Winters Express - 03/09/2022

Page 1

$1

including tax

Yolo County hosting job fair News, Page 3

Varsity basketball teams bring it Features, Page 1

Volume 139, Number 6 — Locally owned since 1884

The hometown paper of Jay Vickrey

Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Sydney Andrade/Winters Express

Natalie Saunders, August Nelson and Frances Lundy, Winters elementary school-aged robitics teammates, received a 2022 Judges’ Award in the VEX Robotics Competition. They changed the lift on their robot for Sunday’s competition.

Seven Winters robotics teams heading to VEX state tournament Sunday By Sydney Andrade Express staff writer

Sydney Andrade/Winters Express

Winters High School freshman Miles Mariani works on his robot’s program during competition. Seven Winters robotics teams are heading to the state tournament.

Seven teams from the Winters Joint Unified School District Robotics Club have qualified for the state tournament on Sunday, March 13. “The objective going into competition is always to get as many rings and goals stacked on a ramp, or

City Council approves seasonal Main Street block closure, events By Rick von Geldern Express staff writer

EXPRESS

Winters City Council was presented with Resolution 2022-18 to consider closing traffic on the western half of Main Street from Railroad Avenue to the midblock crosswalk at the March 1 meeting. As a temporary solution to support restaurant dining during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 City Council approved closing onehalf of westbound Main Street from Railroad Avenue to vehicles on Friday afternoons until Monday mornings. In Nov. 2021, coun-

cil made the decision to open Main Street to vehicle traffic seven days a week during the winter months. On Feb. 2, the Downtown Business Association (DBA) sent a letter to the City Council proposing an annual street closure schedule and requested approval to promote two special events: a springthemed event on March 25 as a season kick-off and an Oct. 31 fall/harvest festival closing event. City Manager Kathleen Salguero Trepa first introduced the item for council to consider seasonally closing the same half-block of Main Street from Friday afternoons through Monday mornings beginning on Friday, March 25 and ending on Monday, Oct. 31. Secondly, the DBA

asked for approval to program special activities for the first and last weekends of the closures and to extend the Main Street closure to First Street for these special events. Trepa advised that the DBA had submitted an event application to be brought to council at the March 15 meeting. Both the City and DBA agreed that developing an event schedule during the street closure would draw people to the downtown area. Overall, council members liked the DBA’s proposal but raised concerns about traffic circulation, safety, attendance, parking, community and neighborhood feedback, cleaning of tables

See CITY, Page 5

Index Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-4

Rain

High

Mar. 02

.00

76˚

41˚

Mar. 03 TRACE

75˚

49˚

Mar. 04

61˚

50˚

.07”

Community .................. A-3

Mar. 05 TRACE

68˚

35˚

Mar. 06

.00

58˚

32˚

Opinion ......................... B-1

Mar. 07

.00

64˚

39˚

Mar. 08

.00

69˚

39˚

Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... A-2

Rain for week: 0.07 in. Season’s total: 17.16 in. Last sn. to date: 6.65 in. Winters rainfall season began 7/1/21. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m.

McNughton Media During his 2018 election campaign, Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez pledged to resurrect his agency’s resident deputy program, which assigns officers to serve the communities in which they live. Lopez filled that role himself during the early days of his career, so he knows first-hand the benefits to his constituents. “It’s near and dear to my heart, having been a resident deputy for five years” for the communities of Esparto and Winters, Lopez said. Former Sheriff Ed Prieto halted the pro-

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gram during his 20year tenure, citing its prohibitive costs. To Lopez, the pros outweigh any budgetary cons. “You have to consider the benefits of having somebody building trust with the people they see every

day, knowing when things look out of line because they’re there all the time,” he said. So when it came time to revise the Sheriff’s Office budget, Lopez found a way to restore the resident deputy positions.

See DEPUTY, Page 6

Second trial underway in missing Yolo County teens’ case Jury selection began Tuesday for the two remaining defendants accused of killing two local teens who went missing back in 2016. Chandale Shannon Jr., of Winters, and Jesus Campos, of Woodland, have pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and weapon-related charges in connection with the presumed deaths of Esparto teen Enrique Rios, 16, and 17-yearold Woodland teen

Elijah Moore, whose bodies have never been found. Testimony is expected to begin later this month following the selection of 12 jurors and five alternates, who will hear the fourweek trial on a weekon, week-off format. The trial is the second to be held in the case. The first, back in the fall of 2018, ended with David Ashley Froste’s conviction and sentencing to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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See ROBOTICS, Page 5

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helps develop life skills such as teamwork, communication and other social skills that these students will use throughout their entire lives. Patricia Wright, also known as the “club grandmother,” praised the program and raved about the development and growth she’s

By Lauren Keene

McNaughton Media Low

involved in the robotics club since her freshman year of high school. “I really enjoy the competitions and teamwork. Everyone works together so well and the club now feels like a second family,” said Garcia. While the robotics club does teach the students how to program, code and build a robot, the club also

County sheriff bringing back resident deputies for rural areas

By Lauren Keene

We at he r Date

placed in a designated area, as possible,” said Celeste Garcia, a Winters High School senior and club President. The Winters JUSD Robotics club involves 36 students ranging from fifth grade to seniors in high school. Garcia was first introduced to the program through a previous senior capstone project and has been

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Prosecutors say Froste orchestrated and carried out the teens’ killings after Moore robbed him of $300 worth of marijuana in a Woodland parking lot in October 2016, and that Campos, 22, and Shannon, 25, took part in both killings. Froste’s brother Jonathan, who admitted to playing a role in Moore’s abduction and death, admitted to second-degree murder in exchange for

See TRIAL, Page 6

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