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Volume 142, Number 48 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Chris Walton
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Sergeant Ramos retires
Celebrate local heroes at Toast of Winters Express staff
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
On Saturday, Dec. 27, community members, public safety officials, family, and friends gathered at the Winters Community Center to honor Sergeant Albert Ramos, who joined the Winters Police Department in 1997. Pictured are retired and current Winters PD officials. Be sure to congratulate him if you see him around town. Watch for a full story in an upcoming edition of the Winters Express.
Local man surrenders to police after five-hour standoff Friday By Lauren Keene McNaughton Media
EXPRESS
A convicted felon barricaded himself inside a Winters residence Friday night, surrendering to police only after a SWAT team intervened, according to the Winters Police Department. What would turn out to be a nearly fivehour standoff began shortly before 6:30 p.m., when police received a report that a man, later identified as 34-year-old Jose Sanchez-Valdez, brandished a handgun at his mother at her home in the 500 block of East Street. Officers were able to meet at another location with the mother, who “confirmed Sanchez-Valdez had pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her,” police
said in a social media post. “It was also determined there were two other family members still inside the residence with Sanchez-Valdez. The family members were contacted and encouraged to leave the residence for their safety.” “The family reported Sanchez-Valdez was acting erratically and believed he was under the influence of controlled substances,” the post continued. “The family also confirmed Sanchez-Valdez had been in possession of a handgun and ammunition in the previous days and that he had fortified and barricaded his living area inside the residence.” With aid from the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, members of the regional Crisis Negotiations Team and K-9 units from the Woodland Police Department, police established a perimeter around the home and made phone contact
with Sanchez-Valdez. Police also issued alerts to nearby residents, advising them to shelter in place until the activity had ended, although some neighbors later reported they hadn’t received the advisories. “Sanchez-Valdez was uncooperative, acting erratically, and refused to exit the residence,” the post said. “He further stated he would not be taken into custody and challenged law enforcement to come into the residence.” After multiple failed attempts to secure Sanchez-Valdez’s peaceful surrender, the Yolo County Regional SWAT Team was activated, using “flash bang” diversionary devices and tear gas to remove Sanchez-Valdez from the house. He surrendered at about 11:20 p.m., continuing to physically resist arresting officers and spitting on them, police said. Police then served a
Index
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search warrant at the residence and reported recording a BB gun, a Glock-replica airsoft gun and ammunition from Sanchez-Valdez’s living space. He was booked into the Yolo County Jail on charges of criminal threats, resisting arrest, being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and brandishing an imitation firearm. Those who did not receive the police Everbridge alerts are urged to visit www. alertyolo.org to ensure their information is entered and correct. For more information, contact the Yolo County Office of Emergency Services by calling 211 or emailing oes@yolocounty.gov. Public safety related updates are posted live on social media pages and on the Winters Express website in collaboration between the Express and the Winters PD and Winters Fire Department depending on the emergency.
Get ready to raise a glass to the people and businesses who make Winters shine. The official selections are in for the 2025 Toast of Winters honorees. Hosted annually by the Winters District Chamber of Commerce, the Toast of Winters awards celebrate the achievements of community members and local businesses recognized by their neighbors. This year’s honorees are: • Business of the Year: Ample Electric • Theodore Winters Award: The Guerrilla Gardeners • Senior Citizen of the Year: Rich Marovich • Citizen of the Year: Gloria Lopez The Winters Express will spotlight each awardee in a special series of articles throughout January, highlighting the contributions that earned them this recognition. The Toast of Winters event takes place Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Winters Community Center. Tickets are available online at www. eventbrite.com/e/toast-of-winters-2025tickets-1967839288284 or bit.ly/toast25tickets. Raise a glass and celebrate the people who make Winters a community to be proud of.
Winters JUSD modernization projects move ahead By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer Construction projects across Winters Joint Unified School District are moving forward, with improvements to classrooms, kitchens and student facilities despite a rainy start to winter. At the Dec. 18 Winters JUSD Board of Trustees meeting, Ashley Del Rio, program manager at Van Pelt Construction Services, updated trustees on work completed over Thanksgiving break, including additional concrete, a painted curb to address drainage and safety and new dolphin-shaped bike racks. While asphalt work could face weather-related delays, Del Rio said the transitional kindergar-
ten building is rapidly taking shape, with progress continuing on interiors. At Winters Middle School, modernization efforts are ongoing, including kitchen upgrades. Del Rio praised contractor CORE for completing a long-term roof repair at Waggoner at no cost, helping prevent winter leaks. “We really appreciate the CORE team just kind of taking matters into their own hands, really treating the district well and getting us through what’s apparently going to be a very wet winter,” she said. Trenching for future utility lines has progressed, and the kitchen will temporarily relocate from the multipurpose
See BUILDS, Page 6
Rain
High
Low
Dec. 24 0.89”
62˚
50˚
Dec. 25
1.11”
65˚
51˚
Oakdale Fire victims’ claims seek millions in damages
Dec. 26
0.57”
62˚
47˚
By Lauren Keene
Dec. 27
0.26”
60˚
38˚
McNaughton Media
Eventos hispanos ....... A-4
Dec. 28
.00
57˚
36˚
Dec. 29
.00
59˚
31˚
Opinion ......................... B-4
Dec. 30
.00
60˚
31˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 2.83 in. Season’s total: 9.86 in. Last sn. to date: 9.40 in.
Yolo County officials received a dozen multimillion-dollar claims Tuesday stemming from the fiery July 1 explosion — known as the Oakdale Fire — that killed seven employees at an Esparto fireworks storage facility. Several of them al-
Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-5
Date
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/25. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
lege the existence of a “county coverup” in which the involved parties — including three longtime Yolo County Sheriff’s Office employees — were “allowed to violate state and county law and regulations because of the close relationship between the owners of the property and county
officials.” The claims, filed on behalf of the victims’ families and owners of neighboring properties damaged as a result of the disaster, are precursors to any civil lawsuits that might be filed. Government entities may investigate and potentially
See VICTIMS, Page 4
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