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Winters Express: Wednesday, January 22, 2025

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Learn 2025 home improvement trends Special, Page 6-7

Plant fruit trees with local roots Features, Page 1

Volume 141, Number 51 — Locally-owned since 1884

Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, January 22, 2025

The hometown paper of Jill Shugart

Winters Historical Society earns 2024 Theodore Winters Award By Sonora Slater Express staff writer If there’s one city where it’s easy to look at the buildings around you and picture yourself transported back in time, it might just be Winters. Brick walls, small-town charm and well-preserved buildings that once housed horse-andbuggy showrooms and railroad supplies all offer unspoken proof of a community that values its history. But remembering the happy moments, the successful businesses and the community traditions that comprise the highlight reel of the past is the easy part of preserving history, however important it still may be. Bringing

to light the uncomfortable side of the past, on the other hand — the times a city failed to be welcoming or to stand up for those being treated unfairly — is difficult. The Historical Society of Winters has done both. But perhaps especially notably, in 2024 they unveiled a monument honoring the Japanese community in Winters that was displaced during World War II, paired with a detailed exhibit inside their Russell Street location called “The Lost Japanese Community.” And for their dedication to telling all the stories of Winters, they are the recipients of the 2024 Theodore Winters Award. The award is meant

to go to someone, or multiple someones, who have made a significant contribution to the betterment of the Winters community in a recent timeframe. In a community nomination, it noted how moving the unveiling ceremony for the monument, which took place on May 4, 2024, was. “To anyone who participated in any of the day’s events, I think we can all agree that this was a very powerful, healing event,” the nomination said. “This group did an outstanding job of bringing our community together to honor our past.” But although the capstone of the society’s research may

See AWARD, Page 3

Mark Wilson/Courtesy photo

Some of the Winters Historical Society Lost Japanese Community exhibit committee members Rob Coman, Howard Kato, Gloria Lopez, Vick Tuft Jacobs, Floyd Shimomura and Ruth Shimomura at the monument installation. Committee members not pictured include George Griffin, Lorie Lindsey, Lorraine Rominger, Susan von Geldern, Tom Crisp, Bill Young, Stephanie Myers, Dennis Hiramatsu and Woody Fridae.

Interim city manager, planning commissioners appointed By Sonora Slater Express staff writer

Courtesy photo

Residential Winters volunteer firefighter Tyler Hagy works to extinguish flames of a rural two-alarm structure fire on Sunday, Jan. 19, off of County Road 90.

Winters Fire responds to rural structure fire By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief

EXPRESS

On Sunday, Jan. 19, at 3:27 p.m., the Winters Fire Department responded to a smoke investigation call that quickly escalated to a one-alarm

structure fire. Shortly after leaving the station, Fire Captain Jesus Marquez upgraded the incident to a two-alarm structure fire upon observing a large column of smoke visible from the fire station. Fire crews arrived at the scene, located off County Road 90 near Matsumoto Lane in the Winters Fire District, between Hay Kingdom and

the Fairfield Marriott Hotel. The structure involved was an outside shop fully engulfed in flames, with surrounding fire exposures including vehicles. According to Winters Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III, propane tanks, tires, shop equipment, and other flammable materials were inside the burning building. Fire crews

See FIRE, Page 2

The first city council meeting of the new year had a full agenda, which included introducing a variety of new people joining the city staff for temporary or permanent roles. Mayor Albert Vallecillo announced that Joe Gorton would serve as the acting city manager for the next couple of weeks while City Manager Jeremy Craig recovers from a medical procedure. Gorton had previously served as interim city manager for the city of Winters during the few transitional weeks between Kathleen Salguero Trepa’s retirement and Craig’s official start date in late November 2023. He also served as the city manager for San Ramon before retiring from that role in January of 2023, and has extensive experience

as a city employee and police chief, and with leadership at a local-government level. At Tuesday’s meeting, Gorton said he was excited to be back, for however short a time. “I’ve always been a fan of Winters, so any time I can help the city out, I’m happy to do so,” Gorton said. The city’s new contract planner, Kelly Mumper, was also present at the meeting, and was introduced and welcomed by the city council. The city-planner vacancy has been open for more than a year, with the last planner leaving in September of 2023, and was finally filled via a partnership with contracting company Devcon Construction Inc. As of early January, Mumper has officially begun work in this role, and will be staffing the planning commission, assisting

with day-to-day planning issues and will be regularly available to answer questions at the planning counter on the second floor of city hall during business hours Monday through Thursday.

New commissioners Two new members of the Winters Planning Commission were appointed at the meeting, after a vacancy has long left the commission with only five of the seven intended members, making it difficult sometimes for them to reach the required quorum of four. Two people applied to the job and were interviewed by Councilmember Jesse Loren and Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Biasi. After, as Biasi put it, “there were no red flags raised,” they moved the two candidates forward to be confirmed. After a brief

See CITY, Page 4

Carbahal retires after 17 years Express staff

Index Features ........................ B-1

We at he r Rain

High

Low

Jan. 15 .00

66˚

32˚

Jan. 16 .00

67˚

33˚

Jan. 17 .00

66˚

33˚

Jan. 18 .00

63˚

32˚

Eventos hispanos ....... A-3

Jan. 19 .00

66˚

31˚

Jan. 20 .00

61˚

36˚

Opinion ......................... B-3

Jan. 21 .00

64˚

31˚

Real Estate ................... B-2

Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 9.55 in. Last sn. to date: 8.60 in.

Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2

Sports ........................... B-6

Date

Winters rainfall season began 7/1/24. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.

Sheila Carbahal is retiring as the manager of the Winters Cemetery. Carbahal has been working with the Winters Cemetery District for 17 years. Her last day is on Friday, Jan. 24. The community is invited to see her off and to share their gratitude with Carbahal at an open house event on Friday, Jan. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the new office in the northeast corner of the cemetery.

Sheila Carbahal has served as the Winters Cemetery manager for 17 years. The community is encouraged to visit her at the cemetery office on her last day, Friday, Jan. 24. Courtesy photo

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Contact David DeLeon at David@WintersExpress.com


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