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Rustic Ramble tours Capay farms, gardens News, Page 2
Thriving Pink, Winters Healthcare partner up Features, Page 1
Volume 141, Number 7 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Clara Saunders
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Fun Run Capstone benefits memorial scholarships By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief Two Winters High School seniors are working to revive the Youth Day Fun Run and honor the memories of their friends by supporting memorial scholarships honoring them. Seniors Derick Olson and Wes Coker are hosting the inaugural Michael Bazan-Jimenez and Noah Lichwa Memorial Fun Run as their Senior Capstone Project. The event is scheduled to be part of the annual Winters Youth Day festivities on April 27 at 8 a.m. The event is a 5K fun run/walk event.
Winters teens Noah Lichwa and Michael Bazan-Jimenez died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident on June 9, 2022. Since then, multiple awards and memorial scholarships have been set up to honor their legacy by supporting graduating students. “We are bringing back this Youth Day Fun Run not only to raise money to benefit students at the local high school but also to remember and honor the boys we lost that day,” Olson and Coker wrote on the Fun Run registration page. “I chose this project because we don’t want
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Michael Bazan-Jimenez
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Noah Lichwa
Michael and Noah to be forgotten and also want to help out the ’24 class,” Olson wrote in a social media post promoting the event. All funds raised from the event will be distributed between the Michael Bazan-Jimenez Memorial
Scholarship and the Noah Lichwa Memorial Scholarship. The scholarships will be awarded to Winters High School graduates at the end of the school year. The goal is to continue hosting the memorial Fun Run each Youth Day. Registration for the Fun Run is now live online at https://bit.ly/3TqEyEZ. An opportunity to register in-person registration will take place on Friday, April 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. during the Duck Derby and Youth Day Opening Ceremonies events behind the Winters Community Center. All participants who
register by Friday, April 12, will be guaranteed a commemorative Michael Bazan-Jimenez and Noah Lichwa Memorial Fun Run t-shirt to mark the first event. Participants who register after that will receive t-shirts as supplies last, on a first come first serve basis. Community members who prefer to make direct donations can do so on the Fun Run registration page. A “Donation” button can be found on the top right corner of the page online at https://bit.ly/3TqEyEZ. They can also attend the in-person registration event on April 26 to donate.
Police department rolls out new patrol vehicle By Amelia Biscardi Express staff writer
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Celebrating National Ag Week Chris Turkovich of Turkovich Family Wines drives a tractor during harvest season. Local farmers share how to pursue a career in agriculture. Read more on Page 6.
Local News Briefs Express staff
Prop 218 Survey deadline Property owners in the city of Winters and Greater Winters areas received a survey from the Winters Fire Department in mid-February regarding a potential Prop 218 initiative. Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III said if voters approved the propositions the funding would support staffing and the purchase
of needed equipment. Surveys must be received by March 25 to give Winters Fire an idea of what property owners think of the initiative. The survey results will give them direction on how to move forward. Snyder said property owners who have questions or who would like to learn more about it can reach out to him at jack.snyder@wintersfire.org, call/text 530-490-3620, or stop by the fire station.
EXPRESS
City seeks pool staff In his latest Friday update, City Manager Jeremy Craig said the city of Winters is seeking a pool manager and lifeguards for
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the upcoming swim season. Those who are interested can apply online at https://www. governmentjobs.com/ careers/CITYOFWINTERS.
Planning Commission discussion The upcoming Winters Planning Commission meeting on March 26 will include a discussion on outdoor cannabis cultivation and a potential rezoning of a property on Hwy 128. The agenda will be posted this week online at cityofwinters.org/189/Planning-Commission.
Fall Prevention class The Winters Senior Foundation is sponsoring a Fall Prevention and Education Class on Thursday,
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From the wear and tear police put on brakes and tires, to a major backlog on vehicles, to the months it takes to retrofit a patrol vehicle once it’s acquired, filling out a department’s fleet is not simple. However, Winters Police Department has added to its patrol vehicle fleet. Police Chief John P. Miller March 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Saint Anthony Parish Hall. WSF President Jerry Lowden said the fall prevention event will include vital information, like how to get up after falling. The event features an occupational therapist. All seniors are welcome to attend the free event.
Craig reported that work continues at the Bobbie Greenwood Community Swim Center. Workers have been setting tiles and correcting rust in some areas of the pool deck and steps. April 1 is the expected completion date for the entire replaster project.
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Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 21.18 in. Last sn. to date: 32.33”
Winters police responded to a call of suspicious activity which ended in an arrest and confiscation of illegal substances on Tuesday morning. On March 19, Winters Police Department received a call about suspicious activity occurring in a vehicle in the parking
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Winters rainfall season began 7/1/23. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
See POLICE, Page 5
Future subscriber: Jack Thomas Franco
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Jaime and Christine Franco of Winters announce the birth of their son, Jack Thomas Franco. Jack arrived at 5:46 a.m. on Feb. 13, 2024, at the Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville. He weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 21 inches at birth. He joins big sister Makayla (3). Jack’s maternal grandparents are Lori Bazemore and Thomas Avellar. His paternal grandparents are Jaime and Ilda Franco.
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the line.” Miller said that for vehicles to be considered pursuit-rated, there have to be adjustments to the car. Some of this includes adapting the brakes and suspension. “They’re big heavy vehicles, right,” Miller said. “What we do is slow stop, turn, turn slow, stop, accelerate. You just tear through tires and brakes.”
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explained that there are difficulties acquiring vehicles once an existing one ages out is a challenge. And a big part of this difficulty in acquiring vehicles has been the residual COVID backlog, especially of chips for cars. “There’s very, very limited vehicles that are available that are what are called pursuit-rated,” Miller said. “It’s not like we just take any car off
lot near Starbucks and the Fairfield Inn in the 700 block of Matsumoto Lane at 10:23 a.m. After arriving on site, a Winters police officer approached the vehicle and observed the driver inhaling from a balloon and from industrial-sized tanks of nitrous oxide that the driver tried to cover
up inside the car. The officer detained Kelly Ann Riehm, a 33-yearold resident of Anderson, California. Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were conducted and Riehm was placed under arrest for being in control of a vehicle while intoxicated. The officer searched
See ARREST, Page 5
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