photo by Connor Allen
FORWARD PROGRESS
SLO County Takes ‘Positive Step’ in Re-Opening State passes incentive package to accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com
Ed Gallagher playing his bagpipes on the loop of Fairway Dr. and Putter Ave. in Paso Robles. Photo by Camille DeVaul
Former Paso Robles City Planner Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with Bagpipe Tour By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com PASO ROBLES — If you hear the distinctive horn of a bagpipe in the next week, don’t worry, you haven’t stepped through some standing stones and been transported to Scotland. Although, I rather think I would be okay with that. In the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, Ed Gallagher can be heard throughout Paso Robles playing traditional Irish tunes on his bagpipes for the second year in a row. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — Last Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County moved from the Purple Tier to the Red Tier of the State’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.” The State’s Blueprint allows for counties in the Red Tier to re-open a degree of indoor operations and resume certain activities. To re-open local businesses, they must follow all State guidance for their industry and self-certify that they are ready to re-open safely. “This is a positive step in the right direction for our community, and I’m happy that we’re able to re-open more parts of our community,” Dr. Penny Borenstein, San Luis Obispo County Health Officer, explained in a released statement. “But we cannot take this gift for granted. We must remain vigilant as we move forward so that we do not undo this good work.” This news comes almost a year after the nation declared a State of Emergency on Mar. 13, 2020, which enabled FEMA to
COUNTY
City Council Reviews Public Input On Measure D-20
Atascadero High School cross country athletes round the track at AHS in the first publicly attended sports event in San Luis Obispo County. Contributed photo
operate as a vehicle to deliver virus response funds to state and local governments. Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Mar. 4, 2020, proclaiming a State of Emergency to exist in California as a result of the threat of COVID-19, where he stated that in a short period of time, COVID-19 had rapidly spread throughout California, necessitating updated and more stringent guidance from federal, wState, and local public health officials. Newsom explained that the preservation of public health and safety throughout the entire State of California would be necessary for all Californians to heed the State public health directives from the Department of Public Health and help “flatten the curve” by sheltering-in-place for 15 days.
COVID-19 UPDATE
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NORTH COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL athletes to take the field as sports restrictions are lifted | A3
CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS negotiated by County Supervisors after hearing from Community | A4
CDC RELEASES NEW GUIDANCE for fully vaccinated individuals and how they can safely interact | A5
COUNTER HUMAN TRAFFICKING Team puts a spotlight on partnership with DeliverFund | A13
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