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Hometown News Since 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXX, NO. XLVIX
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
HAPPY AND SAFE MEMORIAL DAY
PRJUSD
School Board Begins First Round of Layoffs Digital media program axed at high school as victim of budget squeeze By CAMILLE DEVAUL For the Paso Robles Press On May 12, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District held its board meeting via Zoom. So much is uncertain during this time, especially for our schools. And still, some tough decisions must be made. During the closed session, the board approved the hiring of Michael Godsey as the new assistant principal for Paso Robles High School. “This is part of the reorganization of Paso Robles High School and reduction of a full-time athletic director position,” said PRJUSD Deputy Superintendent Jen Gaviola. Godsey was a former ninth and twelfth-grade English teacher at San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay high schools, as well as an administrator. “We’re just really excited to offer this employment to him and extend the offering to become a Bearcat, and we hope for a very long time,” says Gaviola, “I know he will do wonderful things for children.” Godsey chimed into the meeting to introduce himself, “The whole family is here, and we’re excited to be Bearcats.” In addition to being an English teacher, Godsey was a contributing writer for The Atlantic, focusing on education topics. Godsey will also be the summer school principal this year. This year for summer school, PRHS will be offering credit recovery. Cuesta College will also be offering acceleration fully from them. The summer school will all be online distance learning. The mood during the meeting immediately shifted when it was time to vote on the layoff of two teachers. On March 10, the board took action to move to layoff two individual certificated employees. Afterward, the district followed through with all educational code notifications. Now, to finalize the decision, CONTINUED ON PAGE A14
LOCAL NEWS
FREEDOM FLIGHT
Freedom Flight Team Soars Over California Tenet CEO Mark Lisa leads Estrella Warbirds in honor of nurses for Hospital Week
From left, George Marrett, Mark Lisa, and Wayne Rice prepare for take off. Contributed photo
STAFF REPORT
produced from California’s diverse grape varieties. Tin City owner Mike English acquired the 20-acre parcel some 20 years ago, he told me in our phone conversation. In 2008, English decided to sub-divide, hoping to draw the Silicon Valley crowd as tenants “because the central fiber optic cable runs next to the railroad track.” However, the first tenants turned out to be noted artist Dale Evers and Daniels Wood Land, known for creating highCONTINUED ON PAGE A14
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Flowers and an American flag bookend a headstone at the Paso Robles District Cemetary in April 2020. Photo by Nicholas Mattson
By NICHOLAS MATTSON nic@pasoroblespress.com
M
emorial Day weekend brings us together for a somber reflection to remember those who gave their lives in service, and a joyful reunion with friends and family as summer approaches on the horizon. This year is different — 2020 will always be different for us. Our national reflection and admiration for servicemen and servicewomen remains high as the point atop Marines’ barracks cover, and as solemn as a salute — but we have added another war to our list. Our coronavirus war called for a new soldier, and took lives on American soil. Our soldiers on the front lines were nurses and doctors, delivery persons and grocers.
It has been a war to protect our most vulnerable and a war that called for full participation from sea to shining sea. It may be appropriate that Memorial Day is our first national holiday after the coronavirus washed across our country. Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, with roots in the aftermath of the American Civil War. As we face COVID-19, we do so in a country that faces an ideological divide. COVID-19 has brought us together at first, and it will be up to us to stay together. 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 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 first national holiday to fall, and the only holiday in which we honor those who lost their lives in service to the country. Our national death toll from COVID-19 is still climbing. We lost many battles, but we are winning the war. We are not free from disease, but we are learning to live with and survive it. We are recovering. This Memorial Day, we will remember those who gave their lives so we could live free — not only in wars on foreign soil but also for every American who placed their lives on the line for
their fellows. Memorial Day’s roots began after the Civil War in which ideology divided a country — under two flags. It was not a war fought on foreign soil, but right here. After 150 years, we must remember that war is not something that happens across the Pacific or Atlantic. The war that spawned Memorial Day took nearly half (the American Civil War cost 620,000 of the total 1,264,000 deaths by war) of all U.S. lives lost in war, and happened right here in the United States. It was fought over an ideology that still divides this country, as only within the past few years has the nation faced the symbolism of the Confederacy squarely. CONTINUED ON PAGE A14
EXPLORING THE ENCLAVES
Sipping and Savoring in Tin City By MIRA HONEYCUTT For the Paso Robles Press
I
t’s hip; it’s urban — it’s Tin City, an industrial zone due south of downtown Paso Robles that is home to artisanal wineries, craft breweries, distilleries, and even one cidery. There are no idyllic vineyardscapes here or soft breeze blowing through rolling hills. What you do hear is the hum of US 101 to the west and train whistles to the east of this enclave. The giant Brezden Pest Control sign will be your marker
SPORTS
to enter Tin City, which also houses two restaurants, an olive oil shop, and a creamery, not to mention pool, farms and orchard supply businesses. Tin City’s usual high-octane vibe is shrouded in eerie quietness now due to the current pandemic lockdown. As of this writing, the only activity I notice is the Friday afternoon drive-through for pick-up of online purchases. But when the tasting rooms reopen, this small enclave will swiftly gather speed, once again offering a communal experience where visitors can savor wines
RECORD
W
hile many around California experienced the flyover of the Air National Guard that spanned through much of Northern California and the Central Coast, employees and staff got a more personally-connected salute courtesy of the Freedom Flight team at the Estrella Warbird Museum in Paso Robles on Wednesday. It was more personal, because it featured Tenet Health Central Coast CEO Mark Lisa leading the formation of classic World War II-era airplanes to honor Twin Cities Community Hospital and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center as part of National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week observances. “I was fortunate to be asked to fly among the Freedom Flight team and to be able to show my appreciation and respect for all that the Tenet Health Central Coast team does for our communities – not just this week, or during a crisis, but every day,” said Lisa. “It is very important to recognize front-line workers and it is National Hospital and Nurses Week, so George Marrett thought it would be a great honor and I thought it would be good to tag along. This was a great gesture on the part of the Estrella Warbirds Museum.” The Freedom Flight pilots from the Estrella Warbird Musuem were the highly-decorated test pilot George Marrett and retired Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Rice. “Last week, we saw the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels fly over Washington, and I thought, ‘why
RECORD
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MAYOR’S BLOG Reminds us to stay informed, stay involved, and stay strong | A2
NORTH COUNTY Senior athletes moving up to college level sports | A4
STAN MANNING Saying
goodbye to a piece of Atascadero history | A10
COVERED CALIFORNIA
Special enrollment begins due to COVID-19 | A11
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