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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIX, NO. XLIV
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2024
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2024 Election Preliminary Results A S O F 7 A . M . W E D N E S DAY, N OV. 6
Atascadero City Council Two seats open
SETH PEEK MARK DARIZ TORI KEEN
34.01% 33.85% 32.11%
(4,048) (4,029) (3,822)
99.09%
(5,666)
Atascadero MAYOR CHARLES BOURBEAU
Atascadero City Council THREE seats open
JOEY ARNOLD CORINNE KUHNLE “RONI” DECOSTER JODI M. TAYLOR MATT PENNON
21.89% 21.01% 20.0% 19.63% 17.46%
(4,856) (4,659) (4,437) (4,354) (3,873)
National President DONALD J. TRUMP
295 51%
(72,085,877)
KAMALA D. HARRIS 226 47.6% (67,277,427)
Election 2024: Trump to be 47th president, local and state preliminary decisions made Shandon polling place moved to Creston polling location due to staffing shortage By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
NORTH COUNTY — Americans everywhere cast their vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for the November General Election. Walking around town, many could be seen wearing their “I Voted” stickers as they took the opportunity to vote in person. This November, Americans had the opportunity to vote for the 47th Presidents of the United States. Locally, North County residents voted for local offices and measures as well, including a mayor for Atascadero, City Council members, and school board trustees. Midway through Election Day, the Shandon polling location was closed and transferred to the Creston polling location at 5110 Swayze St. According to the San Luis Obispo county clerk recorder, the move was necessary when it became apparent that staffing for the second half of the day was not going to meet minimum requirements. At least three people are required for a polling location to be operational. In Paso Robles, Just Baked on 12th Street conducted its
CRIME
own election, selling presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris cookies and kept count of the public’s “cookie vote.” When it comes to sugar and icing, Trump won the cookie vote with 394 cookies sold against Harris with 137 cookies. Just Baked owner Libby Ryan told Atascadero News her driving force to host the cookie poll, “I truly just wanted to bring the community together. That’s what Just Baked is always all about. We only had a handful of sour grapes — almost everyone truly loved watching the ‘cookie poll 2024.’” Media outlets across the nation called the election early Wednesday morning, naming Trump the 47th president of the United States. He cleared the election with 295 electoral votes, with Harris earning 226. Trump is the second president, Grover Cleveland being the first, to win non-consecutive terms. Cleveland was the 22nd president after the 1884 election and then again served as the 24th president after the campaign of 1892. Early Wednesday morning, Trump addressed the nation from his Florida resort Mar-aLago, “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family, and your future. Every single CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
(Top) Families and friends had a blast at this year’s Trick or Treat on Entrada; (bottom left) This year’s Trick or Treat on Entrada included a hay maze for the little ones; (bottom right) Family enjoys the candy and fun on Entrada this Halloween. Photos by Rick Evans/ATN
Crowds fill Entrada for annual Trick or Treat event on Halloween
thing from candy to books and even apples. board-certified behavior analyst at MBS. Most booths had gone “The apples actually were a huge hit. I “We work with kids with autism primarthrough their candy by 7 p.m. By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — Atascadero’s downtown was filled to the brim with families and costumed revelers of all ages to celebrate Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 31. Once again, the Downtown Business Improvement District closed off Entrada and turned it into a safe and fun place for all ages from 5 to 8 p.m. Businesses filled the street with booths and gave out every-
picked them from our orchard and brought them. I had probably three boxes of apples,” said Keara Damery, a registered behavioral tech and the site facilitator of Monarch Behavior Solutions (MBS). At their booth, they also had glowsticks and candy to hand out along with the apples. By 7 p.m., Damery was down to less than a dozen apples, and they had already run out of candy. “I love how it’s such an inclusive space for our kids too,” said Madison Janas, a
ily, and when they get a little bit older, it’s a little bit harder to go trick or treating, but everyone here is super welcoming, and they can still have the same experience as when they were younger.” This year, there was also a hay maze for the littles to wander through, but the ease of being able to see the path didn’t keep bigger kids from traversing the bales themselves. “It was really fun. The candy was good. There were a few shops that had you come CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
Atascadero School Board votes Leadership Associates to lead search for new superintendent
Board approves piggyback option for the purchase of school furnishings By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees continued the process to find its next superintendent at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Treasurer Tracy Ellis-Weit was ATASCADERO ELKS LODGE #2733
COUNTY
NORTH COUNTYDAY NEWS VETERANS
standing president during the meeting as Terri Switzer was not in attendance. Both the Minutes from the Oct. 15 meeting and the Consent Agenda for the evening’s meeting passed unanimously. The Selection of Superintendent Search Firm was brought back to the board this week.
During the Oct. 15 meeting, the board heard from both Leadership Associates and The SLO County Office of Education in a bid to lead the search for current Superintendent Tom Butler’s replacement at the end of the 2024-25 school year. At the meeting, the trustee board requested that the item
SPORTS
WEATHER
be brought back to this meeting so each trustee could look into both firms in more detail before making a final decision. You can find the story here: atascaderonews.com/news/ education/school-board-startsprocess-in-search-of-new-superintendent. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
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NOVEMBER 11, 2024
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