GOOD NEWS. REAL NEWS. HOMETOWN NEWS.
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. LII
GOVERNMENT
Supervisors Approve Enforcement of State Septic Standards
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
PRHS CLASS OF 2021
PRHS Graduates Pick Up Caps and Gowns in Drive-thru Celebration
Public speaks out about Tommy Gong, County Clerk-Recorder resigning By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@pasoroblespress.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors regular meeting was held on Tuesday, Jun. 8 at 9 a.m. The meeting opened with public comment on the consent agenda, which focused on item 8, the request to recognize the Vitality Advisory Council of Oceano as a community advisory council to the Oceano area, and item 9, the resolution recognizing the potential need for renewable wind power generation. Comments regarding the advisory council of Oceano came both in support of the new council, with members of the public stating that the previous council did not represent them as well as in opposition of creating a new council when the existing council is sufficient and also seeking more representatives so those who need to feel heard can do so by joining. After public comment and debate among the Supervisors, Chairperson Lynn Compton, whose district it is, spoke about her discussions with her constituents and that she isn’t surprised they feel the need to create a new council. She dismissed the misconception that the new advisory council is single-minded about the OHV riding area, and ultimately she supported the new council. Compton made a motion to recognize the Vitality Advisory Council of Oceano, and the motion passed 3-2, with Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg in opposition. Item 9 on the agenda heard comments mainly from those in the fishing industry, explaining how detrimental this change would be to those who fish commercially off the coast. Many of the callers had felt they should have been sought out for input. Many also have already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in fishing boats, equipment, and permits to fish these waters, which would be significantly impacted by these changes. Supervisor Ortiz-Legg pulled the item for future consideration and to look more into the eco-system, including the local fisherman, and see what impacts would be had. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
CITY
PRHS Graduates and their families drove through the High School parking lot, decked out in 2021 and Bearcat Crimson spirit. Photos by Melissa Mattson
Top Cats, Senior Athletic Awards, Honor Cords, Biliteracy Honorees, and Scholarship Winners By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — On Jun. 3, Paso Robles High School (PRHS) virtually announced their Class of 2021 Honor Cord recipients, Seal of Biliteracy Honorees, Senior Athletic awards, and their top
CATS and CSF members. Kristal Roman was named the Valedictorian with a 4.74 GPA. Mya Castelli was named the Salutatorian with a 4.68 GPA. Both Seniors were also Bearcat Athletes. Then on Monday, Jun. 7, the Class of 2021 seniors celebrated with a drive-thru to pick
up their caps, gowns, and awards. Students picked up their final graduation necessities: caps, gowns, honor cords, and yearbooks. Grads and their families drove through the PRHS parking lot, decked out in 2021 and Bearcat spirit. Many cars driving through also sported their own Crimson spirit. Faculty members cheered on their seniors
as they passed out their students’ honor cords, awards, caps, and gowns. As for teacher awards, Susan Young was named Teacher of the Year, Celia Moses is Administrator of the Year, Jessica Shaffer is Support Services Employee of the Year, CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
FUNDRAISING
EDUCATION
PRHS Welding Department Raising Funds for SLO Food Bank
PRJUSD Transitioning to By-Trustee-Area Elections in 2022
Students create Paso Strong signs to sell at Premier Ag to supply 175 meals By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — In Apr. 2020, the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation informed the California Mid State Fair (CMSF) they would not be attending the Junior Livestock Auction due to the financial climate in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, in 2021, the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation will not be attending the Junior Livestock Auction. Since 2012, the foundation has been responsible for purchasing nearly half of the FFA and 4-H livestock animals up for bid at the CMSF. Each animal purchased by the foundation was also then donated to local food banks. In 2014, they donated nearly 90,000 pounds of meat to the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County. So having no Wood-Claeyssens Foundation was a huge loss not only for FFA and 4-H kids but also a major loss for local food banks. Now, the county is going into another CMSF with no support from the foundation. Justin Pickard, a welding teacher at PRHS, and his students were inspired to help fill in the hole that the foundation has left. “It was something that hit us all as we have the ability to do it. We’ve been very fortunate.
MID-STATE FAIR
Crimson News Magazine Journalists earned 14 awards By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
Woods-Claeyssons Foundation and its impact on the community. “We have the ability to make a difference, and that’s what my students identified. They have skills that 98 percent of our society doesn’t possess, so they wanted to put those skills to use. To put benefit to something that was close to them, because a lot of them were livestock showmen and women, and they understood what happened last year when we lost the Wood-Claeysson founda-
PASO ROBLES — On Tuesday, Jun. 8, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) Board of Trustees met for their regularly scheduled meeting. Jeff Mount, Paso Robles High School teacher and journalism advisor, provided an update on the award-winning Crimson News Magazine. The end of the year issue was delivered to the school last week and will be inserted into this week’s mailed edition of the Paso Robles Press. Out of the over 800 entries and 25 schools in the Journalism Education Association ( JEA) of Nothern California annual contests, Crimson PRHS earned 14 awards.
CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
Paso Robles High School students wanted a way to give back and found a unique cause with the SLO Food Bank they could all rally behind. Contributed Photos
It’s time for us to give back,” said Pickard. Pickards welding students made 125 #PASOSTRONG signs to be sold at Premier Ag on Paso Robles Street. “It was a good community partnership,” said Pickard. PRW Steel Supply supplied the materials for the students, and Powder Coating USA powder coated the signs at no cost, while Premier Ag agreed to sell the signs for the students. Many of Pickards students are also FFA or 4-H members, so they have known the
COVID-19 UPDATE
SPORTS
pasoroblespress.com
WEATHER
twitter.com/ @PasoRoblesPress facebook.com/ @PasoRoblesPress
TWO MUSIC SUPERSTARS, Big & Rich and Little Big Town to perform at Mid-State Fair | A4
SLO COUNTY MOVES TO Yellow Tier as Governor Newsom Draws First 15 Winners | A5
CIF SPORTS UPDATE Two North County teams to face off in Final Rounds | A13
High 80° | Low 45°
5
67808 24135
SUPPORT LOCAL
LOCAL NEWS. LOCAL PUBLISHING. LOCAL BUSINESS.
pasoroblespress.com
(805) 237-6060 | office@13starsmedia.com
e Scan her arted! t s t e g o t
o be t
7
the Paso Roble s
s Pres
Not only do you have the power to choose the subscription that fits your life, but when you advertise, you will broaden your reach into target markets throughout the Central Coast, from Ventura County to Monterey County!
Subs cri
PASO ROBLES CITY COUNCIL Discuss Riverbed Mitigation and ECHO Shelter | A2