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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIX, NO. XXXIX
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Last year’s Grand Marshal Robert “Grigger” Jones (left image) pins the 2024 Grand Marshal Karen McNamara. 2023 Colony Days Queen Christine Clickard (middle right) crowns the 2024 Queen Janey Giessinger. Last year’s Colony Days King Donn Clickard (right image left) pins incoming King Don Giessinger. Photos by Christianna Marks
46th Annual Colony Days Tea honors 2024 Grand Marshal and Royalty ahead of Saturday’s parade
The tea also celebrates Atascadero as a whole
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The 46th Annual Colony Days Tea took place on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Atascadero Bible Church once again this year. The tea, which is put on by Quota of Atascadero, is the kickoff for a week of
Colony Days fun. Like in the four decades prior, the tea is still invite-only and is made up of Atascadero residents who are 55 and older and have lived here for over 40 years. Around 100 locals, sometimes including multiple generations in one family, showed up to honor the incoming 2024 Colony Days Grand Marshal and Royalty. “It’s exciting for us to see how many children of longtime residents are now involved and have been here long enough they’re
School Board celebrates retirement of Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jackie Martin
coming with their parents, so it’s passing it on to another generation. We’ve seen that over the years, obviously, it’s not just now,” said Quota board member Deena Pangborn. This year’s King and Queen will be none other than Don and Janey Giessinger, while Karen McNamara will be taking over the role of Grand Marshal. “I was the athletic director of Atascadero High School for a long time, and the first place I always went to get an ad sold for the
football program or whatever we were selling, there were always a lot of things. I would go to Don Giessinger first. I would go to Don Giessinger first because he would always say yes,” said outgoing Colony Days King Donn Clickard about the incoming King. “So I got to start whatever campaign I was on with a yes, and those of you who get to do things like that, selling for your clubs or your organizations, will know that first yes is really CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
to everybody she works with Trustees once again and her family,” Butler added. debate language due “You just have so much fun to pregnancy disability working together, doing leave section in Consent things, and thinking about others. The needs of others in Agenda item By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. At the beginning of the meeting, the trustee board celebrated Assistant Superintendant of Business Services Jackie Martin and her 22 years serving AUSD. “It ’s such an honor to be up here tonight with Jackie [Martin] to celebrate her incredible career in Atascadero and in education,” said Superintendant Tom Butler from the podium. “Thirty-four years supporting districts in this county and 22 years in Atascadero Unified. Pretty amazing.” Martin’s family, the AUSD business staff, and her dog, Buttons, were all there to be a part of the festivities. “When it comes to personalities, you can’t get better. I mean, you can see it right here. We’re talking about a lovely person, incredibly talented, super loyal, as you can see
the district. So, when it comes to personality, you can’t beat Jackie. That’s a fact.” Martin had a short stint with AUSD in 1999, and in 2003 she was recruited back to be the AUSD director of business services. In 2006, she was promoted to her current position, which is where she has stayed until her retirement. Martin is looking forward to spending time with her family and Buttons, glamping, fishing, and quilting. In fact, many of the trustee board requested quilts from Martin at the end of the comments of thanks they shared with her. The trustee board expressed thanks to Martin for explaining the AUSD budget clearly, being someone they could trust and learn from, and keeping the district in an amazing financial position all these years. They also expressed that they didn’t know what they were going to do without her. “No more meetings for Jackie Martin,” stated President Terri Switzer as Martin left the building with her family and friends. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
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(From left) Moderator Shirley Summers, and Atascadero school board candidates Joey Arnold, Veronica “Roni” DeCoster, Corinne Kuhnle, and Matt Pennon are shown during the AUSD Candidate Forum. Contributed Photo
Four of five AUSD School Board Trustee candidates participate in local candidate forum, give their thoughts on Measure B
Forum hosted by The American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — On Monday, Sept. 30, four out of five school board trustee candidates participated in a candidate forum to share their stance on manifold topics that affect the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD). Joey Arnold, Veronica “Roni” DeCoster, Corinne Kuhnle, Matt Pennon, and Jodi M. Taylor (who was not in attendance) are all running for election on Nov. 5 for the three open spots on the AUSD trustee board. Kuhnle and Pennon are the incumbents. The forum was held at the Atascadero United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. and streamed on YouTube. In partnership with the League of Women Voters of SLO County, the Atascadero branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) sponsored the event, where Shirley Summers served as the moderator.
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“The candidates will have two minutes for their opening statements to tell you a little bit about who they are, why they are running for the school board, and why they think it’s important for you to vote for them,” stated Summers at the forum’s opening. “Then we will also have some questions that the committee has put together that will be interspersed with questions from the audience.” The four candidates drew straws to see what order they would go in to keep things above board. On top of the candidates’ opening and closing statements, there were also 12 questions the candidates had to answer, which were later compiled into written format. The questions spanned from retaining special education teachers in the AUSD, banning books, cellphone use in classrooms, and Measure B, which will be on the ballot in November. Measure B is a general obligation bond that, if passed, will generate $110 million for AUSD. The money will be designated to enhance educational opportunities for students and fund projects in campus facilities. Candidates were asked, “Do you support
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or oppose Measure B, the $110 million general obligation school bond on the November ballot, and why?” “I absolutely support Measure B. If you know anything about my priorities for this campaign, one of the most paramount is the career readiness of our students,” DeCoster said. “I think our district does a great job of promoting college readiness, but I think we need more emphasis on career readiness, and Measure B will pay for the expansion of our CTE classrooms, labs, and facilities. It’s also going to establish vocational courses, so all of that is beautiful to me.” Kuhnle also echoed support for the measure and reminded constituents that the community passed a similar bond in 2010, which gave the district $117 million. Additionally, she commented on how expensive everything is and how, once again, AUSD could use a bond of this size to update facilities and keep up with student’s needs. While not coming out against Measure B, Arnold expressed reservations about the district asking for more money. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
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