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Toast of Winters award nominations extended News, Page 2
including tax
Marvel at Mud Daubers Features, Page 1
Volume 142, Number 44 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, December 3, 2025
The hometown paper of Mark Wilson
OFFICIAL GUIDE
SECTION SPONSORED BY:
& Tree Lighting Festival
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5TH & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6TH
Planning Commission approves tentative Olive Grove subdivision plan
Winters first responders support holiday food effort
By Sonora Slater Express staff writer On Nov. 19, the Winters Planning Commission held a last-minute special meeting to discuss a proposed resolution for a tentative subdivision map located at Olive Grove. The area was previously looked at in 2017, when a 21-lot tentative map was drawn up in order to provide some affordable housing and act as a small fill-in development for the city. At the time, the affordable housing Steering Committee recommended that the planning commission and city council approve the Olive Grove affordable housing plan, which
included three affordable units at different levels. Parts of the project were completed, including underground utility improvements, as well as curb, gutter and sidewalk installations, but the map was never finalized and has since expired. The new proposal is mirrored off of the previously approved idea, and has already gone before the affordable housing committee for review and direction. The current plan includes some moderate-level housing and some in lieu payment to fulfill the other requirements. But they can still use the
See OLIVE, Page 4
Holiday fundraiser to support student music programs Express staff
EXPRESS
The Winters Music Boosters will host a raffle fundraiser at the Winters Friends of the Library’s annual Family Holiday Festival on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Winters Community Center. This year’s festival will feature performances by Winters elementary-aged students, as well as the Winters Middle and
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Winters High School band members, along with music teacher Mike Williams, perform on May 1, at the Big Day of Giving Stream-a-thon High Schools choirs and bands. Families can also enjoy visits with Santa, children’s craft activities, a large book sale and food from Mrs.
Claus’ Café. To support local student musicians, the Winters Music Boosters will run a
See MUSIC, Page 4
Index Features ........................ B-1
We at he r Rain
High
Nov. 26 0.02”
54˚
39˚
Nov. 27
0.01”
50˚
43˚
Nov. 28
0.01”
50˚
42˚
Nov. 29
0.01”
48˚
41˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-5
Nov. 30
.00
47˚
40˚
Dec. 01
.00
48˚
41˚
Opinion ......................... B-4
Dec. 02
.00
55˚
36˚
Real Estate ................... B-2
Rain for week: 0.05 in. Season’s total: 5.97 in. Last sn. to date: 4.36 in.
Classifieds ................... B-4 Community .................. A-2
Sports ........................... B-5
Date
Low
Winters rainfall season began 7/1/25. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief Yolo Food Bank partners with local agencies to distribute over 2,200 holiday meal kits countywide Crews and volunteers from the Winters Police and Fire Departments teamed up with RISE, Inc. to help distribute 200 holiday meal kits to local families as part of Yolo Food Bank’s annual Holiday Food Distribution. Their work contributed to a broader effort west of Interstate 505, where Yolo Food Bank and partner agencies provided 245 meal kits through RISE, Inc. in Esparto — serving families in Esparto, Capay Valley, and Madison — along with 80 additional kits at the Guinda Grange Hall. Each year, Yolo Food Bank collaborates with community partners to distribute holiday meal kits at nearly a dozen locations across Yolo County. This year’s
Winters Police and Fire crews handed out holiday meal kits to local families during Yolo Food Bank’s annual Holiday Food Distribution hosted at the RISE, Inc. in Winters.
See SUPPORT, Page 5
Courtesy photos
Superintendent reports on Winters education reimagining progress By Logan Chrisp Express staff writer Winters Joint Unified School District Superintendent Rody Boonchouy updated the Board of Trustees on Nov. 20 about the district’s ongoing efforts to reimagine the Graduate Profile. Two years ago, the community came together to identify the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in college and beyond. That process resulted in the Graduate Profile, described by Boonchouy as “the non-negotiable north star” for district students. “We all came to a
consensus that this is what we want to see our students leave with. Our work now is to realign our systems and structures to get to those outcomes, including measuring what we value,” he said. Since August, staff and trustees have conducted a district-wide listening tour with teachers and students to explore how schools can better align with the Graduate Profile. Boonchouy noted that the current educational model, rooted in industrial-era standardization, struggles to keep pace with today’s rapidly changing world.
“Over the century, we’ve evolved the institution to include more regulations, protocols, rules, accountability, and standards,” he said. “All of which are intended to ensure equal access, but that system also became a stabilizing bureaucracy, producing fixed outcomes with limited improvement over the decades.” Early November CAASP scores reflected predictable trends locally, statewide, and nationally, highlighting persistent opportunity gaps by socioeconomic status,
See PROGRESS, Page 5
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