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TK and Kindergarten enrollment information News, Page 2
High school students spreading kindness Features, Page 1
Volume 137, Number 53 — Locally owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Betty Ann Biasi
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, January 27, 2021
School district facing challenge to fund new COVID testing criteria By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief Trustees heard presentations regarding how the Governor’s school safety plan proposal would impact school openings at the Winters Joint Unified School District’s Jan. 21 school board meeting. On Dec. 20, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the Safe Schools for All proposal to incentivise local education agencies to return to in-person instruction, including hybrid models like the one Trustees approved in December. Superintendent Diana Jiménez said the proposal’s deadlines were unrealistic considering the amount of required work that needed to be done for a template that wasn’t released until Jan. 14. “The second week of January we started seeing details of what this proposal entails,” Jiménez said. Specifically, she noted the deadlines
for the COVID Safety Plan and Association MOU agreement by Feb. 1, and the fact that the proposal is currently going through the legislative process and may come out approved with changes. The proposal is an all or nothing incentive grant proposal which has already received push back from the California School Boards Association, California Association of School Business Officials, Association of California School Administrators and other organizations. “It is an all or nothing incentive. You have to take the proposal as it is in order to get the funds,” Jiménez said. The proposal targets schools serving students in Transitional Kindergarten through fifth grade to open in purple tier. Middle schools and high schools are still unable to open
See TESTING, Page 3
Katherine Simpson/Winters Express
Winters Fire Department is hosting the Solano Community College’s Fire Tech program for the first time. There are 30 students enrolled in the program who will learn the basics of fire technology from Winters Fire staff.
Winters Fire hosting Solano Community College Fire Tech program for first time By Katherine Simpson Express Correspondent Winters Fire Department hosted its first day of Solano County Community College’s Fire Tech program on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The program, formerly hosted by Dixon’s Fire Department, moved to Winters for the first time this year. Currently, 30 students are enrolled in the program which will teach students the basics of fire
County’s limited COVID vaccine supply causing frustration The high demand for COVID-19 vaccinations and the limited supply continues to cause frustration among local residents, especially those 75 and older. Some report waiting on the phone for hours in order to make an appointment with healthcare providers, only to find nothing is available. Others successfully made appointments, only to have them canceled when the vaccine supply ran out. And those receiving vaccinations through UC Davis Health or Kaiser Permanente must
travel outside of Yolo County to be vaccinated. Both the county health department and healthcare systems like UC Davis and Kaiser, as well as Sutter and Dignity Health, are reporting extremely limited supplies of vaccine doses with little indication of when more will arrive. The county continues to provide first and second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to healthcare workers and others in Phase 1A of the vaccination schedule, with 14 vaccination clinics scheduled for this week, county spokeswoman Jenny
Index
Weather
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy McNaughton Media
Features ........................ B-1
Date Rain High Low Jan. 20
.00
66˚ 45˚
Jan. 21
.00
68˚ 31˚
Jan. 22
.02”
70˚ 35˚
Jan. 23
.01”
56˚ 35˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-3
Jan. 24
.00
62˚ 31˚
Jan. 25
.12”
54˚ 34˚
Opinion ......................... B-2
Jan. 26
.00
57˚ 26˚
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Real Estate ................... B-5 Athlete of the Week...... A-2
Rain for week: 0.15 in. Season’s total: 2.50 in. Last sn. to date: 11.33 in. Winters rainfall season began 7/1/20. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily.
Tan said Monday. The county then expects to move into Phase 1B and start vaccinating those 65 and older next week, according to Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. But if the county continues to receive an average of 1,000 doses a week — as it has been — it will likely take 14 weeks to vaccinate all those 65 and older, Sisson told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Currently the county plans to sub-prioritize within Phase 1B by targeting those 75 and older first before moving to those ages 65-74. The reason for doing so is clear, Sisson said: Of the county’s 138 deaths from COVID-19, 81 were individuals age 75 or older. “A vaccine given to someone 75-plus is 367 times more likely to save a life than a vaccine given to someone under 50,” she said. And a vaccine given to someone 75 and over is three times more likely to save a life than a vaccine given to someone 65 to 74. “Until supply increases, the limited doses … will be direct-
See VACCINE, Page 5
technology following a nationally recognized Fire Fighter 1 curriculum. When the program had to move for its usual base in Dixon, Winters Fire Chief reached out to Brian Preciado, Fire Technology Director at SCC, to offer Winters’ fire station as a training location. “The college is very happy with the partnership,” said Preciado, adding that the program will bring funding both to the
City of Winters and to the Winters Fire Department. Most of the faculty are current or former firefighters which will provide opportunities for Winters Fire staff to serve as instructors this year as well. The program, “brings a level of professional experience to our folks in teaching and passing on the knowledge of the fire service to a new generation, “said Lopez. Kitsia Pelayo, who
By Rick von Geldern Express staff writer The Winters Joint Unified School District is accepting written public comments through Feb. 5 on their plan to excavate and remove an estimated 190 cubic yards of contaminated soil from Winters High School as part of their campus modernization project. Winters JUSD issued a Notice of Intent to Adopt a Miti-
gated Negative Declaration (MND). It calls for the removal and off-site disposal of soil found to contain chemicals of concern; dieldrin and lead. As for potential environmental impacts, the proposed MND indicated they did not find any potential environmental impacts that could not be mitigated to a less-than-significant level or could result in substantial adverse effects on hu-
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man beings, either directly or indirectly. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) recently informed community members within one-quarter mile of WHS that the school district had completed environmental investigations and found concentrations of chemicals of concern above acceptable values. Those chemicals
See SOIL, Page 5
City Council honors community members, former Yocha Dehe chair By Edward Booth Express staff writer The Winters City Council on Jan.19 passed a resolution honoring Marshall McKay, former chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, who passed away last month after contracting COVID-19. The council also honored Michael Barbour, Richard Rominger and Bobbie Greenwood, all prominent members of the Win-
ters community who also recently passed away, and adjourned the meeting in their memory. McKay was celebrated by the council for his life and contributions. The council resolution acknowledges the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation contributed to key projects that continue to benefit the Winters community, including the Winters Community Library, modernization and
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School district accepting public comment on contaminated soil removal plan at high school
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completed the Fire Tech program in the spring of 2020 and now serves Winters Fire as a volunteer reserve, said the team atmosphere attracted her to the fire service and Fire Tech program. The program is rigorous—with 6:45 a.m. or earlier start times with physical fitness training before student’s head to the station and change for class. Classes begin
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expansion of the Yolo Food bank, the construction of City Park Playground, the provision of scholarships and advancing technological resources in the Winters Joint Unified School district, among other items. Mayor Wade Cowan said McKay was a very important leader in the area for many years. He added that Yocha Dehe has always been a great
See COUNCIL, Page 5
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