$1
including tax
Supervisors approve farmworker food aid News, Page 3
Yolo Master Gardeners offer help Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 28 — Locally-owned since 1884
Council discusses traffic management, pedestrian safety By Sonora Slater Express staff writer The Winters City Council meeting on Aug. 5 focused largely on a special presentation about neighborhood traffic management, which led to a discussion among the council and members of the public about how traffic complaints should be addressed, what methods of traffic management are the most effective in Winters, and when bicyclists and pedestrians should be prioritized over drivers — or vice versa. The presentation, led by Alan Mitchell, city engineer, and Eric Lucero, public works
department director, was intended to give the council an overview of their options when it comes to traffic calming measures and help them begin to formulate a consistent process for accepting and reviewing traffic-related complaints. “If we formalize it, we’ll be consistent with our response,” Mitchell said. “Which has been some of the complaint in the past.” So what might the response to a traffic complaint look like? According to Mitchell, it varies
See SAFETY, Page 6
Winters auto repair owner convicted of grand theft By Todd Hansen McNaughton Media
EXPRESS
A Solano County Superior Court jury last week found a Winters businessman guilty of cheating five customers at his automotive shop. The jury on Aug. 7 convicted Keith Scott Williamson on four felony counts of grand theft and one count of petty theft. Williamson, the owner of Winters Auto Body and Paint Shop in Winters, was found to have “committed theft by false pretenses on five separate customers at his shop,” the Solano County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The economic losses to the victims, the
DA’s statement said, was about $90,000. “The crimes occurred between 2017 and 2020. Each customer paid the defendant to perform restoration body work, a new paint job, and in some cases for a complete overhaul on their classic vehicles, which included three Ford Mustangs, a Jeep and a Chevrolet pickup truck,” the DA stated. “(Williamson) performed only minimal body repairs, but did not complete the work on any of the vehicles. The vehicles remained unfinished in defendant’s shop for months, or in some cases, for years.” The DA’s Office said that Williamson “refused to provide refunds to all five customers, who then resorted to filing complaints with the
The hometown paper of Danielle Fusco
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Love-Fields hired as new fire engineer By Sonora Slater Express staff writer Andrew LoveFields is one of three new hires for the Winters Fire Department, joining the team officially as a fire engineer after two years serving as a volunteer for the organization. His role will be funded by Prop 218, which was approved by the city council in August 2024. Love-Fields was born and raised in Fairfield, and began serving with the Solano Fire Academy in 2022 — an introduction to fire service that led him to serve as a Reserve Firefighter with Winters Fire and eventually led him to the role he’s in today. Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III noted that in a small town, fire department staff often have to juggle multiple roles, and that continues to be true in Winters. But this new fire engineer position will lessen the demand on each staffer, allowing other officers to focus on their specialties, be it incident command or
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Andrew Love-Fields is one of two newly hired fire engineers at Winters Fire Department. He has been serving as a resident volunteer firefighter. crew oversight, while Love-Fields handles the responsibility of operating the fire engine. “This (reallocation of roles) represents a structural enhancement that promotes consistency (and) operational readiness,” Snyder told the Winters Express. “Moreover, this advancement will significantly elevate on-
scene firefighter safety by ensuring that apparatus operations are executed with precision and reliability under the stewardship of a trained engineer.” Splitting up the roles like this also brings the department closer to matching the National Fire Protection Association’s standards for engine apparatus staffing,
according to Snyder, which are structured with the goal of keeping firefighters safer. So what exactly does Love-Fields’ job entail? To start with, he drives the fire truck to all incidents — but there’s more to it than that. “I am responsible for supplying the correct amount of
See ENGINEER, Page 6
Trustees reviews new early childhood course, hears district budget updates By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer The Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees reconvened for the first meeting following the summer break to kick off the new school year. While light on action items, the trustees were presented with information on a new Childhood Education Course, an update on the budget, as well as a few public comments at the start of the evening.
Early childhood education
See THEFT, Page 2
A new course description for “Early Childhood Education I- Cross-Age Tutor-
Index
We at he r
ing” was presented to the board by Phoebe Girimonte, assistant superintendent of educational services. The new year-long course will be developed during the 202526 school year for 9-12 graders. Winters High School administration and course instructor Jill Aguiar began revising the already existing Cross-Age Tutoring course to align with Career Technical Education, creating the new course that will fulfill the G elective subject requirement. “This year-long course will prepare students to work with children in preschool, daycare, and primary elementary settings,”
Girimonte said. “It emphasizes child development from birth to age nine, across physical, cognitive and social, emotional domains.” Students will apply theory through classroom instruction and hands-on internships, giving participants experience and knowledge in areas like health, nutrition, classroom management, cultural diversity and curriculum planning/implementation. “They will also have the opportunity to plan and design lessons that they eventually lead across core subjects,” Girmonte said. “They will engage in mock
interviews, portfolio creation and collaborative projects. So there’s a lot of those graduate profile competency opportunities within the course design.” The new course description will be in front of the board on Thursday, August 21, for potential approval.
Budget
Russ Barrington, assistant superintendent of business services, gave an update on the 2025-26 state budget. Under normal circumstances, the district would have the opportunity to do a 45-day revision
See TRUSTEES, Page 6
Date
Rain
High
Aug. 06
.00
92˚
57˚
Aug. 07
.00
98˚
64˚
Road closures, detours for Winters Criterium Aug. 23
Aug. 08
.00
98˚
62˚
Express staff
Aug. 09
.00
100˚
67˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-2
Aug. 10
.00
102˚
64˚
Aug. 11
.00
101˚
64˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Aug. 12
.00
99˚
62˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 0.00 in. Last sn. to date: 0.00 in.
Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-3
Sports ........................... B-6
Low
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/25. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
The Winters Criterium – Masters District Criterium Championship will take place the morning of Saturday, Aug. 23, bringing several downtown street closures and detours. Races begin at 8 a.m., but road closures will be in effect as early as 6 a.m. The
final race, a 50-minute event, starts at 11 a.m., with the course expected to reopen by 1 p.m. The race course starts and finishes on Railroad Avenue, winding through downtown Winters.
Street Closures “Do Not Enter” signs and barriers will be in
place at the following locations: • Railroad Avenue between Edwards and Main streets • E. Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Elliott Street • Elliott Street between E. Main and E. Abbey streets • E. Abbey Street
See STREETS, Page 2
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