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MEMORIAL DAY
Hundreds Come Together to Honor and Remember Our Fallen Heroes
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@pasoroblespress.com
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
By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@pasoroblespress.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
GOING GREEN
Anna’s Home Celebrates ‘Introduction to Solar Training’ Helping women obtain head of household jobs to provide for their families
Anna’s Home held a ribbon cutting on May 26 for the completion of “Introduction of Solar Panels. Attending the ceremony (from left to right) District Attorney Dan Dow, Supervisors Dawn Ortiz-Legg and John Peschong, Restorative Partners Representative and Councilmember John Hamon. Photo By Camille DeVaul
By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@pasoroblespress.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
EVENT
introduce low-income women with children to an industry that can 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
FUNDRAISER
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. “It’s definitely something I want to get into. I like that hands-on work CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COVID-19 UPDATE
want to honor our ancestors. We are devoted to educating our youth and preserving our past for future generations. We support local schools, awarding scholarships and recognizing outstanding students. We participate in restoring and maintaining historical records and artifacts, locating, restoring, and marking Revolutionary War Patriot gravesites and headstones. We support America’s activeduty troops through a variety of programs. We volunteer and assist military veterans.” The El Paso de Robles, NSDAR chapter, will also participate in the Templeton Fourth of July parade this year! They will be dressed in period clothing, with special honored guests, a patriotic float, and a procession. In 2019 the chapter won the Sweepstakes Award. The chapter is still working on their theme for the float this year but is thinking something about the American Revolution.
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.
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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, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
FUNDRAISER
El Paso de Robles NSDAR Fundraising Garage Sale Saturday
Proceeds go towards projects, support for Historic Preservation, and Education By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — The El Paso de Robles chapter is hosting their third garage sale fundraiser on Saturday, Jun. 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 217 Via Magnolia in Paso Robles. Items sold at the sale will include housewares, clothing, shoes, toys, games, books, DVD/CD, electronic devices, and furniture. Proceeds will be used towards chapter service projects that support Historic Preservation, Education, and Patriotism. The chapter says, “As members of the Daughters of The American Revolution, we care about fostering good citizenship. We
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PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY BBQ FUNDRAISER, Alliance’s First Virtual Auction raises hosted by the Elks Lodge, to support over $70,000 | A2 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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