Daily Republic: Sunday, December 19, 2021

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Vanden High’s 2021 football campaign one for the ages B7

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dailyrepublic.com  |  Well said. Well read.

Feds establish commission to develop policies, strategies to prevent wildfires Todd R. Hansen

thansen@dailyrepublic.net

FAIRFIELD — A new federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission has been formed. The departments of Interior, Agriculture and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday issued a joint announcement about the commission, which was a component of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “Climate change and increasing development in the wildland urban interface are rapidly changing the complexity and response challenges for the fire service. It is time for us all to recognize that wildland fire is not just a forest or rural problem any longer. Urban and suburban fire departments that had no part in wildland firefighting 30 years ago are now heavily engaged in wildland fire prevention, mitigation and response. The wildland urban interface is now the frontier for wildland fire,” U.S. Fire Administrator Lori Moore Merrell said in a statement. “This commission will pull together our partners and stakeholders to focus on community risk reduction, enhanced prevention efforts, and overall response and mitigation capacity that matches the wildfire risks within the nation’s wildland urban interface,” Merrell added. The goal of the commission is to define and recommend “federal policies and strategies to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress and See Wildfires, Page A12

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic photos

The annual Wreaths Across America event at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon saw

hundreds of graves receive wreaths to honor the veterans at Christmastime, Saturday.

People gather, lay wreaths at national cemetery in last of two-part event in advance of holiday

Boughs placed earlier at majority of gravesites at Dixon site Susan Hiland

shiland@dailyrepublic.net

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file

Flames from the Caldor Fire rise as the San Marcos Fire Department maintains a burn along Hazel Valley Road near Pollock Pines, Aug. 20.

Omicron and holidays unleash scramble for coronavirus tests The Washington Post

Thomas Lee shows his granddaughter, Astrid Olsen, 5, how to place a wreath on a grave at the annual Wreaths Across America event at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, Saturday.

See Tests, Page A12

katy@dailyrepublic.com

MARE ISLAND — It was a bracingly cold Saturday morning at the Mare Island Naval Cemetery, but Wreaths Across America master of ceremonies and Vallejo Navy League President Steve Nash reminded everyone it still wasn’t as cold as Arlington National Cemetery. Wreaths Across America is a national day to honor veterans and those who “made the ultimate sacrifice” for our country by laying wreaths upon their graves. By the end of the event, every single tombstone in the cemetery had a festoon of fir beneath the soldier’s or sailor’s names. Money for the wreaths was donated by several private citizens as well as Phillips 66, Valero, Winans

INDEX  Business B10  | Classfieds B12  | Columns B5  | Comics B6 Crossword A9  | Diversions B1  | Living A13  | Military B9 Obituary A4  | Opinion A11  | Religion B4  | Sports B7  |  TV Daily B11 WEATHER  47 | 37  Partly sunny. Forecast on B14.

See Wreaths, Page A12

Vallejo remembers its own during Wreaths Across America gathering K aty St. Clair

Coronavirus testing was a breeze when J.D. Schroeder traveled to Abu Dhabi and Mexico this fall. Not so much at home in Pennsylvania when he felt sick Wednesday and found out he had been exposed. The mechanical engineer started looking for an over-the-counter rapid test because the earliest antigen test appointment he could find in his Pittsburgh-area community was almost a week away. Rite Aid would only let him order online. The closest CVS pharmacies were all out of stock. He nabbed the last box at a Walgreen’s, which came back positive. When he traveled to the United Arab Emirates for work last month, he paid roughly $13 for lab tests and got results within two hours. A hotel in Mexico where he vacationed over Thanksgiving had ample rapid testing kits for guests. “I’m 31 and I’m pretty tech savvy. I can’t imagine someone who doesn’t have access to a computer or isn’t comfortable searching different places to figure this stuff out because it can be confusing,” said Schroeder, who is now quarantining at home. Easy access to coronavirus tests – both rapid at-home kits and PCR tests analyzed in labs – is uneven across the United States as the nation faces the prospect of explosive outbreaks linked

DIXON — Hundreds of people came out during the early morning hours Saturday to lay wreaths on the graves at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery. The fog was thick but the green wreaths with red bows were a bright spot against the white tombstones. Covid has changed almost everything. That includes the wreath-laying this year. The cemetery did not do the usual formal service for the Wreaths Across America project but instead, Frank Romo, president of Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, spoke in a short presentation. A display of honorary wreaths for each branch of service were placed on the stage.

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Investments, Touro University California and the Vallejo Police Officers Association. The ceremony began with the presentation of the colors from the Naval Sea Cadets, followed by the national anthem sung by Tom Bartee, senior district director for state Sen. Bill Dodd. Love Life Church’s pastor, James Pace, gave an invocation. Nash said a few words about the cemetery, which See Vallejo, Page A12

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Katy St. Clair/Daily Republic

Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown lays a wreath on a grave at the Mare Island Naval Cemetery, Saturday.

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