$1
including tax
Concrete questions arise amid site coverage discussion News, Page 7
Schechla named Interim Fire Chief Features, Page 1
Volume 139, Number 32 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of John Barbee
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Winters Festival de la Comunidad is Sept 24, 4:30-10:30 • Admission is free
This year our Carnitas plates are available for pre-sale
Get ‘em while they’re hot! A deal at $20 a plate, while supplies last
2022
Festival de la Comunidad
*Carnitas Plates are served 4:30 to 6:30 with a hard stop at 6:30; Please be in the carnitas line by 5:30 to redeem your ticket
Winters JUSD responds to Grand Jury findings High-speed chase ends in Winters By Angela Underwood Express staff writer
The Winters Joint Unified School District (Winters JUSD) 2021-22 Yolo Grand Jury response is complete, with officials partially agreeing with two recommendations and altogether rejecting one. Acting Superintendent Phoebe Girimonte reviewed the district’s response in full at the Aug. 18 Board of Trustees meeting, asking school board officials to approve the comeback to the “investigation prompted by citizen allegations that the district is not providing the legally required services to struggling students,” according to the Yolo County Grand Jury. The two official allegations, according to the report, were “the district’s published materials for parents/ guardians describing the steps necessary to obtain legally mandated services for a
disabled child and classroom accommodations or special education services” and “the success of the third through fifth grade English Language Arts program at creating a literate student body.” Winters JUSD was required to give two responses to the May 9 findings report and recommendations within 90 days, one from the acting superintendent and one from the board. Girimonte informed the board they had the opportunity to agree with the interim superintendent’s response to create a draft of their own and respond within the 90-day timeline. The board unanimously voted to join
the answer. “I appreciate the diligence that went into this,” Board Clerk Joedy Michael said. “You remained objective and put ownership where it needed to be and in the areas that we need to see improvement.” Girimonte led by explaining the purpose of a grand jury investigation is to prioritize transparency, accountability, and outcomes. “I share that priority,” she said. “I think while intentions are clearly important as a school district, our responsibility to students and families in our community is to have measurable outcomes that demonstrate growth and improvement.”
Girimonte only partially agreed with the first finding. According to her, the Director of Special Education and Student Services Jenny Pinedo, and then Superintendent Diana Jiménez with the Yolo Grand Jury in April and May “to provide evidence work is being done on the local level” to communicate effectively with the parents of special education students. Girimonte informed Trustees that the school district has since made available a new resource that is published in all of the individual education plans for special education students and is also available in hard copy at each school site and online. “I think it also warrants to note that this type of handbook is not mandated by statute; it is a proactive way of making sure families recognize what resources are
See JURY, Page 3
City narrows in on affordable housing deal By Angela Underwood Express staff writer
EXPRESS
Lower-income and households of color face unrelenting housing price pressures. As pandemic financial stresses persist and home price growth hits record highs, the State of the
Nation’s Housing 2022 fact reveals just how critical affordable housing is in the U.S. The City of Winters recognizes the vital role local governments play in the supply and affordability of housing, which is why they passed a resolution to execute an exclusive negotiation agreement with NeighborWorks Sacramento for 24 “selfhelp” housing units. According to the resolution staff report, affordable
housing is difficult to achieve in a state where housing costs are as high as they are in California. Winter’s Affordable Housing Steering Committee is attempting to ease the burden by working with non-profit affordable housing developer NeighborWorks Sacramento for a million-dollar Winters Highlands Subdivision equaling $7,488,000. “Homeownership is not easy because there are very few
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Date
Rain
High
Low
Aug.3 1
.00
99˚
57˚
Sep. 01
.00
100˚
61˚
Sep. 02
.00
105˚
63˚
Sep. 03
.00
108˚
62˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-6
Sep. 04
.00
105˚
64˚
Sep. 05
.00
108˚
72˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Sep. 06
.00
112˚
79˚
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-5
Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... A-8
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: TRACE Last sn. to date: TRACE Winters rainfall season began 7/1/22. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m.
affordable homes in both rural and urban communities,” Frank Pasquale. NeighborWorks construction manager, said. This is not the first time Winters and NeighborWorks Sacramento have drawn a contract. Exclusive negotiation and disposition development agreements were drawn up in January 2020 and extended to August. After that expired, the council approved another proposal in June 2021. “In addition, staff has met and talked with NeighborWorks representatives on multiple occasions regarding the possibility of a “self-help” detached unit housing project, which would be targeted at “moderate” income level households in the Winters area,” according to the staff report. The deal is back on the table with a new term sheet. It now includes donating the land to NeighborWorks rather than
See HOUSING, Page 2
By Angela Underwood Express staff writer A 100-mph car chase ended on Putah Creek Road directly due to the Winters Police Department’s assistance. The late-night, high-speed chase began in the City of Chico and ended up on Interstate 505 on Sept. 1, leaving local law enforcement a matter of minutes to act. After the California Highway Patrol started to chase the suspect on the rural freeway, they contacted the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and Winters Police Department. The chase led right into Winters, where it ended abruptly. “Our team had enough time to deploy a spike strip at Putah Creek Road, successfully disabling the vehicle and helping to catch the occupants who took off into the orchards.” Police Chief John P. Miller said. Winters’ police cars carry spike strips; some encased in plastic and others in razor-sharp tubes that require wearing leather gloves to deploy. “Spike strips are standard but inherently dangerous, especially when the suspect vehicle is traveling at high rates of speed,” Miller said, noting the recent death of an officer from Illinois killed when deploying the apparatus. Working closely with and sharing a radio channel with Yolo County Sheriff’s Department enables Winters to be in the know. In addition, Miller said the agencies work hand-in-hand with high-speed chases to significant scale
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events, which creates capacity and reduces cost. “We are pretty active for a small agency regionally,” Miller said of the 11 full-time sworn-in Winters Police Department officers.” “We are very well equipped for a small police department and deploy many resources for our size, which speaks highly of our officers.” It’s a reciprocal relationship, according to the police chief, saying when Winters needs the resources, “we have already anted up, and agencies are much more willing to help us.” Bottom-line, highspeed chases weigh risks and benefits while considering speed, weather, traffic, and pedestrian safety. Not to mention the continued danger to officers until apprehending any suspect who fled from a high chase. After the spike strips disabled the vehicle, the Winters Police assisted in holding the area perimeter while Yolo County officers searched for the suspect. During the chase, another car was disabled in the mayhem, according to the police chief, who said the motorists traveling from Oregon to Fremont found themselves stranded in Winters. “Our officers brought them to Winters Hotel, who offered us a nice discount to put them up for the evening,” he said of the middle of the night check-in. “They weren’t expecting to spend the night in Winters and shared in the morning that they have an exciting story to tell.”
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