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Gardening classes and workshop listing News, Page 2
Coming home to Abbey House Inn Features, Page 1
Volume 140, Number 1 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, February 1, 2023
School district continues offering free meals for all students By Jacob Hoffman Express staff writer Food Service Director Cathy Olsen presented to the Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees a Nutritional Services update on how Winters will be participating in the California Universal Meals Plan (Meals for All), a plan to provide breakfast and lunch to all Winters students regardless of whether free or reduced lunch eligibility, as well as some of the challenges the Nutritional Services team is working to alleviate. Olsen provided some background on the topic of free lunch in California and what changes it will bring to Winters. She noted “The Universal Meals Program is designed to build on the foundations of the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program” and that California state law mandates that schools with high poverty rates are required to participate in federal meal provi-
sioning. “A school is considered high poverty if their identified student percentage (ISP) is over 40 percent, meaning 40 percent of enrolled students are determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals,” Olsen said, explaining that this ISP rate determines how much the federal government reimburses the district for meals provided. “Winters has qualified for several years, however, our ISP is very low, therefore the reimbursement rate for reduced price and paid meals has not been economically sustainable,” Olsen said, but that “under the Universal Meals Program, the state provides the additional funds to ensure LEAs (local educational agencies, in this case, Winters JUSD) receive the same reimbursement for all meal categories.” Olsen also said that the Universal Meals Program has also given nutritional ser-
Local News Briefs Express staff
New Fire Chief
EXPRESS
City Manager Kathleen Salguero Trepa announced the City has found a new Fire Chief to lead Winters Fire Department. Chief Jack Snyder officially starts on Feb. 6 and will be sworn in at the Feb. 7 City Council meeting. In her City Manager update, Trepa said Snyder has served as the Fire Chief in Elko, Nev. He was hired as Elko’s Deputy Chief in 2017 and promoted to the role of Fire Chief in 2021. Snyder has also worked for the City of Vacaville.
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Free medication disposal
The Yolo Pharmacy (23 Main St.) is offering free services including disposal of expired and unwanted medications, mail-back sharps containers for diabetes patients, and prescription delivery to your home. The medicine drop-off box at the Police Station is no longer available and is now located at Yolo Pharmacy.
TAGS volunteers The Winters Police Department is looking for volunteers for its Trauma & Grief Support Program (TAGS). The TAGS volunteers help survivors with unexpected losses. If you are interested in learning more, contact Sgt Jose Hermosillo
Special to the Express
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Cathy Olsen, Director of Food Service, shows off the salad bar at Waggoner Elementary to Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry at a tour in February 2020. vices access to Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) Funds that help fund, “kitchen infrastructure upgrades, equipment, and food service staff training, as well as to provide funds for additional support and staff work related to the implementation
Increased enrollment doesn’t boost attendance
Save the Date: Citizenship Clinic
By Jacob Hoffman
Winters Community Corazón is hosting a free Citizenship Clinic with Legal Services of Northern California on March 11 from 9-11 a.m. at the Winters Community Center (201 Railroad Ave.). Attorneys will present information on the citizenship requirements and will schedule appointments with interested attendees for future dates. The free event is for Yolo County residents who are low-income and/ or over 60 years old. Questions can be sent to woodland-office@ lsnc.net or call 530662-1065.
At the Jan. 19 Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, the board took on a number of presentations regarding updates and changes happening in the district, including a school psychologist professional development conference, changes to a technology services job title and summer school pay, as well as the most recent findings of Winters’ student attendance rates. Chief Business Officer Jonathan Feagle presented Trustees with the attendance rates of Transitional
Express staff writer
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Madeline MacMahon, a Winters High School senior, is inviting the community to attend her Senior Capstone Project fashion show on March 18 from 4–6 p.m. at the WHS courtyard. Through the event, MacMahon is looking to raise money for the
Opinion ......................... B-3 Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... A-5
Rain for week: 0.07 in. Season’s total: 22.71 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
Kindergarten through 12th-grade students in Winters over the first part of this school year, and what it will mean for the future. Feagle explained that there are three Principal Attendance Periods. The First Principal Attendance Period (P-1) goes from the start of the school year to Dec. 31, the second (P-2) is through April 15, and then an annual period is through June 30. P-2, he notes “is the most important period for funding purposes” and that attendance in general is an important factor in the district’s level of funding. The total of Winters JUSD’s average daily attendance (ADA) is
1,444.80 out of a TK-12 average enrollment of 1,572, making the average attendance rate 91.9 percent. Looking at a graph of past attendance yields (a metric similar to but not exactly the attendance rate), the average yield from 2012–2019 was around 95 percent but since 2021–2022 (as the 2020– 2021 school year was excluded), the yield 90.52 percent, and this year’s P-1 ADA yield is at 92.79 percent. Feagle noted that there are some mitigating factors for how California district ADA determine their ADAs, which affect school funding,
See NUMBERS, Page 3
Student invites community to RSVP for capstone fashion show
Jan. 25
Alzheimer’s Foundation and hopes that students participating will find the experience to be an uplifting, confidence boost. The fashion show features a space theme and will feature a collection of clothing handpicked by MacMahon as well as collections from the Winters Collective. Tickets will be $5 at
the door on the day of the event. However, MacMahon is asking community members who plan on attending to RSVP ahead of time so she can give a headcount to the high school as well as to the WHS Culinary Program, which will be providing desserts at the event.
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Yolo County Resource Conservation District (RCD) is announcing the Yolo Prescribed Burn Association (PBA). Thanks to funding through CAL FIRE’s California Climate Investments Fire Prevention Program Grant, Yolo County RCD received funding to launch, develop, and coordinate the Yolo PBA. Prescribed Burn Associations, or PBAs, are community-driven networks of landowners and residents with the common goal of putting “good fire” back on the land. Prescribed burning is a cost-effective management tool that can reduce hazardous fuels, mitigate extreme wildfire behavior, maintain and generate desired vegetation, and promote healthy ecosystems. Unlike high-in-
tensity wildfires, prescribed burning is the controlled application of fire under pre-planned management objectives and precise environmental conditions. Yolo County RCD is excited to announce the Yolo PBA Kickoff Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 3–6 p.m. at a private ranch in Yolo County. Open to people of all professional backgrounds and/ or fire practitioner skill levels, the Yolo PBA Kickoff Meeting will be a chance for potential members and interested residents to learn more about prescribed burning as a land management tool and the benefits of joining the Yolo PBA. For questions and to RSVP for the Feb. 23 Kickoff Meeting, visit www.tinyurl. com/RSVPyolopba or contact Bailey Adams at adams@ yolorcd.org or call 530-661-1688.
at jose.hermosillo@ winterspolice.org or call 530-795-2261. Training and a background clearance are required.
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of uniform universal meals.” Importantly, Olsen noted, “these funds are not subject to all of the regulations under the National School Lunch Plan” and thus will be easier for nutritional services to access.
Date
Classifieds ................... B-4
Yolo Prescribed Burn Association launches By Alli Permann
Index Features ........................ B-1
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