GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CX, NO. III
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025
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School Board goes over district-wide cellphone and personal device policies Trustee board given transportation update on bus and van fleets By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — At its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees went over the new district policy on cellphone use in classrooms. The item was brought forth to the trustee board during Superintendant Tom Butler’s portion on Administrative Business. Mayor Charles Bourbeau performs the ribbon cutting for Charles Paddock Zoo’s new Cerrado Aviaries exhibit surrounded by ambassadors from the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival Committee, the Friends of Student Expectations for Cell the Charles Paddock Zoo, city officals, and Zoo Director Dr. Cynthia Stringfield (pictured to the right of Bourbeau). Photo by Rick Evans/ATN Phone and Personal Devices was an informational item only and was not voted on by the board. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
Charles Paddock Zoo welcomes hyacinth macaws and toco toucans
How does The Cerrado Aviaries Exhibit was made possible by the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival Atascadero Committee and the Friends of the Charles Paddock Zoo prepare for a Sur vival Program that ’s the manduvi tree, and they of the Charles Paddock Zoo, the wine festival, and they By CHRISTIANNA MARKS possible wildfire christianna@atascaderonews.com managing and tr ying to drop the seeds, and those and others,” stated Mayor always give $10,000 over to emergency? increase numbers of animals trees are what are needed for Charles Bourbeau at the the zoo to create exhibits like Atascadero Mutual Water Company, Public Works, and the Fire Department weigh in By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The recent, devastating, and ongoing fires in Southern California have begged the question for many: would we be prepared if something like that happened here? We reached out to the Atascadero Mutual Water Company (AMWC), Public Works, and the Fire Department to find out what Atascadero is doing to keep up with fire preparedness. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
ATASCADERO — A small but mighty group of local dignitaries, representatives from the Atascadero Lakeside W ine Festival Committee and members of the Friends of the Charles Paddock Zoo, gathered on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 3:30 p.m. The thing that brought them all together was the official ribbon cutting for the new Cerrado Aviaries Exhibit at the zoo. The exhibit features a mated pair of hyacinth macaws in one enclosure and a breeding pair of toco toucans in the other. “The toucans are part of a bigger toco toucan management program with all zoos. So they came through the SSP, which is the Species
in the world,” Zoo Director Dr. Cynthia Stringfield told Atascadero News at the ribbon cutting. The hyacinth macaws were actually pets, but when the owner, who lived in San Francisco, passed away, all seven of her parrots ended up homeless, so the zoo stepped in and took them. The two beautiful blue birds are two of those. “They also have a bigger ecosystem story to tell,” Stringfield added about both sets of birds. “These species are from an area in Brazil called the Cerrado biodiverse hotspot, so it’s the Savanna in Brazil. Their story is pretty interesting. The toco toucans eat the fruit of a tree called
hyacinth macaw nests. So it’s kind of a really cool story to be able to tell, too, about their interdependence in the wild.” The zoo has had its new feathery friends on location for the last one to two years, depending on the birds. While the funding for the exhibit was being raised, they lived in great enclosures in the back of the zoo, which makes being able to share them with the public that much more special. “I wanted to focus on this being another example of how volunteerism and volunteer groups in Atascadero how they do so much for our community. Because of the money raised by the Wine Festival Committee, Friends
grand opening. “Again, there’s so many things happening in Atascadero, good things, that wouldn’t happen if we didn’t have that volunteer spirit. So I just really appreciate that and everyone. “Apparently, they also appreciate it,” he joked as the birds started squawking over him. Funds for the exhibit were contributed by The Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival Committee and Friends of the Charles Paddock Zoo, whose continuous support helps give the animals at the zoo full lives. “The Atascadero Lakeside Wine Committee is a part of this exhibit, and every year, they raise money as part of
this,” said Atascadero’s Director of Community Services & Promotions Terrie Banish. “So this represents 2023 and 2024, so $20,000 from the ALWFC. The other $5,000 came from the Friends of the Charles Paddock Zoo, and they do a ton of support on almost everything in the zoo that you see. They were able to help us with the rest of that funding. It ’s just amazing when a community comes together like ours. It’s so special. It doesn’t happen everywhere.” But that wasn’t all; the plants and landscaping materials were donated by local landscaper Olwyn Kingery Landscape Design, and the CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
First ‘Art for Paws’ brings together art and animals for a cause Studios on the Park hosts pet caricatures and animal-inspired art to support Woods Humane Society
NORTH COUNTY — The arts and animals came together on Saturday, Jan. 18, to support Woods Humane Society at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles. The first “Art for Paws” event included pet caricatures,
drawings, dog-toy making, all coinciding with the Studio’s “Walk Like An Animal” art exhibition. “We were contacted several months back with Studios on the Park wanting to partner with Woods. [There are] so many animal lovers in our community, and we absolutely love partner-
ing with different organizations, businesses, and celebrating the human-animal bond,” Woods Humane Society Community Engagement Manager Robin Coleman told Atascadero News. The free event welcomed former Woods Humane Society (Woods) dogs and their Woods Humane Society Community Engagement Manager Robin Coleman (left) and Studios on the Park Administrative
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By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
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Coordinator Emma Henson pose at the first “Art for Paws” fundraising event. Photo by Camille DeVaul/ATN
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