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SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXV, NO. IX
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024
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Local candidates gear up for November General Election Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero see growing roster of hopefuls for city and school board seats By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
The Templeton Fire Department, shown here on 5th Street in Templeton, will be getting a new firetruck after U.S. Congressman Jimmy Pannetta helped secure a federal grant. Photos by Derek Luff
Templeton’s firefighters receive federal funding for long awaited new firetruck Station’s current truck is 22 years old and has been experiencing engine issues, making it inoperable at times By MAYLIA BAIRD Contributing Writer
TEMPLETON—On Thursday, Aug. 1, local political figures and firefighters gathered to celebrate the Templeton Fire Station receiving federal funding for a long-awaited new firetruck. Concerns have been stated for quite some time by Chief Tom Peterson that their current firetruck has been becoming more and more unreliable. The truck is 22 years old, and its engine has been experiencing issues for a while. Peterson noted that he had made many reports to the Templeton Community
Service District: Once explaining how the fire engine needs repairs, the other that it was unavailable, and others explaining how they had to borrow another fire engine from a neighboring station. When 19th District U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta was finally contacted, he secured the Fire Department a $1 million federal grant for the new truck. This was made possible because of a United States Congress program called Community Funded Projects, which is federal funding granted to local projects. “This type of federal investment will not just be an upgrade but this [federal] investment toward a new fire truck will enhance our firefighters safety and their everlasting promise to be ready and respond,” said Panetta in his speech. Several years ago, Templeton was at risk of losing their fire department due to lack of funding. Templeton residents were asked what additional funding
was needed to staff the fire department 24 hours and seven days a week. Then, in 2019, Templeton residents voted and said yes to providing more funding to the fire department. “With nearly 80 percent yes votes, we all demonstrate the importance of our fire department to our community, and that is why today is such a special day for Templeton residents,” said Navid Fardanesh, President of the Templeton Community Service District. “With a new type 1 fire engine, our firefighters will be able to respond to fire emergency calls with an engine that is more reliable. We no longer have to see reports from our fire chief saying that the fire engine needs repairs and is unavailable or that we had to borrow another fire engine from another jurisdiction. This new type 1 engine will be the central asset for the safety and well-being of our residents for years to come.”
City moves forward with updated ordinance following Supreme Court ruling
Mayor issues apology for city councilman’s comments made towards police department during last meeting
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PASO ROBLES — Following roll call at the Tuesday, Aug. 6, City Council meeting, Paso Robles City Mayor John Hamon issued a statement apologizing for comments made during the last City Council meeting. “At the last council meeting on July 16, one of our councilmembers wrongly attacked your character and dedication to duty while you attempted to provide the council with a presentation related to a proposed ordinance involv-
ing dogs in public parks,” said Hamon, addressing the apology to Paso Robles Police Department Commander Ricky Lehr and Police Chief Damian Nord. During the meeting Hamon referred to, Lehr presented a change in an ordinance that would allow dogs to be in public parks. City Councilman Chris Bausch accused PRPD A fire is shown burning at Paso Robles Wrecking Yard at the end of June. A group comprised of local auto shops is holding a fundraiser Oct. 26 to help the business recover from the blaze. Photo by Cal Fire SLO of not enforcing certain laws within the city. You can find full coverage of the meeting at pasoroblespress. com/news/government/ city-of-paso-robles/ordi- 805 Community Car Care of June, a fire destroyed multiple vehicles and nance-restricting-dogs-in-pub- Center to host Car Show and structures at Paso Robles Wrecking Yard, costlic-places-repealed/ ing the owner over $500,000 in damages. BBQ Fundraiser for damaged Newly founded group 805 Community Car Hamon continued, “This unprofessional display of sole business on Oct. 26 Care Center is comprised of a growing group destroying remarks made of local auto body repair shops. Formed about By CAMILLE DEVAUL against you was disgusting, four months ago, their goal is to give back to camille@pasoroblespress.com uncalled for, and certainly the community and provide support for one not in the best interest of this PASO ROBLES — Some local auto body another. They are currently working towards city. Please know that I do not shops are getting together with the commu- becoming a certified nonprofit. CONTINUED ON PAGE A2 CONTINUED ON PAGE A2 nity to support one of their own. At the end
AGRICULTURE
CRIME
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
Local auto shops rally to support fire-stricken Paso Robles Wrecking Yard
NORTH COUNTY NEWS
EVENTS
NORTH COUNTY — We are another month closer to the Nov. 5 General Election, and more hopefuls have joined the local political race. We have taken a look at hopeful candidates looking to run for both Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero seats. In Paso Robles, there are three City Council member seats up for grabs this November: • City Council District 1 for a partial term of two years • City Council District 3 for a full term of four years • City Council District 4 for a full term of four years Find the district map here: prcity.com/DocumentCenter/ View/34109/District-Map--2022-2032-PDF Currently vying for the District 1 seat are now four candidates: Xavier Abarca, Kris Beal, Sharon Roden, and Linda George. Roden currently holds this seat and was officially sworn in to serve the District 1 seat during the Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2023, City Council meeting. Roden is a farmer and fifth-generation San Luis Obispo County resident. She previously stated that her focus is to help Paso Robles move forward while preserving its history. Beal and George were both candidates in the September 2023 interviews and were beat out by Roden. Beal is a Paso Robles High School alumna and former nonprofit executive director. George has a background as a campaign member and lobbyist. Abarca entered the race at the start of August. There is no further information on Abarca at this time, but according to the Paso Robles City elections website, Avarca and George had not yet collected the number of signatures required to qualify for running for the seat at the time of printing this article. As of Tuesday, Aug. 6, there are four candidates vying for the District 3 seat. Jeff Carr, David Nelson, Michael Rivera, and Steve Gregory. All except Nelson have been qualified to run. Gregory is currently CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
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