$1 Chamber board shares next steps Special, Page 6
Volunteers place wreaths at military cemetery Features, Page 1
Volume 141, Number 47 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, December 25, 2024
The hometown paper of Ralph Cuberos
Council approves agreement to fill city planner position By Sonora Slater Express staff writer The final Winters City Council meeting of 2024 lasted merely half an hour, focusing on a conversation about a contracted city planner joining the staff of City Hall at the beginning of next year in order to fill a vacancy that’s been open for more than a year, since September 2023. The person in this role is responsible for coordinating development activity and other planning activities, as well as staffing the Winters Planning Commission, but over the past
year five large-scale recruitments have failed to produce a successful candidate. In the meantime, the slack has been picked up by a variety of other people, from semi-retired Winters city planners to members of the planning commission, but some things have been left undone in the absence of a dedicated person for this role. That includes both a laundry list of lower priority projects and simply having someone available regularly at City Hall to answer questions from the public and the council or commission about
upcoming developments. But with big developments in the works for the city, from Farmstead to updating the Community Center, the need was getting more urgent. So the city tried a different approach, reaching out to Devcon Construction Inc., a company that they regularly contract with for building services, to see if they could find a planner via an outside contract. Devcon was successful, and the candidate is set to work 32 hours/week beginning on Jan. 6.
See CITY, Page 3
Courtesy photo
Youth of One volunteers and organizer Art Garcia (bottom right) finish setting up before children arrived on Saturday, Dec. 21, to choose a toy.
Youth of One delivers holiday joy
By Crystal Apilado
Editor-in-Chief
EXPRESS
Art Garcia, founder of Youth of One, fulfilled a heartfelt vision during the organization’s first holiday toy drive: allowing children to choose a toy of their liking rather than simply receiving one. Thanks to the generosity of volunteers and donors, 219 children were able to
select their perfect gift. The event also featured a coloring contest, where Axel Sandoval’s art was selected as the winner, and he received an electric drum set as his prize. Inspired by largescale drives he witnessed in Los Angeles, Garcia is determined to create something special so that children in Winters could choose a toy for the holidays. Garcia, who hails Winters as his hometown, has worked to give back to the community who helped shape him. In 2022,
he launched Youth of One. The mission of the organiztion focuses on providing Winters youth with opportunities to build self-esteem, confidence, and social skills through exercise and team-building activities. This toy drive was just one of Garcia’s latest initiatives to give back to the community, and he shared with the Express that he has more ideas in the works. Stay updated on Youth of One’s latest by following it at https://bit.ly/ YouthofOneWinters.
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r
Courtesy photo
Winters Superintendent Rody Boonchouy, school board President Joedy Michael, student Kailey Jacobsen, Winters Middle School Principal Jose Bermudez and Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Biasi cut the ribbon at beacon located at the W. Main Street and Anderson Avenue intersection on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Middle schooler’s initiative sparks new beacon for safer crossing By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer A sixth-grade student’s determination to improve safety for her peers led to the installation of flashing crosswalk beacons at the intersection of W. Main Street and Anderson Avenue, which was officially unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Kailey Jacobsen, a student at Winters Middle School, first noticed the potential danger for students crossing the busy intersection. Her concern motivated her to write to then Police Chief John P. Miller, urging him to consider installing beacon lights similar to those on Railroad Avenue. Jacobsen’s letter highlighted the risks she observed and proposed a practical solution. The project gained momentum as City Manager Jeremy Craig and the city’s public works department team evaluated the feasibility of Jacobsen’s suggestion. Regular meetings between city officials and Winters Joint Unified School District representatives facilitated a partnership to fund and execute the project. The school district allocated funds from its Facilities Implementation
Rain
High
Low
Express staff
Classifieds ................... B-4
Dec. 18
0.01”
60˚
36˚
Dec. 19
.00
52˚
36˚
Community .................. A-2
Dec. 20
0.02”
48˚
41˚
Dec. 21
0.03”
49˚
41˚
Dec. 22
0.12”
53˚
47˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Dec. 23
0.21”
55˚
49˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.39 in. Season’s total: 8.26 in. Last sn. to date: 4.38 in.
The official selections are in for the 2024 Toast of Winters honorees. The Winters District Chamber of Commerce brings the community together each year at the Toast of Winters awards event to celebrate the achievements of local community members and businesses who were recognized by
Sports ........................... B-6
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/24. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
YOUR
2 Main St., Winters, CA 530.795.4503 buckhornsteakhouse.com
Service all makes & models Accept all major credit cards Family owned & operated
1920 North First Street, Dixon
27990 County Road 90 Winters, CA 95694 www.pearcehvac.com
Brakes • Alignment • Farm & Truck Tires Short Drive to Dixon for Big Savings!
State Contractor Lic# 864483
1 Main St., Winters, CA 530.795.2682 putahcreekcafe.com
TIRE in Dixon 707.678.8271
116 D Street Davis, CA 95616 530-798-5500
www.smith-funerals.com FD-992
Plan, financed by local bond measures, to purchase the beacons, while the city’s public works team installed the equipment. The flashing beacons, which cost approximately $8,000 to $10,000, provide a safer crossing opportunity for students and other pedestrians by alerting drivers when the lights are activated. Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Biasi praised the collaboration between all parties, empahzising the importance of addressing overlooked safety concerns in the infrastructure planning. “Sometimes when we have our engineers
and all the designers come up with new new developments and where the streets are laid out and everything they don’t actually catch everything that needs to be done in certain places for safety,” Biasi said. “This is something that will not only make it safer for all the kids going across there to school, but also for everybody else that crosses there” “Two years ago, the community came together to identify the skills we believe our students need for success in college, career, and beyond,” said Superintendent Rody
See BEACON, Page 3
Chamber announces Toast of Winters honorees
Date
Eventos hispanos ....... A-2
Mark Rowan/Courtesy photo
Winters Public Works staff Terry Vender (kneeling) and Adrian Garcia (on the lift) work to install new crossing beacons at the W. Main Street and Anderson Avenue intersection on Oct. 31.
residents. The 2024 award honorees are: • Business of the Year: Mariani Nut Company • Theodore Winters Award: The Historical Society of Winters • Senior Citizen of the Year: Liz Coman • Citizen of the Year: Carla Wroten The Citizen of the Year is chosen by previous Citizen of the Year recipients and
the remaining awards are chosen by the Winters Chamber Board of Directors. The Winters Express will feature a series of articles in January highlighting the reasons behind each awardee’s nomination. The chamber will share information about tickets and event sponsorship opportunities once they are finalized.
VOTE NOW! through
January 6th davisenterprise.secondstreetapp.com/ Readers-Choice-Yolo-County-2025