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EDUCATION
TUSD Continues to Discuss the Look of In-Person Meetings The Board acknowledged fifteen personnel that will retire after this year By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@atascaderonews.com
TEMPLETON — Templeton Unified School District (TUSD) met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 27 at 6:15 p.m. The Board had nothing to report on closed session and moved on to item 6.0 Item 6.1 was the adoption of resolution #R21-15, Acknowledgement and Appreciation of Employee Service. A presentation was made of the fifteen retirees that will be leaving at the end of this year, followed by a short reception. Item 7.1 was the Governor’s May Revision to the Proposed 2021/22 State Budget. In short, there is a $16 billion excess of the Gann limit, that the state is obligated to return, which affects budgets. The biggest news is the COLA (cost of living adjustment) is due to go up to 5.07 percent, which is an even bigger improvement than the almost four percent that was projected in January. The state is also looking into adding funding over the course of the next few years so that Transitional Kindergarten (TK) will be available to all four-year-olds, rather than the current five and almost six-year-olds. While this won’t take effect for a few years, the procuring of funding to facilitate it is beginning now. The Board Member Report spoke on the Girls soccer that is heading to CIF, as well as the middle school promotion and senior graduation that will be upcoming. The Board spoke to future meetings with in-person participation that would accommodate roughly 20 seats for the public for regular meetings with three-foot spacing between individuals and that this would be continually evaluated as more guidance from the state becomes available after the Jun. 15 lift of restrictions. Nelson Yamagata spoke on the idea of in-person meetings and CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021
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MEMORIAL DAY
Hundreds Come Together to Honor and Remember Our Fallen Heroes By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com
O
n Monday, May 31, hundreds gathered together to honor our nation’s fallen heroes at the Faces of Freedom Memorial in Atascadero. Hosted by the Atascadero Veterans Memorial Foundation (AVMF), the annual Memorial Day Ceremony was the largest in attendance in San Luis Obispo County. A flyover from Estrella Warbirds started the ceremony with the crowd cheering, side by side, in support of one another and our veterans after a year deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dick Mason of KPRL Radio emceed the ceremony, and local artist Rebecca McKinley sang the national anthem. Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, with roots in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It is told that in late April 1866, an assembly of four Mississippi women traveled to decorate graves of soldiers who died in the Battle of Shiloh. They found Confederate graves in good condition and cared for
On Monday, May 31 veterans, current service members and the community attended the annual ceremony at the Face of Freedom Memorial in Atascadero to honor those who never came home. Photos by Rick Evans
alongside graves of Union soldiers untended. Moved by the scene, they honored the Union soldiers’ graves with flower decorations as well, in somber grief for lives lost. Memorial Day is the only holiday in which we honor those who lost their lives in service to the country. The holiday officially became a federal holiday in 1971.
EDUCATION
AUSD to Perform Comprehensive Revision of Reopening Plan
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees came together for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday night, Jun. 1 for a very lengthy, informational session on budgets, both at the State level and school level as well as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The meeting opened with the customary pledge of allegiance and went right into thanking and honoring all of the AUSD staff that has retired in the last two years. Videos were played for the Trustees and the public from many different sites across the District, including the high school, middle school, and several elementary schools, appreciating all levels of employees from former Principal Bill Neely to food service workers Jeryl Wells and Jutta Wilson. Altogether, just under 40 employees were thanked.
FUNDRAISER
Following the recognition of teachers now enjoying retirement, the meeting turned to appreciate a current teacher, April Haworth, who was recognized for the core value of excellence at Atascadero High School. Haworth serves as the high school’s special education department chair and is also the head coach for the Greyhound cheer team. For the third consecutive board meeting, members of the public once again showed up to voice their concerns and make their demands surrounding potential masks and vaccine mandates for the upcoming school year. Once those in person were finished presenting, a few emails were also read into the record. During his Superintendent report, Tom Butler made a minor revision to the reopening plan by allowing the return of school field trips that had been previously banned during the COVID-19 pandemic. “All of our regular mechanisms remain in play, which means approval by a site Principal, a certain number of chaperones, and safety requirements,” Butler explained. “This would be another CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COVID-19 UPDATE
Guest speaker, Commander Ray Johnson, a Navy and Vietnam War veteran and former Atascadero Mayor from 1996-1997, shared a heart-filled speech remembering those who lost their lives to the ultimate sacrifice so that all Americans can live free. “Those of us who served during time at war fully understand the deep meaning of the
ultimate sacrifice,” Johnson shared. Johnson was the distinguished Veteran of the Year from the fall of 2020, along with local US Army Lt. Col. Al Fonzi. The placement of the memorial wreath was presented by the Vietnam Combat VeterCONTINUED ON PAGE A15
GOING GREEN
Anna’s Home Celebrates ‘Introduction to Solar Training’ Helping women obtain head of household jobs By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
PASO ROBLES — On May 26, Anna’s Home celebrated their women who completed the “Introduction to Solar Training” and installed solar panels at Anna’s Home with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Anna’s Home is a Restorative Partners sober living home for women and their children in Paso Robles. Haili, a current resident of Anna’s Home and student in the project, says, “Anna’s Home is a great place of reunification where we mothers can support each other while raising our children. The Solar Training and Installation Project is giving us an opportunity for new learning and experiences that will benefit us greatly in all our future employment endeavors.” The project is in partnership with Restorative Partners, GRID Alternatives, County of San Luis Obispo, and Eckerd Connects Workforce Development. The project aims to introduce low-income women with children to an industry that can
NON-PROFIT
Anna’s Home held a ribbon cutting on May 26 for the completion of “Introduction of Solar Panels. Photo by Camille DeVaul
provide head of household jobs and reduce Anna’s Home’s energy costs. During the ceremony, Restorative Partners were presented with a certificate on behalf of the Board of Supervisors to honor the project. District Attorney Dan Dow, Supervisor Peschong, Supervisor Ortiz-Legg, and Paso Robles Councilmember John Hammon were present during the ceremony. “We have a drug and alcohol problem in our community, and we fight it every day. The city fights it with our homeless population. This is something that is, to me, so beneficial for our community. A home where women can go and they can get clean and sober, and you heard today they can get jobs and find careers. This makes a difference in people’s lives,” said District One
Supervisor John Peschong. The project is funded by the County of San Luis Obispo Community Development and Block Grant Program. American Riviera Bank presented Anna’s Home with a $1,000 check. Anna’s Home is one of five sober living houses operated by Restorative Partners. The home provides women and their children a safe and sober living environment while developing life skills and building connections in the community. GRID Alternatives leads teams of volunteers and job trainees in installing solar electric systems for low-income families. Wendi Meloon, a current resident at Anna’s Home, said she could see herself going into the solar industry. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
WEATHER
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THRIVE GYMNASTICS sends four local girls to compete in Regionals | A3
BBQ FUNDRAISER, hosted by the Elks Lodge, to support Kyndal fight brain cancer | A4
‘VAX FOR THE WIN’ $116.5M Incentive for un-vaccinated Californians | A5
CSC-CCC WELCOMES BACK in-person, professionally-led support groups, education, etc. | A6
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