GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXIV, NO. XII
CITY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2023
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
PIONEER DAY
Pioneer Day celebrations continue with Old Timers BBQ
Plans for Beechwood Specific Plan continue Planning commissioners continue discussion on modifications made to Master Development Plan
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
Pioneer Day Belle Kayla Degnan is shown with her parents, Lynette and Roger Degnan, during the Old Timers BBQ on Aug. 27. Photos by Becca Sligh
Lions Club hosts PASO ROBLES — A public Pioneer Day volunteers hearing for the Beechwood and Royalty for annual Specific Plan was heard during the Aug. 22 Paso Robles City barbecue Planning Commission meeting. The Beechwood Specific Plan (BSP) is the approved housing development located on Meadowlark Road, Creston Road, and Beechwood Drive. On the table for discussion was approving the Vesting Tentative Map 3192 and Master Development Plan PD 22-19 to subdivide Planning Areas J (40 acres) of the Beechwood Specific Plan. CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
By BECCA SLIGH Paso Robles Press Contributor
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Pioneer Day festivities continued with the annual Old Timers BBQ in San Miguel on Sunday, Aug. 27. In attendance were participating Lions Club members as well as Pioneer Day volunteers and Pioneer Day Royalty. One volunteer, Gail Hubbard of the Morro Bay
Lions Club, mentioned her and her husband have helped with this barbecue for many years. Hubbard also explained what the Lions Club does throughout the community: “Lions are the forerunners in vision screenings ... they do blood drives, and their fundraisers include car shows and the bean feed [during Pioneer Day].” Many volunteers and committee members showed up to help put on this barbecue. Debbie Moore Vandergon, who has been a part of the Pioneer Day Committee for 25 years, gave some insight as to why Paso celebrates
Pioneer Day: “It started out with churches [and] business owners downtown would invite the ranchers and farmers in the area into town to thank them for their service and patronage throughout the year.” While some may just think Paso Robles Pioneer Day is just the annual parade that takes place, there are actually numerous events that lead up to Paso’s Pioneer Day celebration. These events span throughout late August and September and include the announcement of Pioneer Day Royalty; The Old Timers BBQ; The Queen’s Luncheon, which
PLAYGROUND
Don Campbell, seen here with his wife Gail at the Old Timers BBQ, will be Grand Marshal of the Pioneer Day Parade on Oct. 14.
includes a list of specific people invited by the reigning Pioneer Day Queen; the Pioneer Day Kick-Off Party, which is open to the public; and The Ladies Tea which is co-sponsored this year by the Native Daughters of The Golden West. Finally, the week of the Pioneer Day Parade, the second invite-only Old Timer’s Dinner is held at the fairgrounds, and last but not least is the Pioneer Day Parade that takes place in downtown Paso Robles. As mentioned above, Pioneer Day names a Queen each year. The Pioneer Day Court is selected based on a long-stand-
ing tradition of families who have settled in the area to reign over the celebration. This year, the Grand Marshal is Don Campbell, the Pioneer Day Queen is Margaret Avila, and the Pioneer Day Belle is Kayla Degnan. “It’s quite an honor,” Campbell said about being Grand Marshal. “I’ve been around this a long, long time and I’ve always admired the choice of the Marshal, so it’s nice to be one.” Campbell states he’s more excited for the parade and hopes it goes smoothly this year. CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
FUNDRAISER
Community rallies behind Kyndal’s brave battle against cancer A fundraiser is scheduled for Oct. 14 to raise proceeds for her traveling expenses to receive treatment Templeton Recreation Foundation has started petition to renovate the play structure at Templeton Park. Photo by Christianna Marks
Templeton Park playground in disrepair
ton Recreation Foundation, have raised concerns about the current condition of Templeton Park’s play structure. Repairs and replacements on some of the damaged or vandalized equipment started six months By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@pasoroblespress.com ago, but due to manufacturer issues and not being able to TEMPLETON — Over the find all the replacement parts, last month, parents and resi- parts of the beloved structure dents, including the Temple- are boarded up and unable to
be used by the community’s children and their families. “This actually started over six months ago,” said District 1 Supervisor and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors John Peschong. “The Parks Department here in San Luis Obispo County saw that one of the slides, I think there’s four or five slides on the park
COMMUNITY
NORTH COUNTY LIFE
Community concerned about vandalism, delayed repair; Rec Foundation puts out online petition
CRIME
CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
NORTH COUNTY — Two years ago, Kyndal and her mother Raquel Gottfried received devastating news in which it was discovered that Kyndal had medulloblastoma, the most common malignant tumor found in children. Now, at 7 years old, Kyndal continues her fight against the cancer that keeps returning. Last week, Kyndal and Raquel arrived in Georgia to receive a new type of treatment at the
Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta. This will be Kyndal’s third round of treatment for the cancer, which had returned. In March of this year, it was confirmed by the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles that
SPORTS
SECTION
Kyndal, seen here with her teddy bear, hopes to be getting treatment in a clinical trial at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia (CHOG) for her brain tumor. Contributed Photo
some masses discovered on Kyndal’s brain were cancerous. Surgery was conducted and Kyndal began another round of chemo. Unfortunately, Kyndal did not respond to the chemo, and doctors informed CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
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