GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. III
GOVERNMENT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2023
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
NONPROFIT
Performing Arts Center Committee Announces Merger with Atascadero Printery Foundation
City Council presented with El Camino Downtown Project Kickoff Session
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
No More Large Scale Search Operations Scheduled for Kyle Doan Sensorio to hold a fundraiser this weekend to support Doan family
Fiscal Year 2021-22 Audit Report given at meeting
ATA S CA D ERO —T h e Atascadero City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. The hybrid meeting was held in the City Council Chambers. Mayor Pro Tem Susan Funk pulled item 3, Emergency Purchases for January 2023 Storms, from the Consent Calendar before it was approved. She confirmed that the funds used for storm clean-up and emergency repairs, because it is considered a disaster, would be considered reimbursable expenses by FEMA, and the city would intend to seek full reimbursement for them. The Consent Calendar was then passed unanimously. Public Hearing 2022 California Building and Fire Codes Updates was continued to the next City Council meeting on Feb. 14. Public Works Director Nick DeBar gave a presentation to the council on the El Camino Real Downtown Infrastructure Enhancement Project Design Public Outreach Kickoff Session. “This is basically a complete street design that’s going to incorporate safe access for all users on the corridor,” he said. “Pedestrian, bicycle, motorists, and all. The corridor is from [Highway] 41 to Rosario [Avenue]. The focus is safety, public safety, enhancing pedestrian and bicycle access to the corridor, and then also increasing the parking opportunities. Providing safer sidewalks and crosswalks and establishing place-making in the downtown.” Senior Transportation Engineer at the Wallace Group Sarah Huffman talked about the three options that have
MISSING PERSON
(From left) Atascadero Printery Foundation President Karen McNamara, APACC Board of Directors members Kate Auslen, Brenda May, Barbie Butz (president), Wendy Smith, Kathy Hannemann (vice president), and JoeAnn Bruzzo are shown at the APACC Annual Meeting. Photo by Christianna Marks
The APACC is currently in the process of the dissolution of its 501c3 By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — At its annual meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, at the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce, it was formally announced that the
Atascadero Performing Arts Center Committee (APACC) would be starting the dissolution of its 501c3. The committee also announced its merger with The Atascadero Printery Foundation to promote their shared dream of creating a public performing arts center in Atascadero for the surrounding area. APACC has been striving to create a performing arts
center in Atascadero for the last 22 years. “In a small community like Atascadero, we’re all really fundraising from the same well, and it’s confusing to people in the community about which group actually is moving forward and which group has the best chance of attracting grants and basically being a greater presence in the commu-
nity,” stated Vice President of APACC Kathy Hannemann. “And as a group, our board of directors felt that APACC had less of a community presence than the Atascadero Printery Foundation. Having a physical place for us to begin to plan this process of having a performing arts center is critical.” CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
PASO ROBLES — The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s Department is now on its second week of search operations to find the missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan. Doan went missing on Monday, Jan. 9, after being swept away by floodwaters near San Miguel. It was reported by Cal Fire that on Monday morning, the area the car he inhabited was trying to cross was impacted by a downed tree. A neighbor tried to help rescue those inside, and while Kyle’s mother was pulled to safety, he was unable to be rescued. The search continues for Doan, but the Sherriff ’s office reports efforts will continue on a limited basis. Over the weekend of Jan. 21, almost 300 people from 10 different sheriff ’s offices around California CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
VETERAN
George Marrett: ECHO Founder, Author, Pilot, Veteran Marrett receives appreciation award from Estrella Warbird Museum By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — George Marrett is an aviator, writer, one of the founders of the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), and one of the earliest members of the Estrella Warbird Museum. On Jan. 4, Marrett received an appreciation award from the Warbird’s at one of their monthly dinners, where he also shared stories from his time in the Air Force and the inception of ECHO. Born in 1935 in Grand Island, Nebraska, Marrett was five years old when the United States joined World War II and 10 years old when it ended. Along with most Americans at the time, his family lived with food and supply rations. He remembers helping his father raise and sell rabbit meat and their hide to help their family survive the tight times.
SPIRITS
“The war made a big effect on me,” as he retells of planes flying overhead in his childhood during the second world war. Living near an Army Air Corps base, George and his childhood friend played fighter and bomber pilots, re-enacting the war stories they heard over the radio. “That got me interested in airplanes in that time period [of the war], right off the bat,” says Marrett as he goes on to explain his journey to later becoming a decorated United States Air Force officer. Marrett graduated from Iowa State College in 1957 with a BS in chemistry and then entered the United States Air Force (USAF) as a second lieutenant from the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). From there, he spent a few years in pilot and flight training at several Air Force bases (AFB) around the country. In 1964 he was selected to attend the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB where he flew the Northrop T-38 Talon, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, and General Dynamics
NEWS
George Marrett stands in front of his A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam circa 1969. Contributed Photo
F-106 Delta Dart. After graduation, he transferred to the Fighter Test Branch at Edwards for three years, where he tested the McDonnell F-4C Phantom, Northrop F-5A, and the General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark. After some convincing, Marrett went to Thailand to join the Vietnam conflict by flying
SPORTS
the Douglas A-1 Skyraider as a “Sandy” rescue pilot in the 602nd Fighter Squadron. While there, he completed 188 combat missions, over 600 combat hours, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters. Marrett’s year of rescue
missions in Southeast Asia was a formidable one. Twelve pilots in Marrett’s squadron were lost that year, two suffered from severe burns that sent them home, and 26 airplanes were lost. Here, Marrett recounts witnessing a pilot going down during one of his missions: CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
WEATHER
atascaderonews.com twitter.com/ @AtascaderoNews facebook.com/ @AtascaderoNews
SENSORIO Holds January Photo Contest | A3
CENTRAL COAST Distillery Offers New Gin | A4
LOCAL BARBER Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Charges | A5
DEANDRA TYLER Greyhound Leading UCI Thrower | A13
High 66° | Low 33°
SUPPORT LOCAL
JOURNALISM
5
67808 24135
e Scan her ted! ar t s t e g to
HELP YOUR BUSINESS TAKE FLIGHT!
Not only do you have the power to choose the subscription that fits your life, but when you advertise, you will broaden your reach into target markets throughout the Central Coast, from Ventura County to Monterey County!
Subscribe & Advertise with
atascaderonews.com (805) 466-2585 office@13starsmedia.com
7