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Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten family info nights News, Page 5
including tax
Winters PTA board revives in-person events Features, Page 1
Volume 139, Number 52 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Classified employees ask Trustees for wage increase
City Council closes traffic enforcement loophole, declares local emergency
By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief The Winters California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 694 submitted a letter and asked the Superintendent and Trustees to consider approving their request for an increase in their wages at the Jan. 19 Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting. During the Employee Organization session of the agenda, CSEA Chapter 694 Treasurer Tawnya Martin took to the podium on behalf of the Winters CSEA members. Martin has worked as an Administrative Assistant for Education Services at Winters JUSD for six years. The board room was packed with staff members there in support of the request being made. In her speech, Martin noted that practices have changed in how classified staff members function in the school district, notably during the pandemic when they
By Jacob Hoffman Express staff writer
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Tawnya Martin, California School Employee Association Chapter 694 Treasurer, spoke on behalf of the the CSEA Chapter members requesting Trustees to consider an increase in wages and benefits. served on the front lines helping to care for students as they waited for a family member to pick them up, deliver food to families, and managed contact tracing communications. “We have rolled with every change because the students and staff are a priority for
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all CSEA members. Unfortunately, with more work and high expectations of classified staff our pay and benefits do not reflect that,” Martin said. She listed off the types of tasks and duties classified staff members regularly do under their
At its Jan. 17 meeting, the Winters City Council closed a missing link in the city’s municipal code, officially adding a California Government Codealigned schedule of fines for violations of the municipal code. In addition, the Council declared a local emergency along with other Yolo County cities in response to the damage brought by this month’s stormy weather. The meeting, shortened in length due to the three new councilmembers would undergo training in Sacramento, had two principal discussion items. The
first, as described in the City Staff recommendation, proposed establishing a schedule of fines for violations of the city code where the city had previously left the fines unestablished. Police Chief John P. Miller presented the proposed addition to the municipal code. Miller reminded the council that the Winters Police Department recently assumed responsibility for code enforcement and that as they were sorting through the code enforcement laws, noticed a gap in the code. Specifically, the Winters Municipal Code authorizes the city to make violations of the code subject to a fine.
The exact amounts for the fines need to be established in a schedule of fines by a resolution of the City Council. However, no administrative fine schedule had been established up to this point for certain code violations, and the police department and city staff suggested the City Council should establish a schedule of fines. Miller laid out the amounts for the fines — in accordance with the amount for California Government Code violations — with the city staff report providing details on the exact amounts that these fines may cost. For infraction violations of city
See FINES, Page 3
See CSEA, Page 3
Nelson-Ortiz announces resignation as Waggoner Elementary Principal By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief
EXPRESS
Waggoner Elementary School Principal Travis Nelson-Ortiz announced he had submitted his resignation in a newsletter sent to Waggoner families on Friday, Jan. 20. “As we begin the second half of the school year, I want to share that I’ve decided to resign from my role as Waggoner Elementary School Principal at the end of the school year,” Nelson-Ortiz stated.
Superintendent Rody Boonchouy confirmed Winters Joint Unified School District had received the resignation, and Nelson-Ortiz’s name appeared on a separation report on the Jan. 19 Winters JUSD Board of Trustees agenda item on the Consent Calendar. Assistant Superintendent Phoebe Girimonte told the Express that Winters JUSD appreciated Nelson-Ortiz’s contributions during his tenure as the Waggoner Principal and “wish him the best in his future professional endeavors.” Nelson-Ortiz will continue in his role as Waggoner’s Principal for the remainder
of the 2022-23 school year. His last day at Winters JUSD is June 30. “We have great things ahead in the coming months and my dedication to the students and staff at Waggoner will remain strong,” Nelson-Ortiz said. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your child’s Principal.” Nelson-Ortiz was appointed as the new Waggoner Principal in May 2021 following the resignation of former Principal Jennifer Kloczko. Nelson-Ortiz served at the helm leading Waggoner as students returned to campus
See RESIGN, Page 3
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Date
Rain
High
Low
Jan. 18
.00
57˚
32˚
Jan. 19
.31”
56˚
34˚
Jan. 20
.00
55˚
40˚
Jan. 21
.00
56˚
29˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-5
Jan. 22
.00
55˚
35˚
Jan. 23
.00
58˚
45˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Jan. 24
.00
61˚
33˚
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-5
Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... A-2
Courtesy photo
Mayor Bill Biasi (front) Former Supervisor Don Saylor, Councilmember Jesse Loren, Congressmembers John Garamendi and Mike Thompson, Supervisor Lucas Frerichs, Mayor Pro Tempore Al Vallecillo and Councilmember Carol Scianna met at El Rio Village on Jan. 17 to accept a check for improvements to the I-505 infrastructure.
Winters receives $2M for I-505 improvements By Jacob Hoffman Express staff writer On Jan. 17, members of the City Council were presented with a $2 million check by Congressional Representatives John Garamendi and Mike Thompson that will go towards constructing pedestrian and bicycle crossings over the roadway, as well as im-
proving accessibility for all communities to the I-505 interchange. Garamendi was able to secure this funding at the federal level by having it included in a funding package for Fiscal Year 2023. Winters City Manager Kathleen Salguero Trepa called this addition, “a major funding milestone for this $14 million project,”
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Rain for week: 0.31 in. Season’s total: 22.64 in. Last sn. to date: 17.09 in. Winters rainfall season began 7/1/22. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow
Courtesy photo
Abigail Arons and Terrell Baptiste of San Francisco announce the birth of their son, Max Ezekiel Arons Baptiste. Max arrived at 1:10 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2022. He weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 21 inches at birth. He is welcomed to the family by his older sister Eva Jean Arons Baptiste (2 years old). Max’s maternal grandparents are Karen Olson and Barry Parker of Winters, and Tom Arons and Anne Morris of Austin, Texas. His paternal grandparents are Annett and Dwain Baptiste of Houston, Texas. Max’s mother Abby Arons is a 2004 Winters High School graduate. Submit birth announcements to the Express online at https://tinyurl.com/mrecft6j.
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See CHECK, Page 3
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crediting “the hard work, dedication and support of” our elected representatives at the Federal to Local levels.” Trepa gave credit to former Supervisor Don Saylor — “whom she said who was a tireless advocate” — and to County and City staff and consultants.
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