$1
including tax
Esparto High School gets new classrooms News, Page 5
Benson honored for FFA efforts Features, Page 1
Volume 141, Number 18 — Locally-owned since 1884
Vandals cause $10K in losses at Meals on Wheels Winters facility By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief Meals on Wheels Yolo County staff arrived at the Meals on Wheels – Sutter Health Senior Nutrition Center in Winters on the Tuesday after Memorial Day, they found that the power had been turned off, resulting in spoiled food for roughly 2,100 meals for county seniors. MOW Yolo Executive Director Joy Cohan said the estimated value of losses is at a little over $10K – $6,600 in food costs and the rest in pay for personnel to clean up the spoilage and prepare the replacement meals. “We lost 500 frozen meals plus the perishable raw food to
prepare another 2,100 meals,” Cohan said. “We are led to believe that insurance will pay some food costs, but not necessarily all. Insurance will not pay for lost staff time.” According to Cohan, Winters Police Department arrived on the scene to dust for fingerprints, but did not discover any leads at the time and the case remains open. Officers determined that vandals accessed the panel at the rear of the building and deliberately switched off the power in the prior 24 to 48-hour timeframe. Anyone with information on the incident should contact Winters PD at 530-7952261 or tips.winters@ winterspolice.org.
See MOW, Page 3
The hometown paper of David Kelley
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Grocery Outlet project hits a safety roadblock By Amelia Biscardi Express staff writer
Courtesy photo
Some of the damage caused at the Meals on Wheels Winters facility included $6,600 in spoiled food costs.
As Winters looks to gain a new grocery store, the project has hit a roadblock — or, more specifically, the lack of a safe exit and entrance in both directions. City Manager Jeremy Craig said that the hurdle is due to the need for an exit onto the nearby traffic light. “The plans are in good shape,” Craig said. “They’re ready and approved, but they have these final steps that are outside the City — that we can’t control — that are holding up the process.” With the property along the intersection of E. Grant Avenue and E. Main
Street, Craig used the example that if a motorist is coming from downtown one can easily turn right into the property. However, if one is entering from the other direction, a left turn across traffic would have to be made. That left turn, according to Craig, is a safety concern. As CalTrans has jurisdiction over E. Grant Avenue, there needs to be a road to the nearby stoplight before CalTrans can review and sign off on its portion of the property. For that to be done, Craig said that the project managers are working with nearby property owners
See ROAD, Page 3
Trustees hear proposed ethnic studies course recommendation By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief
EXPRESS
The Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees is expected to take action on the Ethnic Studies Pro-
gram recommendation on Thursday, June 6. The program, developed in partnership with community members and Winters JUSD staff as part of the Ethnic Studies Task Force, was initially presented at the May 16, school board meeting. Kristin Higgins, a Winter JUSD secondary instruction
coach, led the presentation and coordinated the Ethnic Studies Task Force. The task force’s efforts and its creation were step one in the two-year timeline of developing what the state-mandated Ethnic Studies courses will look like at Winters JUSD.
See COURSE, Page 3
Index Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
We at he r Date
Rain
High
Low
May 29
.00
89˚
57˚
May 30
.00
86˚
59˚
May 31
.00
93˚
60˚ 54˚
Jun. 01
.00
98˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-2
Jun. 02
.00
92˚
56˚
Jun. 03
.00
91˚
62˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Jun. 04
.00
87˚
61˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 23.29 in. Last sn. to date: 37.62 in.
Athlete of the Week...... B-5
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/23. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Royal Consul members Alison Gamboa and Karen Covarrubias encourage the community to sponsor ducks in the race to help raise funds for the 2025 Youth Day festivities.
Ducks hit the creek on June 15 Special to the Express Although the 2024 Youth Day event has passed, the 10th annual Duck Derby is scheduled for Saturday, June 15, with duck sales and family-fun activities starting at 4 p.m. at Rotary Park. Ducks will also be sold earlier that day at the Youth Day booth at the Winters Volunteer Fair at Three Oaks Park (Taylor and Nei-
mann Streets) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The rubber ducks will hit the water at 5 p.m. and winners will be announced immediately after. The 2024 Duck Derby event was temporarily postponed due to the high water levels in Putah Creek. The Youth Day committee is considering holding the Duck Derby on a separate date to help
raise funds for the Youth Day event beforehand and to help separate the high number of events during Youth Day weekend. The Youth Day committee seeks feedback from the community on the 2024 event to help plan for next year. A community feedback survey is available online at https://forms. gle/ZSp39B2spegXjZdm8.
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